PETALING JAYA: Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn was on top of the world after winning the men's singles title in the Singapore Open in super style.
Like the typhoon, Kunlavut came charging in and played cleverly to blow away Lu Guangzu of China 21-6, 21-10 in just 37 minutes to lift the title and confirm his position as the new world No. 1 singles player - the first Thai to do so.
The former world champion, currently ranked second behind Shi Yuqi of China in the world ranking, is set to take the top spot when the Badminton World Federation (BWF) publish the new list on Tuesday.
Yuqi also became the world No. 1 player last year after winning the Singapore Open.
Kunlavut truly deserves the title and status as the world No. 1 as yesterday's final was his fourth this year.
He started the year by winning the Indonesian Masters and followed it up with Asian Championships and Thailand Open last week.
Said the modest Thai after the win: "I'm truly happy as this had been a great year for me but there's always room for improvement."
It was also a good day for Thailand as Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran defeated Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong 21-16, 21-9 to win the mixed doubles title.
RESULTS
Men's singles: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Lu Guangzu (Chn) 21-6, 21-10.
Women's singles: Chen Yufei (Chn) bt Wang Zhiyi (Chn) 21-11, 21-11.
Women's doubles: Kim Hye-jeong-Kong Hee-yong (Kor) bt Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) 21-16, 21-14.
Mixed doubles: Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) bt Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (Hkg) 21-16, 21-9.
