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| - Former world number one Ratchanok Intanon landed a crucial victory over Indian star PV Sindhu at badminton's World Tour Finals in Bangkok on Thursday. It was a double victory for Thailand's hopes, as 13th seed Pornpawee Chochuwong also booked a semi-final spot after a shock win over Taiwan's top-ranked Tai Tzu-ying. Intanon trailed for most of the first game against Sindhu, but with a combination of balletic footwork and killer instinct, managed to come back to win 21-18. The 25-year-old Thai then took the second game 21-13 to claim the match. "I just want to keep going and focus on winning, point-by-point," Intanon said afterwards. "It wasn't my day," said Sindhu. "Losing the first game made the difference. My timing was a bit off, so a bit disappointed." Both players were coming off an initial loss in the round-robin tournament; Sindhu, the Rio Olympics silver medallist, was beaten by Tai in a three-game thriller on Wednesday. Fifth seed Intanon was upset by Chochuwong in three games on Wednesday too. On Thursday, Chochuwong, 22, went into her match having never won a game against Tai in previous encounters, but won 21-17, 21-11 in 37 minutes. "I made a lot of mistakes and couldn't control the game. I felt tired also and that affected my performance," Tai said. An ecstatic Chochuwong said her confidence has risen. "When I had a chance, I took it. I didn't think too far ahead about who I was playing. Because Tai is a top player, everyone might think she's sure to beat me but today I fought and passed over that feeling that I wouldn't be able to do it," Chochuwong said. Earlier, Carolina Marin -- looking for a hat-trick of titles -- marched towards a swift victory over Canada's tenth-ranked Michelle Li 21-16, 21-13. In the men's singles, Denmark's Viktor Axelsen finished off Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia 21-15, 21-4 in 32 minutes. The win books Axelsen -- who like Marin is looking for a third trophy in three weeks -- a spot in the semi-finals. He'll be joined by Taiwan's second seed Chou Tien-chen who beat Indonesia's Anthony Ginting 21-19, 21-11. Taiwan's 12th-ranked Wang Tzu-wei was victorious over India's 14th seed Srikanth Kidambi in a three-game match that lasted 78 minutes, finishing 19-21, 21-9, 21-19. The delayed 2020 season finale is the third tournament behind closed doors in three weeks in Bangkok, as badminton resumes after months of coronavirus cancellations. The top eight players in all singles and doubles disciplines are contesting this week's tournament, but China and Japan are absent because of coronavirus problems. Despite the strict biosecurity arrangements, four people inside the tournament "bubble" have tested positive, including two players who were forced to withdraw. lpm/fox/reb
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