All England: Chochuwong in First Major Final
Pornpawee Chochuwong turned the tables on world champion Pusarla V Sindhu to make her first World Tour Super 1000 final at the YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2021 today.
· DEV SUKUMAR
The Thai barely put a foot wrong in her semifinal, getting stronger as the match progressed, and leaving Pusarla floundering at 21-17 21-9.
In the final, Chochuwong takes on Nozomi Okuhara, who prevented an all-Thai final by coming from behind against Ratchanok Intanon, 16-21 21-16 21-19. Okuhara was nearly out of it at 14-18 in the third but dug in and forced the errors from Intanon at the end, thereby giving herself a shot at reclaiming her 2016 All England title.
From the outset, it was apparent that Chochuwong would prove a hard hut for Pusarla to crack. After the high of the Indian’s quarterfinal win over Akane Yamaguchi – the best match of the championships so far – Pusarla went in as favourite. Chochuwong though had her opponent scrambling from one corner to another, with the Indian struggling to match the pace. The Thai capitalised on every half-chance she got, and even though Pusarla narrowed down a seven-point lead in the first, Chochuwong kept her composure.