Taiwan's Tai Tzu-ying finishes 2nd in Malaysia Open

台灣戴資穎在馬來西亞公開賽獲得第二名

Despite loss in badminton finals, Tai rises to 3rd in world rankings


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese badminton player Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) lost to South Korea's An Se-young, the number one ranked badminton competitor, in the women’s singles competition at the Malaysia Open on Sunday (Jan. 14).

Tai lost by a score of 21-10, 10-21, and 18-21, finishing second in the tournament, per CNA. Despite the loss, Tai will be able to move up in the BWF Singles Women Rankings from fourth to third place.

Tai made a furious comeback on Saturday (Jan. 13), scoring six straight points in the third and final game against Chinese competitor Chen Yufei (陳雨菲), who is ranked second in the world. Chen defeated Tai in the women’s singles gold medal round at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

In the championship round, Tai faced South Korea's An Se-young, whom she competed against 14 times, with three wins and 10 losses. Tai won their previous matchup, the semifinals of the BWF World Tour Finals in December 2023, in three hard-fought games.

Tai started strong against An in the championship match, capitalizing upon her opponent’s errors to win the first game. However, An rebounded in the second game, leading to a hard-fought third and decisive final game that was separated by only one point towards the end.

Tai eventually lost by a score of 18-21.

As the runner-up in the Malaysia Open, Tai earned 10,200 ranking points, putting her overall tally at 93,736 points. With Japan’s Yamaguchi Akane failing to defend the title, her overall point total will be set at 93,517, leading Tai to be ranked third in the world when the latest world rankings are announced on Tuesday (Jan. 16).