Thai men’s singles star Kunlavut Vitidsarn and the mixed doubles duo Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai have made it through to the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open badminton tournament on Saturday.
In Friday’s quarter-finals at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, eighth seed Kunlavut upset third seed Loh Kean Yew, the 2021 world champion from Singapore, 21-11, 20-22, 21-14.
Second seeds Dechapol and Sapsiree beat Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei of Malaysia 21-19, 21-9.
They will take on Japanese third seeds Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino in the final four on Saturday.
In his first BWF World Tour Super 1000 semi-final, Kunlavut, 21, will faces Japan’s Kodai Naraoka, who eliminated Prannoy HS of India, 21-16, 19-21, 21-10.
Asked if Loh’s huge support at Axiata Arena affected his game, Kunlavut, the runner-up at the 2022 world championships, said: “I had my supporters too. I could hear them shouting ‘keep fighting’ in Thai and that was enough to boost me.”
Friday’s win was the Thai’s third straight over the Singaporean but Kunlavut played down his recent mastery of the 2021 world champion.
“I don’t think too much about these things. I try to focus on my performance and that’s the approach that always works best for me,” said the world No.9, who will play in his second consecutive Malaysia Open semi-final after he fell to Kento Momota of Japan last year.
“I’m still learning but I realise taking things slow and steady helps,” said the The Chon Buri native.
“Big tournaments have big players and you must extract more out of yourself. Step by step, don’t think too much, stay patient. That keeps the pressure away and optimises the output.”
