Young Indian shuttler Devika Sihag clinched her maiden BWF Super 300 title after Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei retired midway through the women’s singles final at the Thailand Masters, a US$250,000 event, on Sunday.
The 20-year-old from Haryana was leading 21-8, 6-3 when world No. 68 Goh, a two-time former junior world champion, pulled out with a hamstring injury to hand the Indian the biggest title of her career.
Devika, world No. 63, trains under coach Umendra Rana at the Padukone-Dravid Center for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru and is also honing her game alongside two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu under Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratam.
The final brought ecstasy for Devika but agony for her opponent Goh, who looked exhausted after four long three-match matches before the final.
On Sunday, the Malaysian looked visibly tired as her movement was laborious. Goh, who has struggled for form and fitness for the past two years and complained of fatigue on Saturday, struggled to move around the court, often troubled by a left leg that wouldn’t move.
In a solid start, Devika opened up a 4-0 lead using her deep returns and mixing up her shots well. A lucky net line helped Goh record her first point. The Indian’s ability to produce cross-court smashes and direct smashes along with drops from the same action helped her fool her opponent as she zoomed to 9-2.
An accurate smash followed by another beautiful strike helped her take an 11-4 lead into the break. The first convincing shot was a body smash from Goh, but Devika forced her to scramble up the court as the Malaysian simply couldn’t read the Indian.
Devika continues her rapid rise
The Malaysian looked exhausted and didn’t seem to have the fuel to go through the onslaught Devika put her through. It was a one-way affair as Devika held 13 game points with an excellent cross over the net.
Another backhand net sealed the cross country for the Indian. After switching sides, Devika moved into a 6-3 lead when her opponent looked uncomfortable and eventually decided to retire.
Virgo’s ascendant on the circuit is steady. She won her first international title at the Malaysia International in August 2025 and later contributed to India’s mixed team bronze at the 2025 World University Games.
She finished second at the Indonesia Masters Super 100 last season and reached four finals in 2024, winning the Swedish Open and the Portugal International, while finishing second at the Estonian International and the Dutch International.
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Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
February 1, 2026