Kunlavut Vitidsarn quickly tread past a few fans trying to take selfies before settling down on a sofa. Unlike his loud on-court demeanour which more often than not perturbs his opponents, the Thai is quite the opposite in life – shy, quiet and unwilling to make eye contact.
But the 22-year-old had to do away with his introverted nature when he became Thailand’s first men’s world champion last year.
“It was a childhood dream to win the World Championships. After I returned home, I realised I had become very famous. For days, I was just meeting people, giving interviews. The reception and welcome was tremendous,” the reigning badminton world champion said through a translator here on Monday.
But the continuous celebrations took a toll on his on-court performances. While functions kept him away from practice, when he returned to the court, Vitidsarn was marked as the man to beat by his challengers.
In seven tournaments since that epic August evening in Copenhagen when he won the world title, the Thai is yet to reach a semi-final, losing regularly in the first two rounds. He also lost all three group matches of the year-ending BWF World Tour Finals last month, a tournament where he had reached the final in 2021. Disgruntled and unclear about what to do, Vitidsarn decided to pull out of several tournaments to give himself a break, rest and restart again this year.
“Last year I was playing well till the World Championships but after that I felt too much under pressure and my performances dipped which is why I skipped many tournaments at the end of the season. I was struggling with pressure and still haven’t gotten out of that feeling. The focus of many players is on me now. Because of that pressure, my performances went down,” said Vitidsarn, who idolises compatriot Boonsak Ponsana and the legendary Lee Chong Wei.
Though he didn’t go to any mental health expert, he had long discussions with his coaches who advised him to participate in more and more tournaments, get used to courts and opponents.
“I think it will release the pressure I am feeling right now. I want to get back to being just a badminton player. I am trying to get better. My target is to participate in tournaments and play under very high pressure and accordingly try and change and adapt my style. More matches means more experience. I have to make a comeback before the Olympics. More tournaments can also help me improve my consistency,” said Vitidsarn, who reached two successive World Championship finals in 2022 and 2023.
Significantly, the Thai has chosen the $850,000 India Open, which commences at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here from Tuesday, as his comeback event. It was at this tournament last year where Vitidsarn gathered the momentum by winning the title that spurred him to further success, including the World Championship crown.
The country’s premier badminton tournament was elevated from Super 500 to 750 last year, making it a more prominent stop for all top shuttlers. A top 15 singles player or a top 10 doubles pair are required to play all four Super 1000, all six Super 750, and two out of eight Super 500 tournaments, making it a total of 12 mandatory tournaments.
“My aim is to learn from my matches and high-pressure games, get my focus back, learn and get better. There are many players who are very challenging to play on the circuit. Also, this is the Olympic year and the performances will need to be good. I will try to enjoy as it will be a historic occasion to play in my first Olympics. I will also focus on playing more Super 500 tournaments,” said the world No.7.
The defending champion, who is seeded seventh, will open against Dane Magnus Johannsen and will likely face former world No.1 Kidambi Srikanth in the second round. “I try and learn from every single match and adjust my thoughts and style of play. I need these experiences to get over the problem of pressure,” concluded the three-time former junior world champion before getting up from the sofa and quietly treading past the same fans waiting for selfies.
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