Paris: Thailand's hopes for bagging its first ever badminton medal in the Olympics now rest on star shuttler Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who is just one win away from making history for the kingdom.
Kunlavut, the reigning world champion, stunned top-ranked Shi Yuqi of China with scores of 21-12, 21-10 in the Paris 2024 quarter-finals on Friday to become the first Thai men's singles player to reach the final four of the Olympics in 20 years.
Boonsak Ponsana was the last men's singles player from Thailand to make it to the semi-finals at the Athens Olympics in 2004. However, Kunlavut's compatriot, Ratchanok Intanon, bowed out in the women's singles quarter-finals, falling to Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia 23-25, 9-21 on Saturday. It was a disappointing end to her Olympic campaign after an impressive victory over Taiwan's Tai Tzu-ying in her final group stage match on Wednesday, which earned her a direct passage into the last eight.
Tunjung will face world No 1 An Se-Young in the semi-finals after the Korean edged Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 15-21, 21-17, 21-8. Kunlavut, who is competing in his first Olympics, will take on Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia in the semi-finals on Sunday. The 23-year-old Kunlavut, who lost to Shi in the French Open final in March, produced a textbook performance to sweep past the Chinese in just 44 minutes on Friday.
In terms of defence and control, it was an outstanding display, with Kunlavut running away with the match at 11-1 in the second game before Shi restored some respectability to the score. "Today's game was tough. My opponent put a lot of pressure on me, and I felt it, but being the underdog helped me relax a bit. I gave it my all and managed to control the game from start to finish, trying to enjoy every moment," said Kunlavut.
"To win a medal, I know I need to do better. Every day is different, and tomorrow is a new challenge. My next opponent will be a top player, so I have to bring my best game," Kunlavut said.
Shi's loss meant that China won't have a men's singles medallist for the first time in two decades. "Kunlavut played really well and I didn't have many solutions for him throughout the game. I was trying to catch up and it was challenging," said Shi, who had been in the form of his life in the run-up to the Olympics.
Lee, meanwhile, defeated Anders Antonsen of Denmark 21-17, 21-15 to reach his first Olympic semi-final. Lakshya Sen of India will play Tokyo gold medallist Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the other semi-final. Sen came from behind to beat Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 while Axelsen defeated Loh Kean Yew of Singapore 21-9, 21-17 in their quarter-final matches on Friday.
Coming in third: Sprinter Puripol Boonson reacts after finishing in third place in heat 4 of the 100m race, advancing to the semi-finals. (Reuters photo)
