KUALA LUMPUR - At the age of 14, Thai shuttler Ratchanok Intanon appeared to be poised for super stardom when she became the youngest-ever winner at the World Junior Championships in 2009, before going on to win two more titles in 2010 and 2011.
Records continued to fall for Ratchanok, who went on to win the World Championship gold in 2013 and became the first Thai to be ranked world No. 1.
But Olympic success eluded her, with injuries and the death of her mother after the Tokyo Games taking a toil on the player, who found herself in a winless drought with her last victory coming at the 2020 Indonesia Masters.
Success on the badminton circuit finally came two-and-a-half years later, when the Thai world No. 8 beat China's Olympic champion Chen Yufei 21-15, 13-21, 21-16 in the Malaysia Open final on Sunday (July 3).
Ratchanok could not contain her delight at the Axiata Arena, falling to the floor in celebration as world No. 4 Chen's lob landed outside the line in the deciding game to give her a 21-16 win.
Ratchanok, 27, said: "I knew it would be hard for me (to beat Chen) because she... has good mentality.
"During important points, she handles (the situation) better than me but today I could be myself more and she couldn't control my mentality."
On her 30-month title drought, she said: "Everyone has to face (things like) this and for me, it was very hard for me at that time but I know I can still come back stronger and I'm happy for that."
While she is not sure when her next title will come, this win is a confidence booster. She added: "I still believe in myself and I never thought I was a bad player, I still have the strength to win tournaments and I still trust myself.
"I don't know if I can win a lot more, but I can keep pushing myself and believe that I can keep my mentality and level like this."
However, there was no fairytale ending for world No. 2 Kento Momota in the men's singles final, as the Japanese shuttler was thumped 21-4, 21-7 by top-ranked Dane Viktor Axelsen in 34 minutes in front of 8,000 fans.
Back at the city where his dreams of a first-ever Olympic gold for Japan were first derailed, Momota had hoped for a return to winning ways in Kuala Lumpur. In January 2020, he was injured in a car crash while en route to the airport after his Malaysia Masters victory and the former world No. 1 had struggled since to rediscover his form.
Momota, 27, said: "I thought I was getting better in this tournament but today my level was a bit too far from his so I couldn't win.
"But being able to experience this kind of tense atmosphere during a final is a plus point so I can use this experience for next week (at the Malaysia Masters)."
Axelsen was thrilled with his first Malaysia Open title and surprised by how well he played as he was very tired after Saturday's semi-final win over Indonesian Jonatan Christie.
"I was (thinking) 'ugh there's another match tomorrow' but somehow I managed to find some extra energy. It's great to play Momota in another major final, I respect him a lot as a player but today I played really well and maybe he didn't feel that comfortable."
He also jokingly attributed his good run of results - the Malaysian title is his third consecutive one - to "extra cardio from running after Vega", his daughter who turns two in October.
He said: "My body's feeling good, my mind's feeling good, I'm enjoying what I do... I'm proud of my performance, it's the result of all my hard work."
In the women's doubles final, Indonesians Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti beat China's Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu 21-18, 12-21, 21-19 for their second title together - the first was the 2021 SEA Games gold in May.
Rahayu, who won the Tokyo 2020 Olympics women's doubles gold with the now-retired Greysia Polii, is aiming for another gold in Paris 2024 with her 21-year-old partner.
She said: "This is the challenge we are preparing for... This win has definitely boosted our confidence. It gives us more conviction that we can do it and Fadia and I hope this will be a smooth journey for us."
Chinese second seeds Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong clinched the mixed doubles title, while Japanese pair Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi won the men's doubles.
After next week's Malaysia Masters, the likes of Axelsen, Chen and Ratchanok will be heading south for the July 12-17 Singapore Badminton Open at the Indoor Stadium.
