Kunlavut to battle Wang, eyes 1st title

Kunlavut Vitidsarn will vie for his first title of the year after reaching the men’s singles final of the US$420,000 BWF Korea Masters in Iksan City Saturday.
The Thai top seed defeated Kiran George of India 21-12, 22-20 in the men’s singles semi-finals to reach the title decider of the World Tour Super 300 event.
Kunlavut will face Wang Zhengxing in the final after the Chinese star eliminated South Korea’s Cho Geon-Yeop 9-21, 21-15, 21-10.
World champion Kunlavut has had runner-up finishes at the French Open and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games this year, and his last title came at the World Championships in August 2023.
In the women’s singles semi-finals, second seed Putri Kusuma Wardini of Indonesia progressed to the final after she defeated fifth seed Chiu Pin-chien of Taiwan 21-13, 21-13.
She will face China’s Han Qianxi, who upset top seed Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan 21-18, 21-8.
Mixed doubles second seeds Dejan Ferdinansyah and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja of Indonesia made the final after they defeated Ko Sung-Hyun and Eom Hye-Won of South Korea 21-18, 21-7.
They will face China’s Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui in the title match after the Chinese pair rallied to oust top-seeded compatriots Cheng Xing and Zhang Chi in a 16-21, 21-14, 23-21 thriller.
Second seeded Chinese pair of Li Yijing and Luo Xumin proved to strong for Indonesia’s Febriana Kusuma and Amallia Paratiwi to claim a 21-10, 21-11 victory in their semi-finals.
The Chinese duo will play Kim Hyi-Jeong and Kong Hee-Yong of Korea, who defeated compatriots Kim Bo-Ryeong and Kim So-Yeong 21-15, 19-21 and 21-11 in the other semi-final.