Thai Badminton: Heartbreak Loss at World Championship

In the early hours of September 1, the number 1 tennis player of the Chinese world, Shi Yuqi, made a spectacular comeback to defeat Kunlavut Vitidsarn and win the male individual championship for the first time.

In a dramatic 1 hour and 17 minutes game, Shi defeated Kunlavut by a narrow margin by 19-21, 21-10 and 21-18. It was another bitter defeat for Kunlavut in the French capital, since it had to settle once again with silver, repeating the result of the Olympic final of Paris 2024 in the same headquarters twelve months ago.

Despite being behind during most of the first set, Kunlavut reacted strongly in the final stages to win 21-19.

However, Shi Yuqi quickly responded overly winning the second set with a score of 21-10, forcing the game to reach a decisive game.

In the last set, both players met an exciting fight for the scoreboard. Shi came to advance 17-10, but Kunlavut reduced the difference with insistence to 19-18.

Finally, when Kunlavut launched the steering wheel at the decisive point, Shi sealed the 21-18 victory and collapsed on the court between tears. He explained that he felt “pure relief for winning this game.”

“I played six games in this tournament, and each one was extremely difficult. I almost lost many, but I managed to reverse the situation. So winning the final made me feel very deserved,” Shi shared.

In female individuals, the fifth head of the Japanese series Akane Yamaguchi easily defeated China Chen Yufei 21-9, 21-13 in just 37 minutes to win its third world title, after the titles of 2021 and 2022.