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Indian Express
3 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Kunlavut Vitidsarn rises to the top: A new world No 1 in badminton men's singles as Thai shuttler reaches summit
There will be a new World No 1 in badminton as Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn confirmed his rise to the summit of men's singles. After his semifinal win at the Singapore Open Super 750 on Saturday, the reigning world champion will also become the world No 1 when the BWF rankings are updated on Tuesday. Vitidsarn overcame Lin Chun Yi in a near one-hour clash 21-11, 25-23 to set up a rematch of the Asian Championships final against China's Lu Guang Zu. Irrespecitve of the result on Sunday, he has earned enough points to topple Shi Yu Qi, who was knocked out earlier in the week by Lu. Vitidsarn continues to be the flagbearer for that brilliant junior Class of 2018 that includes Li Shi Feng, Kodai Naraoka and India's Lakshya Sen. The Thailand pioneer has won Olympic Games silver (losing to Viktor Axelsen last year in Paris), the World Championships gold & silver, the Asian Championships gold and now climbing to the top of the world ladder. The four men on the podium of the 2018 BWF World Junior Championships were: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (gold), Kodai Naraoka (silver), Lakshya Sen and Li Shi Feng (bronze). Lakshya and Li Shi Feng played the final of the Youth Olympic Games that year, with the Indian winning silver. And at the Asian Championships, Lakshya won gold while Vitidsarn won silver. Axelsen had good things to say about Vitidsarn after their battle in the World Championships final in 2022. 'Vitidsarn's a great guy, he's strong mentally and physically,' Axelsen said after his run to gold in Tokyo. 'I knew it would be a tough game. I'm happy with the way I responded to his gameplan in the second. He made it hard for me and I stiffened up a little bit, but I turned it around again. He's a cool guy, on and off the court. He's 21, and we've already played a few matches against each other, and also in other finals. I think there's many good things for him to come. Hopefully we can have many good matches in future.' Vitidsarn is no stranger to firsts. He won the Junior World Championships thrice, the first male shuttler to do so in singles. And at the Asian Championships earlier this year he became the first Thai men's singles champion in 63 years. And having achieved plenty in his career already, Vitidsarn set his sights on All England, where he is yet to taste success. 'I've won the Asian Youth Championship before, and to be able to win in the elite level is really very happy and very meaningful,' Vitidsarn had told BWF after his triumph in Ningbo. My next goal is to win the All England. I've won the World Championships and won a silver medal in the Olympics, but I've finished early at several All Englands so I hope to improve my performances at the All England Open next year.'
New Straits Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Jun Hao needs to be 'consistently world class'
KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 25 Leong Jun Hao once again beat a top 10 shuttler at this week's Singapore Open, but fans were left wishing for something more. And national singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen wants to see consistency from him. Jun Hao toppled Indonesia's world No. 5 Jonatan Christie 21-16, 21-19, but fell to Thailand's world No. 2 Kunlavut Vittidsarn 21-13, 21-11 in the quarter-finals. "Beating a top player is very important and at the same time, qualifying for a quarter-final in a World Tour 750 event gives him the opportunity to play another world-class player, Kunlavut," said Jonassen. "I believe consistency is the area which needs to be improved on. This ability to slightly adjust to another opponent with different strengths and weaknesses will help Jun Hao progress." Jun Hao, who received a walkover from China's world No. 27 Lei Lan Xi in the Singapore Open first round, upstaged Jonatan for the third time in five meetings. Jonassen commended Jun Hao for overcoming a slow start to deal with an aggressive Jonatan who recently turned professional. "I am truly happy with his performance and was surprised with the way he approached the game against Jonatan," said Jonassen. "I liked the aggression, his playing style and the attitude on court, but at the same time, showed the patience that was needed. And he took the opportunity." Last November, Jun Hao beat a string of world's top 20 players — India's Lakshya Sen (No. 17), Japan's Koki Watanabe (No. 14) and Kodai Naraoka (No. 8), and Jonatan before losing to China's world No. 4 Li Shi Feng in the Kumamoto Masters final in Japan. That remains his career best result, and the quarter-final in Singapore was his best effort this year. Badminton Mar 12, 2025 @ 3:18am Jun Hao laments nerves, lack of patience in All England exit Badminton May 30, 2025 @ 5:47am Kunlavut, Jun Hao were once equals, now they're worlds apart Badminton Feb 15, 2025 @ 5:00am Jun Hao has what it takes to be a world beater Badminton May 30, 2025 @ 5:07am Jun Hao falls to world champ Kunlavut at Singapore Open
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Reunited Tang Jie-Ee Wei fall in Singapore Open second round
KUALA LUMPUR: Mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei's return to the World Tour ended in the second round of the Singapore Open today. The world No. 4 suffered a 21-18, 21-18 defeat to Taiwan's world No. 21 Ye Hong Wei-Nicole Chan in 39 minutes. The Singapore Open was Tang Jie-Ee Wei's first World Tour event since their temporary split after the All England in March due to personal differences. Tang Jie partnered Chan Wen Tse while Ee Wei combined with Loo Bing Kun for the Taiwan Open (May 6-11) and Malaysia Masters last week. Tang Jie-Wen Tse reached the semi-finals while Bing Kun-Ee Wei reached the last eight at the Taiwan Open. Hong Wei-Nicole had also beaten Bing Kun-Ee Wei in the second round of the Malaysia Masters. The Indonesia Open on June 3-8 will be Tang Jie-Ee Wei's next tournament. The second-seeded Malaysians begin their campaign against India's world No. 16 Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto and are likely to face compatriots and world No. 5 Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai in the semi-finals.
