Neighbourly: Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn taking a wefie with Malaysian fans after his match against Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama yesterday.
Kunlavut Vitidsarn is looking for a fresh start after struggling with form and fitness following his stunning Indian Open title win in January.
The Thai men’s singles sensation is out to recapture the form that saw him topple Denmark’s world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen to win the biggest title in his career so far.
World No. 5 Kunlavut had sustained a left ankle injury right after the Indian tourney and failed to clear the early rounds in any of his individual tournaments since.
The 22-year-old is now determined to end his poor run in the Malaysian Masters.
Yesterday, Kunlavut started off on the right foot when he beat Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama 21-15, 21-19 at the Axiata Arena to march into the second round.
“I need to start all over again after recovering from my injury,” said Kunlavut.
“After winning the Indian Open, I struggled to sustain my form and my injury didn’t help.
“It’s not easy to perform consistently well as it’s really competitive in the men’s singles.
“Many players are doing well and they have been analysing my game.
“I need to make changes to my game and improve to stay ahead of my opponents.”
On his win over Tsuneyama, Kunlavut said: “I’m not satisfied as it was not my best match.
“My opponent played well and I made some easy mistakes.
“Thankfully, I managed to pull through for the win.
“My aim is to reach the final here.”
Kunlavut will play India’s world No. 23 K. Srikanth in the second round today.
On his targets for this year, Kunlavut said: “I want to maintain my ranking in the top five.
“There’s not much difference in ranking points among the top eight players, so consistency is important.
“I also hope to do well in the World Championships (Aug 21-27) in Copenhagen.”
