Taiwan shuttler Chou Tien-chen clinched the men's singles title at the Thailand Open badminton tournament on Sunday, in a thrilling final against Hong Kong opponent Angus Ng Ka Long.
Both players collapsed after third-seed Chou eked out victory 21-14, 11-21, 23-21 in a 67-minute match at Bangkok’s Indoor Stadium Huamark.
“I love you guys, thank you,” the 29-year-old winner told the crowd in an on-court interview.
Former world champion and hometown favourite Ratchanok Intanon was denied a third Thailand Open title later on Sunday when Chinese top seed Chen Yufei defeated her 22-20, 21-18.
In women’s doubles, Japanese seventh seeds Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto fended off Du Yue and Li Yinhui, the eighth seeds from China, in three close games.