PARIS — “Coming to the Olympics for the first time and winning a medal, even if it’s not gold, is not a bad thing. From now on, I will try to go back and continue developing myself,” said “View” Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Thai star badminton player.
He received the silver medal in the match where he lost to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen 21-11, 21-11. This achievement also propelled him to world No. 4 in the badminton rankings, up from No. 8.
Kunlavut, 23, made history by winning the first Olympic medal for the Thai national badminton team, and it’s the first medal for Thailand at the Paris Olympics 2024. This made Thai fans across the country who watched the live broadcast of the competition rejoice, even though it wasn’t a gold medal.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is one supporter who immediately posted a message praising “View” Kunlavut after the match ended.
“The silver medal that View Kunlavut won in these Olympics is a medal of pride. I believe it will inspire many new generation children to play badminton more. Thank you, View, for your sacrifice and dedication of body and mind in training for the nation. Congratulations on this success as well. There’s really nothing to regret. Fight again next time. You are a hero to all Thai people,” the Prime Minister said.
Kunlavit said Axelsen, who defeated him 21-11, 21-11, really played better than he did. He’s not yet at the level where he can beat the Danish player and still needs to continue learning.
“He’s always played this style against me. Perfect in everything. He’s still the best now, I have to admit. In the second game, I knew I couldn’t fight against his game plan. At that time, I wasn’t thinking about anything, just playing according to my thoughts, trying to find other ways to play to create more new game plans.”
Axelsen, the 30-year-old from Denmark defended his men’s singles title after defeating Kunlavit in the final in just 52 minutes. He became the first European to win back-to-back badminton singles gold at the Olympics. Like in Tokyo three years ago, his medal in Paris is the only one earned by a European in the sport.
He celebrated by running around the court and waving the red-and-white Danish flag over his head. Fans in the stands chanted, “Viktor! Viktor!”
Axelsen later celebrated on the podium of the men’s singles badminton with silver medalist Kunlavut Vitidsarn and bronze medalist Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia.
Kunlavut said after Olympics, he still has the Japan Open tournament at the end of August, and after that, he’ll probably take a break because the Olympics are quite tiring, judging from the 10-day competition period. When he gets back to Thailand, he’ll probably sleep for a full 2 days.
He also said that he wants to maintain his best form in every tournament. As seen from the beginning of the year until now, he still hasn’t won any championships, his form has been up and down. So from now on, he wants to control his form to be at its best.
Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Vice President of the Badminton World Federation, and President of the Badminton Association of Thailand, posted a message saying that although View Kunlavut lost, he has won the hearts of Thai people and fought to his fullest potential.
“His silver medal win in the 2024 Olympic Games is considered a historic moment for Thai badminton in 32 years, after the sport was first included in the Olympics in 1992.
In addition, View will receive a reward from the government through the National Sports Development Fund, Sports Authority of Thailand (NSDF) totaling 6,000,000 baht ($170,000) if paid in a single installment, or 7,200,000 baht ($200,000) if divided into payments, with 50% paid upfront and the remaining 50% paid monthly over 4 years,” she remarked.
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