‘A dream come true’ for Thai world champ Kunlavut
Thailand’s world badminton champion Kunlavut “View” Vitidsarn said that his stunning accomplishment of winning the world title “surpassed his own expectations”, as he returned home from Denmark to a hero’s welcome.
Kunlavut gave Thailand one of its greatest sporting moments on Sunday when he became the first Thai player to be crowned men’s singles world champion.
In a thrilling final in Copenhagen, Kunlavut stormed back after losing the first game to beat Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in the men’s singles final of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships.
Kunlavut arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday at around 6am. He was welcomed by his family, the media, and representatives of the Thai Badminton Association.
“I am overjoyed to be able to win the world championship,” he told reporters.
“It has always been my dream, and I am thrilled I could finally succeed.”
However, Kunlavut said that he still has to be cautious about his workload.
The Thai champion has a hectic competition schedule next month, starting with the Victor China Open 2023 from September 5–10 in China's Changzhou before competing in the Victor Hong Kong Open from September 12–17 in Hong Kong. He returns to China for the Asian Games beginning September 23 in Hangzhou.
Kunlavut said that he would concentrate on one competition at a time and conserve his energy judiciously at the upcoming events.
