Mixed doubles stars Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai defeated Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan on Sunday to claim another threepeat in badminton at the same venue.
The Thai duo beat their arch-rivals 21-19, 21-11 in 40 minutes in the title match of the BWF World Tour Finals in Bali.
It was their third consecutive crown on the resort island after winning the Indonesia Masters and Indonesia Open at the Bali International Convention Centre.
In fact, it was their fourth straight title if the victory at the Hylo Open in Germany on Nov 7 is counted
Dechapol and Sapiree scored the first hat-trick of victories in January when they swept three titles in Bangkok.
The pair have met their Japanese rivals five times this year and beat them in the last two outings, including the Indonesia Open on Nov 28 and the World Tour Finals on Sunday.
They received US$126,000 (4 million baht) from the win on Sunday.
Badminton Association of Thailand president Patama Leeswadtrakul said the Thai players had demonstrated their high playing standard and kept their composure throughout the match.
“With their excellent form and mental and physical fitness, I am confident that the two will continue their run at the world championships,” she added.
The Spanish city of Huelva will host the badminton finale this year at the BWF World Champions tournament from Dec 12-19.
Thailand has another representative in the BWF World Tour Finals in Bali: Kunlavut Vitidsarn will be fighting for the men’s singles crown with Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen