KUALA LUMPUR: Shuttler Goh Jin Wei ran out of gas in the Vietnam Open final today.
The two-time former world junior champion, who was exhausted from her semi-final bout a day earlier, fell 21-15, 21-16 to Vietnam's sixth seed Nguyen Thuy Linh.
Saying Jin Wei had given her all in the last four tie against another homester, Tran Thi Phuong Thuy, her coach, Nova Armada said: "We must accept defeat today, Jin Wei was completely drained from her semi-final match.
"It's alright, we will go again. In Jin Wei's case, it's a matter of being patience.
"The target here was to reach the semi-finals, so there's no shame in defeat in the final."
Nova reiterated that the ultimate goal is to see Jin Wei make the cut for the 2024 Paris Olympics. "We still have time. Hopefully we can get Jin Wei up to a standard where she can fight hard for the rest of next year to reach the Olympics."
Jin Wei, 23, who turned professional earlier this year after making a U-turn on her decision to retire, will compete in two more lower-tier tournaments in Indonesia on Oct 11-23 before heading to Germany for the Hylo Open on Nov 1-6.
FINAL RESULTS
Men's singles: Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) bt Sun Fei Xiang (Chn) 10-21, 21-14, 21-17.
Men's doubles: Ren Xiang Yu-Tan Qiang (Chn) bt He Ji Ting-Zhao Hao Dong (Chn) 17-21, 21-18, 21-8.
Women's singles: Nguyen Thuy Linh (Vie) bt Goh Jin Wei 21-15, 21-16.
Women's doubles: Benyapa Aimsaard-Nuntakarn Aimsaard (Tha) bt Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi (Ina) 21-16, 27-25.
Mixed doubles: Dejan Ferdinansyah-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (Ina) bt Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto-Lisa Ayu Kusumawati (Ina) 21-13, 21-18.