Kunlavut wins BWF World Championships badminton title

The world’s 3rd ranked badminton player, Kunlavut Vitidsarn, became the first Thai player to be crowned men’s singles world champion at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships, after beating Japan’s Kodai Naraoka 2 sets to 1 (19-21, 21-18, 21-7) in the final on Sunday (August 27).

In a battle of 22-year-olds, world No. 4 Naraoka won the first game at Copenhagen’s Royal Arena, but the third-ranked Kunlavut came back to win the second set.

In the 3rd and final set, Kunlavut scored 10 straight points, which proved too much for Naraoka.

Kunlavut was happy to win the tough match and attributed his success to his ability to control his nerves.

Earlier in his career, Kunlavut won three World Junior championships, taking home the titles in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and becoming the first male singles player to achieve this feat.