Malaysia Masters 2024 will be spiced up by Axelsen and Ratchanok

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Masters 2024, will get underway at Axiata Arena here on Tuesday, is predicted to be a thrilling event as Thai badminton champion Ratchanok Intanon and Danish ace Viktor Axelsen battle it out for revenge.

The top seed is Axelsen, the 2018 men’s singles champion; the fourth seed is Ratchanok, the winner in both 2018 and 2019.

The 30-year-old former world champion Axelsen’s best results this year have come from quarterfinal appearances at the European Championship and the Malaysia Open.

The world’s top player and current Olympic champion will face tough competition in the Malaysia Masters from players like Anders Antonsen of Denmark, ranked fourth and the second seed, Li Shi Feng of China, ranked sixth, Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, ranked eighth, and Loh Kean Yew of Singapore, ranked thirteenth.

Lee Zii Jia, ranked 10th in the world, will spearhead the Malaysian challenge.

Before the Paris Olympics start on July 26, Ratchanok, who has been struggling despite winning the Spain Masters 2024, would undoubtedly want to put up a strong performance to move up to number 12.

She will, however, have difficult competition from two Chinese players: world number eight Wang Zhi Yi and top seed Han Yue of China. She will also face Zhang Beiwen of the United States (ranked 10) and PV Sindhu of India (ranked 14).

“Players will use this year’s competition as a warm-up for the Olympics, so it promises to be fiercely contested, much like last year, which witnessed many thrilling matches with lengthy rallies.

The Malaysia Masters 2024 promoters announced in a statement today that “despite being just a Super 500 tournament following the Olympic qualifying period, it has managed to attract four singles players in the world’s top 10.”