PARIS — Kunlavut Vitidsarn has made history by advancing to the Olympics men’s singles badminton finals for the first time in Thai national badminton team history, and created an opportunity to compete for a gold medal.
“In the final, I will control my emotions and excitement and do my best. The only thing I need to do now is to focus and perform my role perfectly. I want to reach the gold medal,” he said.
Thailand’s top men’s badminton player also said that his plan for the final match will be to use his usual style, which is to focus on an offensive game because if he plays defensively, he’ll lose points and games. However, he will play cautiously because being too aggressive is not good either.
Kunlavut, nicknamed “View,” will face Denmark’s Victor Axelsen on August 5, after beating Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia 21-14 and 21-15 in the semifinal match on Sunday, Aug. 4 in Paris.
He said his performance in the semifinal was another good day where he could make his opponent play his game and win in straight sets.
“The Olympics is always something great. It’s very difficult to qualify, and the competition is tough because we don’t know what our physical condition will be like in the 4-year gap between each Olympics. I consider myself very lucky that my body is still in good shape,” Kunlavut said.
He also mentioned that the Olympic competition is much more exciting compared to all other tournaments he has participated in, even more than the World Championships. As a professional athlete who usually competes continuously every day of a tournament, the Olympic schedule with rest days allows him to maintain good physical condition.
Not only is he in good physical shape, but Kunlavut also revealed that he has good moral support from Liverpool, his favorite football club. In the round of 16, when he defeated Kenta Nishimoto from Japan, he mentioned in an interview that Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal in a friendly match gave him encouragement.
For the semifinal, before even mentioning his own victory, he jokingly referred to Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Manchester United in a friendly match, saying, “3-0, sir.”
Another important source of encouragement for him is his girlfriend, Pim Aphisara, who traveled to France to support him from the round of 16 and quarterfinals. She said she’s happy that her boyfriend has reached the final.
“View has been training hard and trying his best all along. I think View will definitely get the gold medal. I want to encourage him. I think he’s mentally prepared now, and all that’s left is his performance on the court, which I think he can control,” Pim said.
According to information from the Badminton Association of Thailand and the Banthongyord Badminton School, Kunlavut was born on May 11, 2001. He is the son of Nattawat Vitidsarn, a badminton coach, and his mother is named Natkanok. He has one younger sister, Sarunrak Vitidsarn, who is also a badminton player.
Kunlavut began playing badminton at the age of 7, as he had to follow his father to the court. Initially, Kunlavut played badminton for fun. Additionally, due to having allergies, he played sports to maintain good health and strengthen his body.
Later, Kunlavut began to train seriously in badminton to compete at the junior and youth levels within the country, as a member of the Sena Nikhom Badminton Club.
Kunlavut made history as the first Thai male badminton player to win the World Junior Championships three times in 2017-2019, similar to what “May” Ratchanok Intanon, a senior Thai female badminton player, achieved in 2009-2011.
In 2021, he performed impressively, becoming a key player in the national team, winning runner-up in the “Yonex Swiss Open 2021” and receiving the “Eddy Choong Most Promising Player of the Year” award for 2020/2021.
He became the first Thai badminton player to reach the men’s singles final in the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2021, facing Victor Axelsen, world No. 1 from Denmark, before claiming the runner-up position and receiving a prize of 60,000 USD.
However, in 2022, Kunlavut lost to Axelsen in the “Total BWF World Championships 2022” in Tokyo, Japan. Nevertheless, he made history as the first Thai male badminton player to win a silver medal in the singles category at the World Championships.
In 2023, Kunlavut rose to claim his first World Championship title, making history as the first Thai male singles player to win a World Championship. He became the fourth Thai badminton player to win a World Championship, following “May” Ratchanok, “Bass” Dechapol Puavaranukroh, and “Popor” Sapsiree Taerattanachai in 2021.
He has now further elevated the success of the Thai national badminton team.
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