BWF World Championships: Decoding the career achievements of Kunlavut Vitidsarn
What's the story
Kunlavut Vitidsarn, on Sunday, won the 2023 BWF World Championships gold medal in Copenhagen. This was his maiden gold medal in the event. Notably, he became the first Thai shuttler to win the World Championships gold medal in the men's singles category. He defeated Japan's Kodai Naraoka in the final (19-21, 21-18, 21-7). Vitidsarn also won the silver medal in the 2022 edition.
Wins
Vitidsarn has won 285 matches in his career (singles)
The world number three has won 285 out of 368 games in his career as of now in men's singles. Besides winning the gold medal in the BWF World Championships, he won three World Junior Championships. He has won gold medals in the South Asian Games in men's singles and men's team events. Vitidsarn has won three BWF World Tour titles (four runners-up medals).
2023
Vitidsarn has grown in confidence as the year has progressed
Vitidsarn has grown in confidence with every passing tournament in 2023. He won the India Open beating Viktor Axelsen in the final and also bagged the Thailand Open. He finished runners-up in the US Open with a final defeat against Li Shifeng. Overall, he has won three BWF World Tour titles, while earning four runners-up medals. He owns a win-loss record of 34-9 (2023).
Junior titles
Vitidsarn won three World Junior Championships honors
The Thai shuttler earned his maiden World Junior Championships honor in 2017 by beating Leon Jung-hao in the final. He then won the boy's title again in 2018 defeating Japan's Naraoka. Vitidsarn then created history in 2019 by winning a hat-trick of boy's singles titles. He won the final against France's Christo Popov. He also won the Asia Junior Championships gold medal in 2019.
Record
He scripted this record in the World Championships
As mentioned, Vitidsarn has won the BWF Junior World Championships title three times. He created history with his win at the 2023 BWF World Championships. The Thai shuttler became the sixth men's singles shuttler to win the World Junior title and the World Championships. Vitidsarn joins a list that includes star shuttles like Sun Jun, Chen Jin, Chen Long, Axelsen and Kento Momota.
Information
Here are his other significant feats
Vitidsarn is the only player to win a hat-trick of boy's singles titles. The only other player to win a hat-trick of junior titles is his compatriot Ratchanok Intanon. He won the gold medal in the 2019 Asian Junior Championships in the mixed team category.