Kunlavut faces Lu Guang Zu in China Masters last 16

Thailand’s Kunlavut “View” Vitidsarn will face China’s Lu Guang Zu in the men’s singles round of 16 at the LI-NING China Masters 2026 on Thursday (September 3, 2026).

The match is eighth in the order of play on Court 1 and is scheduled to begin at approximately 1.50pm Thailand time. The starting time may change depending on the duration of the preceding matches.

The BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament is being held at Shenzhen Arena in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, from September 1-6.

Kunlavut advanced after recovering from a game down to defeat Japan’s Yushi Tanaka 15-21, 21-14, 22-20 in the opening round.

Lu represents a familiar opponent for the Thai player. Kunlavut has won eight of the nine previous meetings listed between the pair, with Lu’s only victory coming at the 2021 BWF World Championships.

One of Kunlavut’s most emphatic wins came in the 2025 Singapore Open final, where he defeated Lu 21-6, 21-10.

Previous meetings

• 2026 All England Open, round of 32: Kunlavut won 21-15, 21-10.
• 2026 India Open, round of 16: Kunlavut won 21-14, 21-16.
• 2025 Denmark Open, round of 32: Kunlavut won 20-22, 21-9, 21-18.
• 2025 Singapore Open, final: Kunlavut won 21-6, 21-10.
• 2025 Badminton Asia Championships, final: Kunlavut led 21-12, 11-6 when Lu retired.
• 2025 Indonesia Masters, round of 16: Kunlavut won 18-21, 21-8, 21-15.
• 2024 All England Open, round of 32: Kunlavut won 19-21, 21-18, 21-15.
• 2023 Thailand Open, quarter-finals: Kunlavut won 18-21, 21-14, 21-11.
• 2021 BWF World Championships, round of 64: Lu won 21-16, 21-12.

The winner will advance to Friday’s quarter-finals.

Thailand’s first-round results at China Masters 2026

• Mixed doubles: Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai beat Chinese Taipei’s Yang Po-hsuan and Hu Ling-fang 13-21, 21-13, 21-11.
• Men’s singles: Kunlavut Vitidsarn beat Japan’s Yushi Tanaka 15-21, 21-14, 22-20.
• Women’s singles: Pornpawee Chochuwong lost to Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-chian 14-21, 15-21.
• Women’s singles: Supanida Katethong beat Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching 21-14, 21-14.
• Women’s singles: Ratchanok Intanon beat Chinese Taipei’s Tung Ciou-Tong 21-16, 21-14.
• Women’s singles: Tonrak Saeheng lost to China’s Wang Zhi Yi 6-21, 14-21.
• Men’s singles: Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul lost to France’s Christo Popov 21-9, 21-23, 16-21.
• Mixed doubles: Tonkid Saeheng and Tonrak Saeheng lost to India’s Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto 8-21, 9-21.
• Women’s doubles: Nuntakarn Aimsaard and Benyapa Aimsaard beat Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mai Tanabe 21-19, 21-12.

Thursday’s China Masters schedule for Thai players

All times are approximate and shown in Thailand time.

Court 1

• 10.30am, match four, mixed doubles: Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai face China’s Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping.
• 1.50pm, match eight, men’s singles: Kunlavut Vitidsarn faces China’s Lu Guang Zu.

Court 2

• 12.10pm, match six, women’s doubles: Nuntakarn Aimsaard and Benyapa Aimsaard face Malaysia’s Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan.

Court 3

• 8am, match one, women’s singles: Supanida Katethong faces Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-chian.
• 12.50pm, match eight, women’s singles: Ratchanok Intanon faces Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova.

The semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday, followed by the finals on Sunday.

Thai viewers can watch the match on True Sports 7, channel 686.

Photo credits: BadmintonPhoto, the Badminton Association of Thailand and BWF Badminton