https://www.scmp.com/rss/523316/feed The latest news and top stories on Kunlavut Vitidsarn, a professional badminton player from Thailand. He is the 2023 BWF World Champion and a 2024 Olympic silver medallist. Vitidsarn became the first male player to win three World Junior Championship titles consecutively from 2017 to 2019. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters China’s men’s world champion Shi Yuqi will take on Christo Popov in the title match ‌at badminton’s BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou on Sunday, while compatriot Wang Zhiyi meets An Se-young in the women’s showpiece. Popov, making his tournament debut as a singles player, will be the first French player to contest the final after he overwhelmed Japan’s Kodai Naraoka with his speed and ⁠power to win 21-19, 21-8 in the semi-finals on Saturday. Shi, who is looking to equal Viktor Axelsen with a... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3337200/bwf-world-tour-finals-chinas-shi-wang-face-french-south-korean-foes-year-end-finale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3337200/bwf-world-tour-finals-chinas-shi-wang-face-french-south-korean-foes-year-end-finale?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 00:00:14 +0000 SCMP Sport SCMP Sport Victor Lai Ho-chun was brought crashing back down to Earth with a bump on Tuesday, losing in the qualifying rounds of the Li-Ning Hong Kong Open. Less than 10 days after claiming bronze at the Badminton World Championships, the Canadian, whose parents are from Hong Kong, was stunned 21-12, 21-15 by Hongkonger and world No 40 Jason Gunawan at the Coliseum. Gunawan beat Indonesia’s Mohammad Zaki Ubaidillah in the first qualifying round 21-15, 21-13 before knocking out Lai. He will face Alwi Farhan... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3324899/hong-kong-open-jason-gunawan-stuns-victor-lai-badminton-qualifiers-faces-farhan-next?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3324899/hong-kong-open-jason-gunawan-stuns-victor-lai-badminton-qualifiers-faces-farhan-next?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Sep 2025 09:31:01 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Akane Yamaguchi beat former world No 1 Chen Yufei of China 21-9, 21-13 on Sunday to win the women’s singles badminton world championship final. The Japanese fifth seed rarely looked troubled on court in Paris and needed just 37 minutes to add a third world title to her gold medals from 2021 and 2022. Chen, a Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist, battled past top seed and reigning champion An Se-young of South Korea in a semi-final win marked by a nasty-looking ankle twist early in the second... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3323829/badminton-world-championships-japans-yamaguchi-beats-chinas-chen-win-third-title?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3323829/badminton-world-championships-japans-yamaguchi-beats-chinas-chen-win-third-title?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Aug 2025 14:29:58 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse World No 1 Shi Yuqi survived two match points on Saturday to book a world championship final meeting with Thai titleholder Kunlavut Vitidsarn, as top seed An Se-young was upset on the women’s side of the draw. Chinese star Shi battled back from 18-20 down in the second game to beat Canadian youngster Victor Lai 13-21, 22-20, 21-16 and keep his bid for a first world title alive. “I felt an emotional release when this one ended,” a breathless Shi said after 80 gruelling minutes on court. “Lai... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3323801/badminton-world-championships-shi-produces-brilliant-fightback-reach-final-chen-stuns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3323801/badminton-world-championships-shi-produces-brilliant-fightback-reach-final-chen-stuns?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Aug 2025 04:08:17 +0000 Reuters,Agence France-Presse Reuters,Agence France-Presse China’s Wang Zhiyi wasted little time in beating Hungary’s Agnes Korosi in the first round of the Badminton World Championships in Paris on Tuesday. The women’s world No 2 won 21-5, 21-4 after 22 minutes, while Chinese third seed Han Yue sailed to a 21-10, 21-16 victory over Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-Chian. Anders Antonsen, the men’s second seed, had few problems getting past Brazilian Jonathan Matias. The Dane was mostly in control throughout the 41-minute match and prevailed 21-15,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3323266/badminton-world-championships-wang-zhiyi-top-seeds-fly-paris?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3323266/badminton-world-championships-wang-zhiyi-top-seeds-fly-paris?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Aug 2025 03:00:14 +0000