TOKYO: Rising Thai badminton star Kunlavut Vitidsarn on Saturday set up a world championships final clash with Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen.

The 21-year-old Vitidsarn beat China’s Zhao Junpeng 22-20, 21-6 in their semi-final and then watched Axelsen give another masterclass in his 21-15, 21-17 win over Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen.

Axelsen has lost only one singles match this season and he has not dropped a single game at this week’s world championships in Tokyo.

In the women’s singles, Japan’s defending champion Akane Yamaguchi will face China’s Chen Yufei in Sunday’s final.

Chen beat Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying 15-21, 21-14, 21-18 to become the first Chinese woman to reach a world final since 2016.

Yamaguchi beat South Korea’s An Se-young 21-19, 21-12 to advance to the final for the second year running.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2022