3 min readUpdated: Jan 31, 2026 11:52 PM IST
Young Indian shuttler Devika Sihag continued her fine run at the Thailand Masters and defeated World number 35 Huang Yu-Hsun to enter her maiden Super 300 final on Saturday. This is her second big win after she stunned top-seed and world number 16 Supanida Katethong in the quarterfinal on Friday.
The 20-year-old unseeded Indian, who claimed her maiden BWF International Challenge title at the Malaysia International last year, registered a 22-20, 21-13 win over the fifth-seeded Huang in the women’s singles semifinal.
Before facing Huang, whom she was facing for the first time, Devika had said she would have to be ‘more good at my defence as well as be able to attack’. She started well, sticking to the plan against her higher-ranked opponent, but made a few unforced errors, giving Huang a lead of 18-14. After Huang took two points and made it 20-15 in her favour, it looked like Devika was down and out. However, she saved five game points to seal the opener and continued the momentum in the second game.
The Taiwanese shuttler came under pressure once Devika started saving game points, and at 20-21, smashed one wide to hand the Indian the first game. “After saving the five game points in the opening game, I was thinking of playing positively, and it worked well for me. I was pushing her into rallies, and she was making mistakes, which gave me confidence for the rest of the match,” Devika said after her win.
In the second game, despite making some unforced errors early on, Devika managed to open up a lead of 8-5 and never gave her opponent a chance to come back. She engaged her in long rallies and fed off the mistakes made by the Taiwanese shuttler. Devika sealed the second game with a smash, setting up the summit clash against Goh Jin Wei of Malaysia.
“It is my first Super 300 final, so I am excited and happy. But at the same time, I want to remain focussed so that I can give my best in tomorrow’s match as it is the final. So I just want to give my all and hope I will win the match,” Devika said.
Currently ranked number 63 in the world, she carries the unpredictability and explosiveness of a typical attacking player, but much work has gone into her training by Indonesian Irwansyah, Vimal Kumar and Sagar Chopda.
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