Shi holds off Vitidsarn to win maiden badminton world title

China's Shi Yuqi overcame a spirited Kunlavut Vitidsarn 19-21, 21-10, 21-18 in an absorbing men's singles final at the BWF World Championships in Paris on Sunday to clinch his maiden world title.

Vitidsarn started strong and went on a huge run of points and eventually took the opener 21-19. Shi bounced back in the second and forced a decider with a 21-10 victory.

In the all-important third, it's Vitidsarn who made the better start. The 24-year-old entered this contest as the favorite after impressive wins over Jonatan Christie and Anton Antonsen in a bid for a second world title following his 2023 win. However, despite trailing 8-3, Shi went on an impressive run and closes out the game 21-18 to seal that first ever worlds crown. This win will also be extra sweet for him because Vitidsarn beat him at the Paris Olympics last year.

"It has been a long time since China last won a men's singles gold at the World Championships, so this victory is a major breakthrough for us. Personally, this was the one medal missing from my collection. While people often say I perform better in team events, I have always been working hard in singles too. That's why I am pretty emotional about final winning this one," said Shi.

On the women's side, Japan's Akane Yamaguchi eased past China's Chen Yufei 21-9, 21-13 in just 37 minutes to become only the second woman after Spain's Carolina Marin to lift three world singles crowns.

Earlier in the day, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning got past Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan to win the women's doubles. The Chinese duo took the first game 21-14, but the Malaysians came back to win the second 22-20. Liu and Tan eventually prevailed with a 21-17 win in the decider and clinched their first world title and China's fourth-straight women's doubles crown.