Thai badminton star Kunlavut Vitidsarn, competing in the Olympics for the first time, lost to Victor Axelsen of Denmark in straight sets, 21-11 and 21-11, in the men’s singles final, earning him a silver medal.
Kunlavut, 23, has become the first Thai badminton player to reach the Olympic final and win an Olympic medal.
His journey to gold saw him score a surprise 21-12, 21-10 victory over China’s top player Shi Yu Qi in the quarter-final on August 3, and beat Zii Jia of Malaysia 21-14, 21-15 in the semi-final on August 4.
Kunlavut’s dream of winning a gold medal was thwarted by Axelsen, the world number one and two-time World Champion.
Kunlavut Vitidsarn’s FB
Kunlavut Vitidsarn’s FB
Kunlavut Vitidsarn’s FB
After the final match, Thai netizens flooded social media platforms with messages of support for Kunlavut, mostly expressing pride and saying, “We are proud of you and you did your best.”
When Kunlavut defeated Shi, he became a sensation on Thai social networks and featured in headlines across international and Thai media.
Images celebrating victories over his Chinese and Malaysian opponents were liked and shared thousands of times, and his story was widely circulated.
Kunlavut’s friendly character has further boosted his popularity.
A TikTok user posted a clip showing Kunlavut leaving a stadium in Paris. Upon seeing a line of fans waiting, he greeted them with “Wo ai ni,” or “I Love You” in Mandarin.
The fans fell silent for a moment before erupting in delight. Even Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, chairwoman of Thai Badminton Association, who was near him, was seen to burst into laughter.
The Thai media have nicknamed Kunlavut the “Prince of Three Games,” as he has often had to play three matches before eventually winning.
Many called tonight’s match against Axelsen a not-to-be-missed event.
Some said they would leave their offices early, to ensure that they could be home before the match began at 8.40pm.
Others joked that Bangkok’s roads would be empty as everyone would be home, preparing to watch the match.
Kunlavut, also known as View, is a product of Ban Thongyod Badminton School, where he began training at the age of 12, inspired by his desire to follow in the footsteps of Ratchanok Intanon.
Ratchanok, the first Thai badminton player to be ranked world number one and the first singles player to win three Super-series titles in three consecutive weeks, was trained at the same school.
Kunlavut is now reigning World Champion, since he won the gold medal at the 2023 World Championships. He is also a three-time World Junior champion, winning in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Kunlavut was the first men’s singles player to win three World Junior Championships titles, joining Ratchanok and Chen Qingchen as a three-time winners of the World Junior title in the same discipline.
He claimed the gold medal at the Asian Junior Championships in 2019, where he won a silver in 2018 and bronze in 2017.
He participated at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics and was part of team Omega, which took the silver medal in the mixed team event. He was named the 2020/2021 Eddy Choong Most Promising Player.
In the senior category, he won the silver medal at the 2022 World Championships and, in the following year, the gold medal at the 2023 World Championships.
He became the first Thai player to win the World Championship title in the men’s singles category and he clinched the gold medal at the 2021 SEA Games, reaching a career high of world number 3 in June 2023.
Photo: Kunlavut Vitidsarn in action//Reuters
