Vitidsarn, An off to winning starts in season finale

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Dec 17 - Thailands Kunlavut Vitidsarn beat Jonatan Christie while South Koreas An Se-Young battled past Putri Kusuma Wardani on a contrasting opening day for the ‍top-ranked ​players at the badminton World Tour Finals ‍in Hangzhou on Wednesday.

Vitidsarn, the mens world number one, got off to a fast start ​and ​dominated the exchanges throughout his 21-10 21-14 group stage victory over Christie for his sixth win against the Indonesian player.

It was far less ‍straightforward for the top-ranked womens player An, who overcame a dip in ​the second game of her ⁠Group A contest before earning a 21-16 8-21 21-8 win over Indonesias Wardani at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center.

An, the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medallist and former world champion, ​is looking to win her first title in the season-ending championship that features the best ‌eight players in the world.

Meanwhile, ​reigning womens world champion Akane Yamaguchi staved off the challenge of Japanese compatriot Tomoka Miyazaki for a 21-14 21-17 win while Pornpawee Chochuwong beat Ratchanok Intanon 21-18 14-21 21-10 in a battle between Thai players.

In a high-octane contest that ran for 78 minutes, Frances Christo Popov earned a thrilling win ‍21-13 12-21 21-19 win over Denmarks Anders Antonsen to progress to ​the next round.

World number two Li Shi Feng will play her Chinese counterpart Shi ​Yu Qi, while Chinese Taipeis Chou Tien Chen ‌will face off against Japans Kodai Naraoka in the remaining singles contests for the day. REUTERS