Dive deep into 2023’s BWF nominee for Male Player of the Year, Thai shuttler Kunlavut Vitidsarn, including his ranking and stats.
In recent years, the world of badminton has seen the rise of several stars in the international sphere. While the badminton landscape has predominantly been ruled by Chinese and European players (occasionally) in the past, at present, shuttlers from other Asian nations like Japan, India, Thailand and Indonesia have also emerged as strong competitors. One member of this club is Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the young Thai badminton player, who has burst into the top 10 rankings in the men’s singles category in 2023.
Known for his calm and composed demeanour, both on and off the badminton court, Vitidsarn has been the talk of the town for the past couple of years. Standing in his early twenties, the Thai shuttler has already made it to the finals of the BWF World Championships twice in the men’s singles discipline and has won the title once (in 2023). Based on these impressive performances, the BWF has named Vitidsarn as one of the nominees for the 2023 Male Player of the Year.
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Besides winning medals in several top-tier badminton tournaments and multinational sports meets, Vitidsarn also shares a strong rivalry with one of the best shuttlers of his generation, Viktor Axelsen. Even though Axelsen has gotten the better of the Thai player in the past, he was stunned by Vitidsarn early in 2023 when the Thai prodigy defeated him to clinch the India Open title. Both are in contention for the 2023 Male Player of the Year award.
So, on that note, let us take a close look at Kunlavut Vitidsarn’s stats, ranking, medal wins and other significant highlights from his badminton career so far.
Deep diving into Kunlavut Vitidsarn’s career stats, medals and other highlights
His early days as a shuttler
Born on 11 May 2001 in Chonburi, Thailand, Kunlavut Vitidsarn won his first junior-level medal in the international circuit at the 2015 White Nights Junior International championship. Partnering with fellow Thai shuttler Pacharapol Nipornram, Vitidsarn exhibited promising performances throughout the tournament as the duo made it to the finals of the boys’ doubles event. However, they lost to the Russian pair of Rodion Alimov and Pavel Kotsarenko in the summit clash and had to settle for a silver medal.
A couple of years later, Vitidsarn won his first BWF junior international title at the 2017 Banthongyord Junior International tournament, defeating Fong Hau Sim in the final of the boys’ singles event. He also won gold medals at the Jaya Raya Junior International tournament, the India Junior International, and the Singapore Youth International. In the Asian Junior Championships later that year, he won a bronze medal in the singles division. He followed up his impressive showing in the intercontinental meet with a gold medal win at the 2017 BWF World Junior Championships (he won it in the singles division).
The year 2018 saw Vitidsarn break all the limits in the junior championships. He won as many as seven medals in the international circuit across both the singles and the doubles disciplines. While the Thai youngster was defeated by India’s Lakshya Sen in the finals of the 2018 Asian Junior Championships, he outperformed Kodai Naraoka in the title clash of the 2018 BWF World Junior Championships to successfully defend his title.
Vitidsarn’s other wins in the BWF Junior International tournaments that year include the Dutch Junior International, German Junior International, Jaya Raya Junior International and the Banthongyord Junior International championships.
In his final year in the junior badminton circuit in 2019, the Thai shuttler won the elusive Asian Junior Championships by defeating China’s Liu Liang in the boys’ singles final. He also successfully defended his singles title at the BWF World Junior Championships for a second time. In addition, Vitidsarn won the Banthongyord Junior International championship for a second consecutive time.
His entry into the world of professional badminton
In 2018, while he was still competing in the junior division, Kunlavut Vitidsarn started taking part in the BWF International Challenge/Series tournaments. His first notable performance was at the India International tournament that year where he finished as the runner-up in the men’s singles category after losing to Sen in the final. Later that year, he won his first BWF senior title at the Nepal International tournament, defeating Soo Teck Zhi in the title clash.
The following year, Vitidsarn won four BWF International Challenge/Series titles, namely the Iran Fajr International, the Polish Open, the Finnish Open and the Spanish International. He also finished as the runner-up in the 2019 Mongolia International, losing to Kodai Naraoka in the final. The string of strong performances in the BWF International Challenge/Series tournaments, coupled with his impressive record in the junior division, paved the Thai shuttler’s way to the senior-level badminton circuit.
