A new generation of singles champions emerged at the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2023 with the crowning of Kunlavut Vitidsarn and An Se Young.
Most significantly, Vitidsarn, 22, and An Se Young, 21, made history for their countries in their respective categories. It had taken Thailand and Korea 46 years to have their first men’s singles and women’s singles champions.
The rise in prominence of a young generation in men’s singles has been evident over the last couple of years, through players like Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Kodai Naraoka, Lakshya Sen and Li Shi Feng, all in their early 20s. With Vitisarn and Naraoka facing off for the title – a repeat of their World Junior Championships final in 2018 – Copenhagen will be remembered as the first major final featuring players of this generation.
And with 21-year-old An Se Young taking the women’s singles gold, the returns were good for the post-2000 generation.
Korea’s Historic High
Korea finally joined an exclusive club of countries – Denmark, Indonesia and China being the others – that have won three gold or more at a single edition of the World Championships. Korea’s three-title haul came as something of a surprise, for, apart from An Se Young, the others weren’t sureshot contenders for gold.
Seo Seung Jae, in the company of Kang Min Hyuk and Chae Yu Jung, had a stellar week, ensuring three gold medals for Korea; Seo himself became only the fourth men’s double titlist ever, after Christian Hadinata (1980), Park Joo Bong (1985, 1991) and Kim Dong Moon (1999). Seo/Chae’s upset of defending champions Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong in the final gave Korea their first gold in 20 years.
History-Making Fourth
It was a hat-trick for Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan, making it a record fourth women’s doubles titles overall. They dropped only one game during their campaign – in the quarterfinals against Chiharu Shida/Nami Matsuyama. They are now the most successful women’s doubles pair, having gone past their predecessors Lin Ying, Guan Weizhen, Gao Ling/Huang Sui and Yu Yang who had three gold medals.
Carolina Marin Continues to Amaze
Having proclaimed that she was ready to challenge for the gold at the start of the event, and nearly coming good on her word, Carolina Marin has set an example for her contemporaries on sheer grit. The Spaniard might have fallen at the final hurdle, but her silver gave her a fourth medal at the World Championships, extending her record as the most successful women’s singles player ever.
Silver Lining for Indonesia
Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti provided some consolation for Indonesia with a runner-up place in women’s doubles, the first silver for the country since 1995 and only their third silver ever.