Pannawit Thongnuam lifted the moods of local fans at the Thung Jaeng Gymnasium in Trang when he upset top seed Riichi Takeshita of Japan 21-19 24-22 to win the men’s singles title in the Smiling Fish International Challenge badminton on Saturday.

Young gun Pannawit Thongnuam staged the biggest upset in the Smiling Fish International Challenge by knocking out the second seed Subhankar Dey of India 21-9 21-14 in the men’s singles quarter-finals on Thursday in Trang.