Badminton News: Men’s singles badminton player Kunlavut Vitidsarn has reported a return to his best performance after winning the Thailand Open World Tour Super 500 tournament title.

The home favorite picked up a dominating 21-12 21-10 victory over Hong Kong world number 17 Lee Cheuk Yiu in the final at Bangkok’s Huamark Indoor Stadium yesterday.

World number 5 Kunlavut had to fight tooth and nail to beat defending Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen of India 13-21, 21-17, 21-13 in the semi-final the day before but had a lot more ease in the final and gave the fans a host of joy.

It was the 22-year-old’s first title since winning the India Open World Tour Super 750 in January.

Kunlavut Vitidsarn injured his ankle after the tournament in India and struggled to get into shape.

The 2022 World Championships silver medalist has failed to top the opening stages of any individual tournament since then, but has shown he is back to his best in his home tournament.

Meanwhile, mixed doubles duo Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai failed to make a double win for the home fans when they were beaten 21-11, 19-21 and 20-22 by duo no. 9 from South Korea Kim Won-ho / Jeong Na-eun in a thrilling final.

World number 2 Dechopol-Sapsiree won the Malaysia Masters last week and looks set to claim a second title in a row after winning the opener with ease.

The Korean pair, however, refused to give up and continued to pressure the hosts and their perseverance paid off.

It was Won-ho/Na-eun’s first title on the World Tour after finishing second twice at the German Open in March and the Australian Open last November.

Article Tags: Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Thailand Open 2023