The Star
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Jun Hao will need more than luck to survive test against Jonatan
PETALING JAYA: Luck does not come around often, and men's singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao cannot rely on it as he faces Asian champion Jonatan Christie in the second round of the Singapore Open today. Jun Hao got lucky in the first round yesterday when his Chinese opponent, Lei Lanxi, withdrew from the match, giving the Malaysian a walkover. National singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen said although Jun Hao was fortunate to avoid a tough first-round battle like other players, the real test will come against Jonatan today as the players fight for a place in the quarter-finals. 'I think you always take a free pass in the first round. Of course, you would like to play in the arena, but you can't get both. The next match is a good test to see if you've learned from your previous encounter,' said Jonassen. Jonatan advanced to the second round after defeating Ireland's Nhat Nguyen 23-21, 21-16 yesterday, redeeming himself from his early exit last year. The head-to-head record between Jun Hao and Jonatan is currently even, with both players having won twice in their four encounters. Their last meeting was at the first round of the All England in March, where Jonatan ended Jun Hao's debut at the world's oldest tournament in straight sets 21-11, 21-19. Jun Hao also faces pressure as the 25-year-old has yet to make a strong impact this year, failing to advance past the second round in any of the seven BWF World Tour events he has entered so far. Last year, he had an impressive run at the Singapore Open, defeating Kanta Tsuneyama in the first round and causing an upset by beating two-time champion Anthony Ginting in the second round before losing to Denmark's star Viktor Axelsen.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Singapore Open Super 750: In gutsy loss to World No. 2, lessons in taming drift for young Unnati Hooda
PV Sindhu, in her prime, did a good job of adjusting to the court drift conditions. The sheer discipline and patience needed to master conditions by big names like Kidambi Srikanth, Saina Nehwal or HS Prannoy and Satwik-Chirag are hugely underrated. It is something the new generation, beginning to play elite events, will need to decipher. Unnati Hooda came up against World No 2 Wang Zhi Yi on Wednesday at the Singapore Open Super 750. She was promptly schooled in how the changing winds can completely determine your destiny if you don't know how to demystify the drift. 'It was a big lesson for Unnati in how to play in big arenas because the drift helped her a lot at first, and then went against her later. Hopefully she learns with experience by playing repeatedly with the big names,' coach and father Upkar Hooda explained after the 21-13, 9-21, 15-21 loss in the 56-minute defeat to the current top Chinese. Zhi Yi is an All England finalist, won the Malaysian Masters last week and at 25, is far more experienced than the 17-year-old Indian. It was quite a headrush, hence, when Unnati went from 8-13 down in the opening set to hitting a proper purple patch where her attack literally slapped across the court, and she picked 13 points on the spin. 'We decided to increase the pace, and the attack was going so well with the drift. After changing the side, Unnati just couldn't control the shuttle,' Upkar said of the shuttle flying out of bounds. Massive arenas in Asia always extract a price on flamboyance, and Unnati, still new to the Super 750 levels, was still gauging her best counter to the A/C draughts – the invisible puppeteer of destinies. 'Unnati tried many things, sometimes tossing, sometimes playing down strokes. But she was playing a World No. 2 for the first time, she needed a new strategy every five points to outfox her because opponents read her patterns. She will need to learn to have patience and needs to be able to change gears every 5-6 points,' he added. Unnati was also guilty of not being consistent on her midcourt returns, and there were two early in the second set that she couldn't kill, sending them into the net. The score could have read 10-8, instead, she fell back 8-11. Zhi Yi, considered China's heir apparent, has the routine ability of an ace top player to inject pace and rush to a victory, blowing away opponents. Unnati, who was buzzing after nicking a set off Zhi Yi, and then faltering in the next, witnessed how international outings can be over in a matter of moments, when big players turn on their beast mode. Zhi Yi was 20-10 up in the decider within minutes, changing the complexion of the game, playing from the helpful side. Unnati's inability to manage the drift led to some amateurish errors, though she did well to pick five points in a row, suddenly just as they had vanished. 'From the beginning of her badminton career, Unnati has been in the habit of winning points in a streak. When she was patient and attacked from midcourt, she could get points, and she fought till the last point, but the worst thing about her game is she loses points in a bunch, too,' Upkar said. It's something Lakshya Sen suffers from too. 'The endurance is not a problem. But she needs to control the number of errors,' he added. 'In drifty conditions, you have to increase the quality of the shots after changing sides.' The 20-10 lead was ultimately too much to make a match of it, and had it been 2-3 points, Unnati might have struck back, he reckons. But Zhi Yi was quite unstoppable by then. 'She's usually aggressive, but if she trails, the confidence drops,' he explained of body language that, too, can get better. The Hoodas have given themselves a 45-day training window where the Strength & Conditioning coach will design a program before she resurfaces at the Japan Open. 'She's played 4 tournaments continuously. Lots of lessons,' he ends. Including how to tame the drift, which took her on a rollercoaster against the World No. 2.
