Kunlavut wins historic Asian Games badminton gold for Thailand

Thailand’s Kunlavut “View” Vitidsarn defeated Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew 2-0 to win the men’s singles badminton gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games in Japan on 29 September.

The world No. 1 produced a dominant performance, beating the world No. 13 from Singapore 21-12, 21-16 to secure Thailand’s 12th gold medal at the Games.

AP26272382892476 — Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn plays a return against Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew during their men’s singles badminton final match at the Asian Games in Ichinomiya, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

The victory makes Kunlavut the first Thai men’s singles badminton player to win an Asian Games gold medal.

It is also Thailand’s second Asian Games gold medal in badminton. The first came in the men’s team event at the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok.

Kunlavut had won eight of his previous 10 meetings with Loh, who had two victories. Their most recent meeting came in the quarter-finals of the 2026 Yonex Sunrise India Open in January, when Loh won 21-14, 15-21, 21-17.

AP26272366878733 — Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew plays a return against Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn during their men’s singles badminton final match at the Asian Games in Ichinomiya, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Kunlavut had won the previous eight meetings before that defeat.

The Thai star became the first Thai badminton player to reach world No. 1 in the BWF rankings and the first Thai player to win the men’s singles World Championships.

He is also the 2025 Asian Championships men’s singles champion, a 2024 Olympic silver medallist and a three-time World Junior champion, having won the title in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

AP26272392916390 — Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn gestures after defeating Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew during their men’s singles badminton final match at the Asian Games in Ichinomiya, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)