The Shuttle Drop: Kunlavut makes history. An stays untouchable. Next stop Finland

We’re back and there’s plenty to catch up on.

The Asian Games delivered a first for Thailand, a landmark silver for Singapore and another reminder that beating An Se-young is one of badminton’s hardest jobs. Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin, meanwhile, needed space in their luggage for two gold medals.

With the medals settled, attention turns to Finland’s Arctic Open and the next generation competing in Cairo.

Kunlavut’s gold. Loh’s breakthrough.

Kunlavut became Thailand’s first Asian Games men’s singles champion, ending a title wait stretching back to January’s Malaysia Open. Plenty of near misses; a very good place to put them behind him.

Loh’s silver deserves more than a passing mention. Unseeded, he beat Lakshya Sen and ended a ten-match losing streak against Jonatan Christie on his way to Singapore’s best Asian Games badminton result.

His explanation of facing Kunlavut was revealing: shots keep coming back, fatigue builds, and you have to keep doing the difficult work anyway. That is a better description of the challenge than simply calling Kunlavut “consistent”.

An makes extraordinary look routine

An retained her title without dropping a game, becoming the first woman to successfully defend Asian Games singles gold.

Yamaguchi managed 17 points in the opener and nine in the second. Against an opponent of that quality, the margin makes the achievement more striking, not less. An has made dominance feel familiar. It still deserves our attention.

Leo and Daniel finish the job — twice

Team gold was already secured. Then Leo and Daniel recovered from losing the opening game against Liang and Wang to add the men’s doubles title.

The win also ended their recent losing run against the Chinese pair. Afterwards, Leo credited their communication and ability to maintain their game plan. Two golds, and a difficult rivalry turned in their favour at exactly the right moment.

A women’s doubles final with a painful ending

Baek and Lee’s victory ended South Korea’s 24-year wait for this title. It also followed their win over Liu and Tan in August’s World Championship final.

But the finish needs context: Liu required treatment after going down holding her calf at 18–18 in the decider and was visibly restricted for the final points. A huge Korean achievement, with an unfortunate ending to an otherwise fiercely contested match.

HS Prannoy: Drawn against Anders Antonsen in the Arctic Open first round. A demanding opening assignment, and an immediate match worth circling.

PV Sindhu: Opens against a qualifier after her Asian Games quarter-final exit. There is stronger recent form to build on than that defeat alone suggests: she won this season’s Japan Open.

Unnati Hooda: Faces Han Qian Xi after beating Putri Kusuma Wardani at the Games. An opportunity to follow a notable result with another useful week.

Arctic Open | Vantaa | 6–11 October

The Super 500 begins on Tuesday, with Ben Lane and Sean Vendy returning as defending champions and top seeds. Last year they won unseeded; this time opponents will know exactly what is coming.

Mixed doubles is another reason to tune in. Jiang/Wei defend the title, while Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping are among their leading challengers. The two Chinese pairs have contested the tournament’s last three finals. A fourth meeting is a possibility, not a booked appointment.

World Juniors | Cairo | Team event, 5–10 October

The competition is already under way. Indonesia opened on Monday with a 55–25, 55–11 victory over Azerbaijan.

Those scores are correct: each discipline contributes an 11-point segment towards a 55-point relay game. It makes this a different viewing experience from a conventional five-match team tie — and a useful chance to spot emerging players before they become familiar senior names.

Next week: The Denmark Open follows in Odense, 13–18 October.

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