India Open 2025: Career twilights notwithstanding, the fire still burns bright for Ratchanok-Okuhara

Intanon Ratchanok and Nozomi Okuhara are old rivals. It’s a professional tug-of-war that goes back nearly a decade. They first faced each other when both were just out of their teens at the 2015 Malaysia Open, with Okuhara emerging victorious. Ratchanok and Okuhara have, overall, sparred in major events at least 16 times with the latter holding the edge courtesy a 12-4 victory record.

This time, however, it was Ratchanok’s day with the Thai winning 21-13, 21-15 in the first round of the Indian Open World Tour 750 event at New Delhi’s KD Jadhav Stadium on Tuesday.

Match over though and there’s nothing but goodwill between the two players. In the mixed zone at the stadium, the pair hammed it up for the cameras. Ratchanok even took a selfie with her own phone.

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Their camaraderie makes sense. Both know that while they might have been opponents on the day and one was bound to win, their common fight is against Father Time and he doesn’t lose to anyone.

Not even if you have been as good as either Ratchanok or Okuhara.

Ratchanok after winning her round
| Photo Credit:
AFP

Injury troubles

Both players are 29 years old, with the Thai about a month older. Ratchanok, who made her international debut in 2008 will go down as one of the most graceful players of her generation. Okuhara, who first played for the Japanese team in 2010, was one of the most driven, overcoming her tiny frame with relentless retrieving persistence. Both have climbed to the top of the world rankings. They have the metal to show for it – Ratchanok with a world title in 2013 while Okuhara won her world title in 2019.

Twilight has, however, arrived. Their bodies aren’t nearly as fleet or as strong as they once used to be.

Ratchanok suffered injuries to her heel and ankle that made it hard for her to hit overhead shots. Meanwhile, when Okuhara was asked about her injuries she wryly commented through an interpreter that the list was long – from stress fractures to her femur and meniscus tears to long term knee damage, she’s dealt with more than her fair share.

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“Like what I say, we are getting older and we are not at the same speed as before when we were teenagers,” Ratchanok said after the match.

The spirit is as willing as ever though.

“I feel that she is a very strong fighter,” Ratchanok said describing Okuhara.. “It’s quite hard for her sometimes. She has a good skill, but she’s just small. That’s why she has to push it hard, but she has also come back from injury. I think when you’re injured, you have to push. I hope that she can come back stronger,” she added. .

It’s sometimes hard to understand why Okuhara is still competing. Surely, she has the right to choose when she wants to step aside but she has accomplished almost everything there is to achieve in badminton. She has gold medals at the World Championships and Asian Games and a bronze at the Olympics. Of the two, it is probably Ratchanok who is the more tragic figure. Her World Championship gold aside, she’s inexplicably never won a medal at the Olympics, coming up short with a quarterfinal loss to another magical player, Tai Tzu Ying, in the quarterfinals of the Paris Games.

Nozomi Okuhara at the India Open
| Photo Credit:
AFP

When to say goodbye

But while Tai has all but called time on her career, both Okuhara and Ratchanok continue to grind it out on the courts.

They have their reasons. For Okuhara, it is about proving she can still hang in there with the best of a new generation of players. Even if it means taking what must surely be soul-sucking losses early in tournaments (she also lost in the first round of the Malaysia Open last week).

“I think if I can catch up with my physical condition, then I can still fight. I want to catch up with the same generation of fighters. I am motivated by the fact that I want to come back to the top and also by my fans who keep supporting me all the time. I think what I enjoy the most is that I am getting the opportunity to play at this kind of level against this quality of opponents,” she said after the loss to her Thai adversary here.

For Ratchanok, it is just satisfying to be able to play for its own sake. “I think if I’m still happy, I just do it. I know that I earn a lot in badminton. That’s also a reason for why I’m still playing. I also think that I’m happy enough to play even if I’m tired with my training,” she chimed in.

Ratchanok knows that eventually, all her spirit won’t be enough to push her body past its physical limits.

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“I know that I will have to retire but I want to retire not because I have an injury but because I was happy with everything I have done. That is enough for me. So if you want to know when I want to retire, I don’t really have any answer,” she explained.

Ratchanok has a reputation of being one of the nicest players on the international circuit. So when she tries to tell you that she draws joy from knowing that the generations coming through still aren’t quite up there with the likes of herself and Tai skillwise, she is as polite about it a possible.

“It’s difficult to say if I see the same kinds of skill that Tai Tzu Ying or I had in this generation. Some players have good handwork, but their footwork is not very good. If their foot work is good then their hand work isn’t there. I think our skills were God’s gift to us. Both of us had both footwork and hand ability. It came automatically. There are times when I try to explain to some of the junior players how to move around the court but it’s hard for them to understand,” she explained.

For the time being, Ratchanok wants to focus only on herself and the goals she has pencilled out for herself.

“This year I’m focused on getting into the top 8 of the world rankings so every match is important for me. I don’t want to just think of tournaments like the All England or World Championships. I just want to control my results. I want to get to the quarter finals at least and after that take it round by round,” she said.

If she does dare to dream, it is for the one accomplishment that’s eluded her. “I still hope for an Olympic medal but I don’t know if I can play in the next Olympics or not. I think I can play for the next two years only. After that I’m going to see again if I can continue further,” she admitted.