Kulvutti Advances to Badminton Semis, Bronze Medal Assured
Thailand's world No. 2 badminton player Kulvutti Wititchant defeated Hong Kong's Ung Ka Long 2-1 in a controversial quarterfinal at the Asian Games in Aichi, securing at least a bronze medal and a spot in the semifinals.
The 20th Asian Games badminton competition in Aichi-Nagoya 2026 at Ichinomiya City Gymnasium reached the quarterfinals on September 27. In men's singles, the last remaining Thai athlete, "View" Kulvutti Wititchant, ranked number 2 in the world, faced Ung Ka Long, the dynamic shuttle player from Hong Kong. The match extended to three games before Kulvutti prevailed 2-1 with scores of 16-21, 21-10, 21-13. The match was marred by controversial line calls due to the absence of video challenge review, especially on a critical match point where the line judge ruled Ka Long's shuttle out. Despite his frustration—evident when he threw his racket in celebration—Kulvutti secured the winning points and advanced to the semifinal against Alvii Fahaan of Indonesia, who defeated Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan. With this win, Kulvutti has guaranteed at least a bronze medal at this Asian Games.
