How did Thailand train the world's number 1 badminton player?

Thailand has always been famous for its effective investment strategy in spearhead sports, and badminton is a playground that clearly demonstrates that strength with the name Kunlavut Vitidsarn.

Kunlavut Vitidsarn is the result of Thailand 's in-depth investment strategy - Photo: REUTERS

Pride of Thai sports

Badminton is a rare professional sport where the "lowland" Southeast Asia has reached world class. And as for Thailand, they currently have the world's number 1 badminton player.

In the updated July rankings of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), Kunlavut Vitidsarn officially returned to the world No. 1 position in men's singles.

This is the second time the 2001-born Thai player has held the top position in the world of badminton. Previously, he first reached the top in June 2025, marking a historic milestone: the first Thai player in history to top the BWF world singles rankings.

This return to the No. 1 position is the result of a streak of consistent performance over six consecutive weeks: Kunlavut reached the final of the Singapore Open, the semifinals of the Indonesia Open, and then won the Canada Open in less than two months.

In the final of the Canadian Open, Vitidsarn defeated Shi Yuqi (China) with a score of 21-15, 17-21, 21-12, thereby accumulating enough points to surpass Viktor Axelsen - who has held the No. 1 position for almost the past 3 years.

This event made the badminton community in particular, and the world of sports in general, have to look back at the special development and training strategy of the Thai people. "Never before has a Thai male player gone so far," veteran sports writer Dev Sukumar commented on Badminton Asia.

“Kunlavut not only has the same tenacious defensive technique as Momota, but also has an extremely pragmatic tactical mind. More importantly, he has grown up in a tight, in-depth training system in Thailand," Sukumar added.

Special investment path

How Thailand invested in Kunlavut is the story of a long and delicate process.

He started at Banthongyord School – the famous badminton academy founded by Kamala Thongkorn, which has trained many national athletes.

Since the age of 10, Kunlavut has been trained by a separate team: the main technical coach is Xie Zhihua - a Chinese, in charge of all aspects of defensive tactics and tempo control.

Along with that, he also has two co-trainers (practice players) who specialize in simulating the playing style of the world's top players, such as Axelsen or Momota. That's enough to show Thailand's ambition.

Thailand does not stop at technical training. Since 2018, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand has granted Kunlavut a "National Young Talent" scholarship, worth 1.2 million baht/year (about 800 million VND), to cover the cost of accommodation, travel, and participation in international competitions.

Kunlavut always shows his determination to defeat Axelsen - Photo: STAR

The Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT) also selected him as one of three male athletes to be assigned a personal nutritionist and physiotherapist to accompany them throughout the entire World Tour season.

This is one of the key differences that helps Kunlavut recover quickly and maintain fitness while constantly traveling around the world.

In addition to physical strength, competitive mentality is a factor that Thailand pays special attention to. After Kunlavut won the 2023 World Championship, he went through a difficult period: he failed to reach the semi-finals in the next 7 tournaments. At the same time, he had to face a performance crisis and public pressure.

Kunlavut once admitted that he had "fallen into a state of losing motivation after the peak" and proactively withdrew from the end-of-season tournaments.

Since then, he has received indirect support from the sports psychology program jointly developed by BAT and Mahidol University. Although he has not received intensive psychiatric treatment, he has received regular psychological counseling to maintain his balance and avoid depression.

However, most of the success also comes from Kunlavut's own methodical investment. Since 2022, he has purchased a set of light speed reflex devices at home, practicing reflexes for 30 minutes every night.

After being repeatedly beaten by Kento Momota for his speed, this is how he overcame this weakness. He even paid for a physiotherapist who had worked with the Japanese national team to come to Bangkok for 3 months to correct his wrist position and reduce the pressure on his knee – a persistent injury since his youth.

Kunlavut would not have been able to do so without the financial support of the Thai federation and government. The 24-year-old is estimated to earn around 16 million baht (half a million dollars) a year, not including sponsorship deals.

Kunlavut has extremely high determination - Photo: BWF

Not using social media is also a decision that shows Kunlavut's serious investment.

Since he felt that the criticism was psychologically damaging, he locked all his personal accounts. He only kept a separate account to watch the competition videos of his opponents such as Shi Yuqi and Li Shifeng.

Sharing with BWF TV, Kunlavut said: “I am not a person with outstanding talent. But I learn to improve step by step. I have lost to Axelsen, Momota, Shi Yuqi a lot. But after each loss, I spend a week analyzing that loss. Winning or losing is not as important as understanding the reason why I lost."

At the age of 24, Vitidsarn has won the world championship (2023), the Olympic silver medal (2024) and won countless titles in other major tournaments. Most importantly, Vitidsarn helps Thailand continue to reach the "world number 1" brand in a professional sport.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nho-dau-thai-lan-dao-tao-nen-tay-vot-cau-long-so-1-the-gioi-20250723092539061.htm