Stressing that he gave his 120 percent to fulfill a lifelong dream of winning the Badminton World Championship, Chinese juggernaut Shi Yuqi said he had adopted a good mindset to take him to his first ever world title.
Yuqi who only had one silver at the World Championship prior to this last week at Paris, overcame Thailand’s defending champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn in a gruelling three-game final finishing with a win margin of of 19-21, 21-10, 21-18 after losing the first set.
Yuqi has won 9 out of last 9 Tour Finals, and has been on a hot streak at Super 1000s. “Every match at this World Championships was tough,“ Shi was quoted as saying after the match by South China Post. “In the final, I gave it 120 per cent – I adopted a very positive mindset, focusing solely on winning, and not dwelling on the possibility of losing.”
The World No 1 had missed out in Paris last year at the Olympics, and China had been without a World title since 2015 when Chen Long won at Jakarta. Yuqi had won last silver in mens singles at Nanjing in 2018 for China.
Yuqi said he was “genuinely chuffed” after beating Kunlavut Vitidsarn in one hour and 17 minutes at Adidas Arena in Paris. “People often perceive me as performing better in team events. But in individual competitions, I always give my utmost effort,” Shi told reporters. “This time, finally securing my first individual world championship title makes me so delighted.”
“I fought six matches in this tournament, each one incredibly tough. Many were matches I nearly lost but managed to turn around. So clinching it in the end felt incredibly hard-won,” added Shi as quoted by South China Post.
Yuqi said he had felt intese relief after the shuttle drifted out giving him the title. Sinking to his knees in tears he said he frlt “simply the relief of winning this match.”
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2025 has been a year of many firsts. Yuqi had claimed his first China Open title last month, adding to Malaysia and Indonesia. “This time, my mindset was simply focused on winning. Many players fear defeat, but for me, it was purely about victory without dwelling on the outcome. I also felt I no longer needed to prove anything,” he added.
