Physical Grind Pays off for Intanon with Fruitful Season
Well into her 30th year, Ratchanok Intanon had one of her best seasons of recent times. The Thai qualified for her first HSBC BWF World Tour Finals since 2022 on the back of an impressive season that saw her win the…
· DEV SUKUMAR
Well into her 30th year, Ratchanok Intanon had one of her best seasons of recent times. The Thai qualified for her first HSBC BWF World Tour Finals since 2022 on the back of an impressive season that saw her win the Indonesia Masters and the Kumamoto Masters Japan, besides four semifinal finishes.
Now, with her first SEA Games individual gold medal last week, the run-up to Hangzhou 2025 could not have been more auspicious. Somewhat counter-intuitively, however, Intanon said her confidence wasn’t at its highest.
“I’m not really confident. I feel I’m still trying to find my balance, because sometime when I really need it, I cannot control anything, and the mentality too. But finally, I can win over myself first. That’s why I can beat my opponent.”