Ratchanok Intanon turned back the clock as the Thai star claimed her third Malaysia Masters title in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
The Thai second seed stunned top seed and world No.4 Chen Yufei of China 21-17, 21-15 in 51 minutes to complete a hat-trick of titles in the Malaysian capital seven years after her second in 2019.
She was tied with India's Pusarla V Sindhu and China's Wang Zhiyi on two titles each heading into the tournament.
The 31-year-old became the second most successful singles player behind Malaysian badminton icon Lee Chong Wei, who holds five.
The victory -- her first since the 2025 Kumamoto Masters Japan in November last year -- extended Ratchanok's perfect record in the final of the Super 500 tournament. She has now won all of her title deciders in 2018, 2019 and 2026.
With the victory, Ratchanok ended a run of four straight defeats against Chen, although the Chinese still holds a massive 19-4 lead in their head-to-head record. She last beat the former Olympic champion at the 2022 Malaysia Open prior to Sunday's meeting.
Ratchanok received US$37,500 (approx 1,225,500 baht) winner's cheque while Chen got $19,000 (620,920 baht).
However another Thai hope Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul failed in his bid to win his maiden Super 500 title after he lost to China's fifth seed Li Shifeng, who retained his men's singles crown with a 21-16, 21-17 win in 50 minutes.
The 21-year-old rising star has shown impressive form this year and reached the finals at the Indonesia Masters (Super 500) and the Thailand Masters (Super 300). His performance in Kuala Lumpur should boost his world rankings this week.
Mixed doubles players Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai missed out on their first title as a pair after they were beaten by China's third seeds Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui 13-21, 21-15, 11-21 in 58 minutes.
Sixth seeds Chen Fanshutian and Luo Xumin of China took the women's doubles crown after beating Sayaka Hirota and Ayako Sakuramoto of Japan 21-16, 25-23 in the final. Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard of Denmark downed Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin of Malaysia 21-16, 21-17 in the men's doubles decider.
