[Saba Sports News] In the men’s singles final of the Super 1000 Malaysia Open, China’s top badminton player Shi Yuqi had to retire due to injury, allowing Thai star Kunlavut Vitidsarn to take the title. During the awards ceremony, badminton legend Lee Chong Wei served as a guest presenter, which surprised Kunlavut immensely.
In a post-match interview, Kunlavut revealed that he had reached out to Lee Chong Wei before the match, and they had arranged to enjoy a delicious meal of bak kut teh together. Kunlavut had previously mentioned three years ago that Lee was his idol. When he competed at the Axiata Arena at just under 22 years old, he hoped to meet Lee and even playfully stated that his first action upon meeting his idol would be to take a photo together.
Three years later, Kunlavut contacted Lee again during his visit to Malaysia, leading to their bak kut teh meet-up. However, when the media pressed him about which bak kut teh restaurant they visited, Kunlavut innocently admitted he didn’t know, only that it was far from their hotel. It seems that for this world champion, the distance was no obstacle in his quest to meet Lee Chong Wei.