Thailand had a perfect start to their campaign at the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2025, winning their opening Group A tie with a clean sheet against Hong Kong China.

With China and Algeria the other teams in Group A, the Thailand-Hong Kong China clash was critical to the aspirations of both teams to progress into the quarterfinals.

In other Group B ties of the morning session, Korea’s possible weakness in men’s singles came to the fore as Czechia took a point off the 2017 titlists, while Chinese Taipei overcame an impressive challenge from Canada 4-1.

Nearly everything that Thailand did worked in their favour. Scratch combination Dechapol Puavaranukroh and left-hander Pakkapon Teeraratsakul got them off to a strong start beating Hung Kuei Chun/Law Cheuk Him in just 32 minutes. After Pornpawee Chochuwong made it 2-0 with a comfortable 21-18 21-12 result over Happy Lo, Kunlavut Vitidsarn put the result beyond Hong Kong China.

The recently-crowned Asian champion started slowly but then got into his groove, beating Ng Ka Long Angus 16-21 21-10 21-11.

“I felt sleepy because we had to play in the morning,” Vitidsarn said. “It was a good match. In the first game I couldn’t focus and in the second and third I had to change my performance.

“If I play with the team, I don’t feel pressure. There’s more pressure in individual tournaments. Our target is the quarterfinals first because our group has China and Hong Kong China.

“I have pressure because Thai people now watch a lot of badminton. There is a lot of focus on me, and I have to try my best in every tournament. I need to be at my peak at big tournaments.”

Czechia Take Point Off Korea

Korea were expectedly in cruise mode against Czechia, with the exception of men’s singles. Jan Louda helped Czechia draw level at 1-1 after Sim Yu Jin had give Korea the lead in the opening women’s singles against Tereza Svabikova. Louda’s 21-16 21-16 win over Cho Geon Yeop highlighted Korea’s deficiencies in that category.

“I feel very good,” said Louda. “It’s not easy against Korea and Asian teams. So I’m happy to get the first point for my team in the Sudirman Cup. He’s a good player, he was in the semifinals of the Korea Masters last year.

“It’s amazing, all the fans, the hall, the crowd, the organisation is top level, so it’s nice to be here and take part.”

Louda revealed that he has been battling a back injury after Paris 2024.

“It was tough, I was dealing with back problems, I didn’t play many tournaments, and I was coming back from injury, and it wasn’t easy mentally. I’ve fully recovered but the back is not easy, you have to manage it all the time.”

In the same group, Chinese Taipei wrapped up their tie against Canada 4-1. Pan Am champions Canada were in the reckoning in men’s singles, with Brian Yang taking Chou Tien Chen the distance before faltering at the end, 21-18 13-21 21-18. Michelle Li put Canada on the board with a 21-10 21-16 victory over Chiu Pin Chian.

“Going into the tie today, we knew we were the underdogs, so our mindset was to play without pressure, and try and give them a hard time and maybe we can get a win,” said Brian Yang. “So I was trying to tell myself to relax and enjoy my time on court and hopefully it would lead to a good performance, which I think it did.

“The mixed team in the first match did pretty well, and they’re a scratch pair. It’s good that Canada is getting some good matches in, and everyone can see we’re improving as a country. That’s the main goal for us, coming to the Sudirman Cup Finals.”

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