Vitidsarn made his debut on the BWF World Tour in 2020. However, in his first year, the Thai badminton player could only make it to the finals of one event, namely the Spain Masters, where he lost to Axelsen. Vitidsarn had a better outing in 2021, reaching the finals of two BWF World Tour events, the Swiss Open and the BWF World Tour Finals (he lost to Axelsen on both occasions).
Additionally, he won two gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games that year in both the men’s singles and the men’s team events.
Vitidsarn’s emergence as one of the best players in the world
It was in 2022 that Kunlavut Vitidsarn clinched his first BWF World Tour title at the German Open, a BWF Super 300 tournament, where he defeated Lakshya Sen in the final. While he has had a rather muted year since then, the Thai player surprised everyone by reaching the finals of the 2022 BWF World Championships in the men’s singles category. However, his dream of becoming the world champion at the tender age of 21 could not materialise as he succumbed to Viktor Axelsen in the final.
Vitidsarn avenged all his previous heartbreaks against Axelsen when the two faced each other in the final of the 2023 India Open. In a hard-fought encounter, the Thai shuttler eventually emerged victorious to secure his second BWF World Tour title. This win did Vitidsarn a whale of good as he won his third BWF World Tour title four months later at the Thailand Open. By virtue of winning this title, Vitidsarn broke into the top three in the BWF men’s singles rankings for the first time in his career. He also finished as the runner-up at the U.S. Open (badminton) in July 2023.
Vitidsarn’s finest hour in his badminton career came at the BWF World Championships 2023. While Axelsen, the local favourite, could not make it to the summit clash of the World Championships held in Denmark, Vitidsarn reached the final where he took on Kodai Naraoka. In a riveting final between two Asian powerhouses of badminton in the present day, the Thai player prevailed as he brushed aside Naraoka in the final set to win the coveted title.
https://youtu.be/XsZErrgFJeM?si=qO1arVVGrRPGVf0I
Tears of sorrow from a year back turned into tears of joy as Vitidsarn stood on the podium with the gold medal in his hand. He also achieved the feat of becoming the first Thai badminton player to win the BWF World Championships in the men’s singles category.
Summing up Kunlavut Vitidsarn’s impressive badminton career
Since his days in the junior division, Kunlavut Vitidsarn has been a champion shuttler. His three world titles at the junior level made him the only male player, and the third overall (alongside Thai female compatriot Ratchanok Intanon and Chinese female shuttler Chen Qingchen) to win the BWF Junior Championships thrice. He was also named the Eddy Choong Most Promising Player in 2020/21. Vitidsarn has the most wins against Lakshya Sen — in ten meetings between the two Asian badminton players to date, the Thai shuttler has won six games as compared to Sen’s four wins.
Vitidsarn has the Thailand national team’s coach Udom Luangphetcharaporn as his mentor. The shuttler has a sponsorship deal with badminton apparel and equipment manufacturer Yonex and uses the Astrox 88D Pro racket in all his matches.
(Main and Featured Images Credits: Courtesy Kunlavut V./Instagram)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– What is Kunlavut Vitidsarn’s BWF ranking?
As of November 2023, Kunlavut Vitidsarn is ranked sixth in the BWF World Rankings.
– Who is Kunlavut Vitidsarn’s coach?
Kunlavut Vitidsarn has the Thailand national team’s coach Udom Luangphetcharaporn as his mentor.
– How many medals has Kunlavut Vitidsarn won?
Kunlavut Vitidsarn has won six gold medals in his senior badminton career so far — three in BWF World Tour events, one at the 2023 BWF World Championships and two at the 2021 Southeast Asian Games.
The story originally appeared in August Man Malaysia.
Uddipta writes about sports and watches besides occasionally venturing into the world of automobiles and technology. He was associated with the Indian Express in the capacity of a sub-editor at their Lifestyle desk. A journalism and mass communication student from Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai, Uddipta devotes most of his leisure time to photography and filmmaking. He has contributed photographs to Vogue Italia and several exhibits, and has directed award-winning short films screened at film festivals in India and abroad.
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