Thailand Open 2023: Carolina Marin cruises into second round
Marin will face Ashmita Chaliha of India in the second around in the tournament that the Spaniard won two years ago.
Badminton
Spain’s badminton star Carolina Marin beat Pitchamon Opatniputh (Thailand) 21-17, 21-13 in her opening match on Wednesday (31 May) at the BWF Super 1000 event in Bangkok.
The Rio 2016 Olympic champion was back in action after winning the Orléans Masters last month - and the fourth seed was in control throughout the entire match.
The three-time world champion raced to a 11-4 lead but Opatniputh managed to get back to 18-17, before Marin stepped up and took the next four points.
Marin benefitted from numerous errors in the second game to secure the win in just 39 minutes.
The number four seed will now face India's Ashmita Chaliha on Thursday (1 June) for a place in the quarter-finals.
In men’s singles. Malaysian Ng Tze Yong defeated Priyanshu Rajawat of India 21-19, 21-10 to set up a second-round match with top seed Tien Chen Chou.
The Thailand Open will conclude on Sunday (4 June).