Kunlavut Advances to Olympic Final, Stays Grounded
Thai men’s singles world champion Kunlavut advanced to the Paris Olympics men’s singles final by defeating Malaysia’s top player Lee Zii Jia 21-14, 21-15. This historic achievement makes Kunlavut the first Thai badminton player to win an Olympic medal. After the match, Kunlavut expressed his joy but humbly referred to himself as still being an “ordinary player.” He stressed the importance of taking things step by step and not putting too much pressure on himself. Kunlavut acknowledged the high expectations from Thai fans but considered this experience valuable regardless of the outcome. His victory follows an impressive performance against China’s world number one Shi Yuqi in the quarterfinals.