The One and Only View
Sixteen years ago, a tiny 7-year-old boy started playing badminton upon encouragement from his parents who were concerned about his asthma which got worse over time. Seeing that exercise could also ease his family’s financial burden when he won one competition after another, Kunlavut Vitidsarn (also known as View) decided to take his talent a step further. At the age of 10, the badminton genius declared three goals he wanted to achieve. Last year, he made it with the first one; becoming Thailand’sfirst world badminton champion in men’s singles.
That was just a beginning of the road to glory forthe 23-year-old athlete who just won a silver medalatthe 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. Dubbed “Three – Game God”, the three-times World JuniorChampion has earned the nickname from his playing style that requires him to play three games to win in the end.It also reflects his exceptional stamina, patience, and astonishingly laser-sharp focus: three essential characteristics which will take him all theway to achieve his second and third goals: winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games and the All England Open Badminton Championships, theworld’soldest badminton tournament.
By now, what does badminton mean to you?
It has become my life now. It’s beyond passion. I’ve been living with it for more than half of my life. That’s 16 years and now I’m 23. So badminton is my whole life.
Have you ever thought what you would be doing if you didn’t play badminton?
That’s verydifficulttoanswer.Infact,I’vehardly played any other sports since I started badminton. I didn’t have time for anything else except practicing either, so I have no idea at all what I would be doing.
You have talked about frequent boredom during practice. How do you handle it?
It’s pretty normal for athletes to sufferboredom from doing the same moves and practice repeatedly. I believe that if we can overcome that point, we all can succeed in our endeavor. Some people gave up so easily when they’re bored or tired. I’ve found it very hard forthemtobesuccessful.Butifyou’reoneofthethose whocontinuetoputaneffort,itmeanspassionisjust part of it (your success). It’s impossible to carry on with just passion.
If so, what’s more important than passion? What do you think will take an athlete all the way to the top?
It’s better to have a clear goal as we will be able to keep going. In my opinion, having a goal allows us to have the right focus.
Are those three goals the same as your ultimate life goal? If they’re different, what is your ultimate goal?
To be honest, I don’t have any plan in mind after the badminton part because I want to complete this chapter of my life. It doesn’t matter if I’m gonna be a champ or not. My point is that I want to give my best to the sport…The fact that professional athletes have a very short career lifespan makes me want to stay super focused on badminton.
How do you develop grit and stay focused on your goals, which you made at the age of 10 despite the extremely tough practice?
You need to have fun with what you do first, no stress. When I was little and won many medals andawards, I felt those are better motivations than otherthings.ButonceIgottoknowsportsstarsfrombothThailand and abroad, I realized they could be rich andfamous while being the best at what they do. It mademe feel this is what I should do because we only liveonce and that I’m the kind of person who goes all theway when I do something. In case of failure, at least Ican say I did my best.
Since I’ve become an athlete, it’s very easy to keep my focus within the court. My knowledge and understanding of the world is almost zero because I devote most of my time to badminton.
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