Ratchanok is world champ!!

Unbelievable! 18-year-old Ratchanok Intanon from Thailand played like a veteran today to become the women?s world champion in a thrilling two sets to one win over Chinese top seed Li Xuerui in Guangzhou, China.

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Thailand's Ratchanok Inthanon celebrates a point while playing against P. V. Sindhu of India yesterdat during their women's singles semi-final match at the World Badminton Championships in Guangzhou. She won that match and then went on to become the youngest-ever woman's world champion by defeating number one seed Li Xuerui of China.

Ratchanok is world champ!!

She's only 18, but she is already on top of the badminton world. Ratchanok Intanon played like a veteran today, keeping her composure to become the women’s world champion in a thrilling two sets to one win over Chinese top seed Li Xuerui in Guangzhou, China.

Nong Mei raises her trophy at the podium after defeating China's Li Xuerui during their women's singles final match at the 2013 Badminton World Championships in Guangzhou on Sunday. (Reuters photo)

The fourth-seeded Nakhon Pathom native – a triple world junior champion – came from far behind (12-19) to win the first set 22-20, then lost a close second set 18-21 and then powered by her rival 20-14 in the final set to cause one of the biggest upsets in world badminton this year.

Ratchanok briefly burst into tears after her Chinese rival's final return landed just wide, perhaps thinking of just how far she had come from her humble beginnings as the daughter of factory workers.

Ratchanok, better known as Nong Mei, learned the game on the factory badminton courts where she was sent to keep her away from cooking furnaces. The owners of the factory producing dessert foods were worried she would be burned by boiling water and hot sugar.

Success come quickly for the young protégé . She won her first title at the age of seven and, in 2009, aged 14, Ratchanok became the youngest-ever champion at the BWF World Junior Championships in Malaysia. She went on to win two more junior world titles.

It's hard to imagine what lies ahead for the youngest-ever woman's world champion.

European doubles champion Gill Clark on Saturday, the day before the final, predicted Ratchanok and her young Indian rival, who is also 18, would take the sport to a new level.

Sindhu, the No. 10 seed, had earlier stunned defending champion Wang Shixian of China in the quarter-finals. However, she was unable to match Ratchanok's power and precision Saturday.

"They have the skills and the shot variation. Consistency used to win in the women's game, but it won't win now," Clark, now a TV commentator, said.

"When you watch the top men players you can't tell which way the shuttle's going to come, and it's exciting. Now it's the same thing for the women."

Adapted from stories in today's Bangkok Post and bangkokpost.com