Rising Thai badminton star Kunlavut Vitidsarn has made it through to the semi-finals of the BWF World Championships in Tokyo, along with the women’s doubles pair of Sapsiree Taerattanachai and Puttita Supajirakul.
Kunlavut, who is seeded 16th, prevailed in three sets (21-12, 17-21, 21-8) over former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the men’s singles quarter-final. He will face Zhao Jun Peng of China in Saturday’s semi-final.
Sapsiree and Puttita outlasted Zhang Chu Xian and Zheng Yu of China 15-21, 21-18, 22-20 in a match that took an hour and 24 minutes. They will play Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong of South Korea on Saturday.
But Busanan Ongbamrungphan’s run in the women’s singles is over after she fell to second seed Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan 21-16, 21-9. As well, the women’s doubles duo Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajonghai were eliminated by top seeds Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan of China, 21-16, 21-7.