Thailand’s Kunlavut becomes badminton world champ in men’s singles
For decades, Badminton legends Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan dominated the men’s singles category. Now after their retirement, young stars are looking to take their place, and in 2023, Kunlavut Vitidsarn is aiming for the top spot with his win at the 2023 BWF World Championships.
Here’s what you need to know about the young star and his victory.
A butt-clenching three-set win in the finals
Image credit: @kunlavut.v via Instagram
When you’re a sports fan, you always wish for close and intense games. But Thais around the country were hoping for a smoother victory on 27th August 2023 after Kunlavut, more commonly known in Thailand by his nickname View, lost the first set 19-21.
It certainly didn’t help when he trailed early in the second set. But he pushed on to win it by only 3 points at 21-18.
It was smooth sailing after that as his fourth-seeded Japanese rival Naraoka could not find an answer to Kunlavut’s form. The match ended with a lopsided third-set win by Kunlavut at 21-7, making the 22-year-old Thailand’s first badminton men’s singles champion.
A tournament stacked with young hopefuls
Image credit: @kunlavut.v via Instagram
Kunlavut is one of the young players eyeing to become the next dominant force in men’s singles after the retirement of Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei left the field wide open. After a steady rise to the top, the young shuttler has finally made his mark on the world stage.
Other young hopefuls that fell just short this time around include home favourite and previous year’s winner Victor Axelsen who was seeded 1st, Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting and Jonathan Christie seeded 2nd and 5th, respectively, as well as the 4th-seeded Kodai Naraoka from Japan.
No stranger to the big stage
Image credit: @kunlavut.v via Instagram
Although this is no doubt his biggest win to date, Kunlavut is no stranger to being at the top. Prior to his explosive entrance into the professional stage, he was a dominant force in the junior category.
From 2017-2019, Kunlavut was the BWF World Junior Champion. His three-year run at the top also included a win over Kodai Naraoka in 2018, who once again found himself bested by Kunlavut.
After joining the highest level of competition, he has slowly accumulated momentum and titles in his ascent to the top. In 2021, he won the men’s singles gold at the Southeast Asian Games over Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew. He also came 2nd at last year’s World Championships where he was bested by Denmark’s Victor Axelsen.
His win this week has put him on top of a hill of very hungry shuttlers.
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Cover image adapted from: @kunlavut.v via Instagram