Taiwan's Tai Tzu-ying to face Thai rival at Bangkok badminton open

Taipei, Dec. 30 (CNA) World No. 1 female badminton player Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) pledged on Tuesday to do her best and "fight until the end" after the draw for the upcoming YONEX Thailand Open released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) earlier in the day showed that she will face Nitchaon Jindapol of Thailand in her opening game in Bangkok next month.

According to the draw in the women's singles announced by the BWF, Tai, 26, will face world No. 22 Nitchaon in the first-round game of the open that will take place Jan. 12-17.

The Taiwanese shuttler has the edge over her Thai rival, as she has won eight out of the nine matches the two have played so far.

In a Tuesday Instagram post, Tai admitted that she is a little anxious about the tournament, as it will be her first appearance on the BWF World Tour since she clinched the title in the U.K. in March before the international sporting body's calendar was turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I am not sure if I am ready or not to leave our safe home in Taiwan to travel overseas for the tournament, as the world is still plagued by the pandemic."

"No matter what, I will fight until the end because I am Tai Tzu-ying and I will never quit," she posted.

Meanwhile, World No. 2 Chou Tien-chen (周天成) will face No. 39 Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand and No. 12 Wang Tzu-wei (王子維) will play No. 37 Brice Leverdez of France in their respective opening matches in the men's singles.

Chou and Wang are Taiwan's top two male players.

Chou has a career 4-3 record against Tanongsak and has won their four most recent matches.