Thailand Open: Okuhara Falls; Yamaguchi Advances
Fifth seed Nozomi Okuhara capitulated to Michelle Li in the second round of the GR TOYOTA GAZOO RACING Thailand Open 2022 on Thursday.
· BWF STAFF
After levelling a first game loss, Okuhara lost the plot in the decider, as she was able to win only four points. It was Li’s fourth win over the Japanese in 13 matches, and her first after three straight losses.
Li faces Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei in the third quarter, while the bottom quarter has world champion Akane Yamaguchi against Pusarla V Sindhu. Both vanquished Korean opponents – Pusarla getting the better of Sim Yu Jin, while Yamaguchi needed three games to get past Kim Ga Eun.
In the top half, home icon Ratchanok Intanon dismissed Wang Zhi Yi in straight games to advance to the quarterfinals, where she takes on Lina Christophersen. The other quarterfinal will see top seed Tai Tzu Ying against the in-form He Bing Jiao.