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Carolina Marin of Spain, left, and Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, poses with their medals after the women's singles final of the Malaysia Masters badminton tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Sun. Jan. 20. (AP/PTI)[/caption]
Kuala Lumpur, Jan. 20 (IANS): Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon beat Spanish badminton star Carolina Marin 21-9, 22-20 here on Sunday, clinching the Malaysia Masters final in just 42 minutes.
Heading into the final, Marin had won three of her last four matches against Intanon, reports Efe news.
The Thai, seeded No. 6 in the tournament, dominated the match from the start, jumping to a quick 6-1 lead and never letting Marin back into the set.
Marin played better in the second set, grabbing a 10-7 lead before Intanon managed to tie it at 12-12.
The players went back and forth, with Marin making a huge push and going up 19-18.
Intanon, however, was not to be denied and she managed to edge Marin and take the title.
Intanon had a spectacular run in Malaysia, upsetting top-ranked Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan and defeating 18-year-old home crowd favorite Goh Jin Wei of Malaysia 21-16, 21-16 in Saturday's second semi-final.