Kunlavut Vitidsarn reaches Kumamoto Masters semi-finals

Kunlavut Vitidsarn is into the semi-finals of the Kumamoto Masters Japan after beating France's Toma Junior Popov 21-18, 21-7 in the men's singles quarter-finals on Friday, according to official tournament results. The Thai second seed will now play Indonesia's Alwi Farhan for a place in Sunday's final, keeping alive his bid for a first World Tour title in Japan.

The win also settled a recent score. Popov, the seventh seed, had beaten the Thai star in the opening round of the French Open in October. The two have met several times over the past two years, with the edge swinging back and forth, which made Friday's one-sided second game all the more striking.

Kunlavut Vitidsarn takes control in Kumamoto

After a close first game, Kunlavut pulled away in the second, allowing Popov only seven points. It was his third straight-games win of the week at the BWF World Tour Super 500 event, which runs from November 10 to 15 at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium and offers US$500,000 in prize money.

On Thursday he beat South Korea's Yoo Tae-bin 21-19, 21-14 in the last 16, the Bangkok Post reported, describing the Thai as world No.3 and on course for his first World Tour crown in Japan.

Kunlavut, the 2023 world champion and an Olympic silver medallist at Paris 2024, is now the highest seed left in the men's draw.

Top seed already gone

The path opened up on Thursday when top seed Christo Popov, Toma Junior's younger brother, was knocked out by Indonesia's Moh Zaki Ubaidillah 21-15, 21-19. Ubaidillah's run ended in Friday's quarter-finals, where he lost 21-17, 21-12 to fellow Indonesian Alwi Farhan.

That sets up a Thailand-Indonesia semi-final on Saturday. Farhan has won all three of his matches this week, while Kunlavut brings the experience of a former world champion. The tournament, also known as the Japan Masters, has drawn a strong field, including Japan's defending champion Kodai Naraoka, who lost in the last 16.

Mixed results for other Thai players

The week has been harder for several of Thailand's other stars. The key results so far:

• Ratchanok Intanon, the women's defending champion and fourth seed, lost 15-21, 19-21 to Lin Hsiang-ti of Chinese Taipei in the last 16.
• Supanida Katethong went out to top seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-18, 11-21, 13-21.
• Pornpawee Chochuwong, the sixth seed, beat Japan's Natsuki Nidaira 21-10, 21-14 to become Thailand's last woman in the singles draw, setting up a quarter-final against third seed Chen Yufei of China later on Friday.
• Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran, the mixed doubles defending champions, lost 15-21, 7-21 to Japan's Akira Koga and Natsu Saito in 33 minutes.

What comes next

The semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday, November 14, with the finals on Sunday, November 15. A title in Kumamoto would be a timely boost for Kunlavut as the season heads towards the World Tour Finals in December, where the best players of the year meet.

Thai fans have plenty to follow this week. Muay Thai and combat sports fans can read our preview of the Rodtang Nong-O Grand Prix bout at Lumpinee, while tennis followers can catch up on the WTA Finals in our report on Linda Noskova reaching the semis. For more on the 2027 tennis calendar, see our story on Emma Raducanu's United Cup return.

Badminton is one of Thailand's most popular sports, and the country's top players draw large online audiences whenever they reach the late stages of major events. Results from Kumamoto are posted on the official BWF tournament website as each match finishes.

Image: Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand pictured at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games badminton event. Photo by Leonprimer via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.