Kunlavut Vitidsarn wins Asian Games 2026 men's singles gold in Ichinomiya
Kunlavut Vitidsarn beat Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew 21-12, 21-16 to take the men’s singles gold at the Asian Games at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Japan on September 29, 2026. The 25-year-old closed out the final in straight games to claim the title.
Kunlavut is the first Thai to win the Asian Games men’s singles crown, ending a 64-year wait for Thailand’s first individual badminton gold at the Games; badminton was introduced as a competitive sport in 1962. Thailand’s previous best in the event was a bronze by Sangob Rattanusorn in 1970. With this victory Kunlavut also became only the fourth men’s singles player to possess World Championship, Asian Championship and Asian Games titles, joining Zhao Jianhua, Taufik Hidayat and Lin Dan. His major honours include the World Championship in 2023, the Asian Championship in 2025 and an Olympic silver medal from Paris 2024.
The final opened evenly at 8-8 in the first game before Kunlavut moved clear to 12-8, extended the advantage to 19-12 and finished the opening game 21-12. The second game was tighter, level at 13-13 before Kunlavut moved to 18-15 and then held on to close it 21-16.
Kunlavut entered the match with an 8-2 head-to-head lead over Loh and had previously beaten him in the 2021 SEA Games final. Loh nonetheless made history by becoming the first Singaporean shuttler to reach an Asian Games men’s singles final.
His progression to the title began with a semi-final win over Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan on September 28, when Kunlavut defeated Farhan 21-13, 21-15 to become the first Thai to reach an Asian Games men’s singles final. The outcome represents a sharp turnaround from Hangzhou 2022, where Kunlavut left the Games without a medal.
Fans refer to Kunlavut as the “Three-Game God” because his defensive style often wears opponents down in a long third game, a pattern the nickname references; the title match required only two games. The year has been mixed for Kunlavut, but included a January victory at the Malaysia Open, the first time a Thai had won that event in 68 years.
The win on September 29 also returned Kunlavut to the world No. 1 ranking, a position he first reached in June 2025.
