Kunlavut Vitidsarn fought through a tough three-game match to defeat a French badminton player 2-1, advancing to the quarterfinals of the All England Open for the first time.
On 5 Mar 2026 GMT+7, the Yonex All England Open 2026 took place in England with a total prize pool of 1,450,000 USD (approximately 44.9 million baht). In the second round, or round of 16, Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the world's No. 2 men's badminton player, faced Thomas Junior Popov from France.
The result saw Kunlavut Vitidsarn lose the first game 19-21 but then come back to win the second game 21-9 and the deciding third game 21-13. This 2-1 victory allowed him to advance to the quarterfinals, or the last 8, for the first time, having previously only reached the round of 16 in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Kunlavut Vitidsarn will await the winner between Alwi Farhan, the world No. 14 from Indonesia, and Chou Tien Chen, the experienced 36-year-old world No. 7 from Taiwan.
Cr.Photo : Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Badmintonphoto