The Wonder Boy Kunlavut Vitidsarn managed to make a big surprise by defeating Shi Yu Qi. In the match to determine the winner of Group A, China faced Thailand. China, which is the first seed and defending Sudirman Cup champion, actually struggled against Thailand.
China Squad even fell behind 1-2 from Thailand due to two defeats in the first and third parties. In the first match, the Chinese men’s doubles He Ji Ting/Tan Qiang unexpectedly lost against Supak Jomkoh/Kittinupong Kedren. As for the third party, China lost to Thailand in men’s single.
What was surprising was that Shi Yu Qi had fallen at the hands of the 19-year-old Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who has become Junior World Champion 3 times in a row, managed to impress the public with his game.
Vitidsarn was behind Shi Yu Qi, but able to make an epic comeback and turn things around. The Wonder Boy even won the match over Shi Yu Qi in two straight games, 21-17, 21-17.
“This is the biggest win for me,” said Kunlavut Vitidsarn, quoted by Sportfeat from BWF. “I started the game on a defensive basis and then I turned to attack. Before this there were not many tournaments (due to Covid-19), so I tried to maintain my fitness and I feel stronger now and that helps improve my game,” said Vitidsarn again.
Moreover, this is the first time that China has conceded to Thailand in the team event, either in the Sudirman Cup, Thomas Cup and Uber Cup. Kunlavut Vitidsarn’s victory over Shi Yu Qi was a clear blow to China.
On the other hand, Shi Yu Qi, who was ranked in the top 10 in the world, had not been so consistent since suffering an ankle injury. However, Shi Yu Qi was still lined up to stand at the forefront of China’s men’s singles which was brought to the Sudirman Cup 2021.
China is also so brave by choosing Lu Guang Zu as Shi Yu Qi’s companion in the 2021 Sudirman Cup this time, rather than Chen Long. Chen Long has more experience and has a world ranking of 6 as well as a gold medal winner at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Apart from that, China was still lucky to be able to silence Thailand with a score of 3-2. China’s superiority in women’s doubles through Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan and mixed doubles Wang Yi Lyu/Huang Dong Ping is still unmatched.
But China will certainly be more vigilant in preparing for their men’s singles and men’s doubles in the quarter-finals later. In addition to not bringing Chen Long, China also did not include the best men’s doubles Li Jun Hui/Liu Yu Chen who are ranked fourth in the world and the world’s number one mixed doubles, Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong.
