Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk said he would want to dedicate his title to late Thailand King Bhumibol Adulyadej after winning the 2016 Denmark Open Men's singles event on Sunday.
The Thai shuttler outclassed sixth seed Son Wan Ho without much trouble in straight games. The South Korean had no answers to an array of smashes from Tanongsak, who took only 52 minutes to claim his maiden Superseries title.
Son missed out on an opportunity to claim the title in the absence of fellow top seeds, including Lee Chong Wei, in the final stages. On the other hand, Tanongsak outclassed giant-slayer Brice Leverdez, who defeated the Malaysian great and fifth seed Chen Chou Tian, in the semi-final.
Fresh from his success at the 2016 Thailand Open, which was also his first Grand Prix Gold title, Tanongsak has continued with good momentum and avenged his Singapore Open defeat earlier this year against Son with a top-notch showing, which was applauded by the fans at the Odense Park.
Tanongsak could not hide his emotions and was quick to acknowledge Thai King Bhumibol, who breathed his last aged 88 on 13 October, which was also the 26-year-old's birthday. He even went on to pose with a photograph of the revered monarch while holding the Denmark Open trophy on the podium.
Notably, Thai pairing of Bodin Isara and Nipitphon Phuangphuapet, who finished as runners-up in the Men's doubles category, came up with a similiar gesture.
The Thais entered a one-year mourning period for their late King and have been asked to tone down entertainment activities for a period of 30 days.
"I have been playing internationally 11 years and I am so happy today, so happy I can give this gift for my king," Tanongsak was quoted as saying by the BWF's official website.
"I have been training harder and trying to stay focused longer on court.
"I am surprised to win. It was a tough match. I hope I can play like this more often."
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Japanese shuttler Akane Yamaguchi made light work of Taiwan's Tai Tzu Ying 19-21, 21-14, 21-12 to clinch the Women's singles title in Denmark. Notably, her Sunday's win comes weeks after her title-winning campaign at the 2016 Korea Open.
Yamaguchi made it special in Denmark by edging past world number one Carolina Marin in the semi-final. The motivated youngster revealed that she wanted to build on her recent success and keep improving.
"There are players who are higher than me in the rankings and more experienced than me, I want to improve and keep getting good results and move up the rankings," Yamaguchi said.
