Kunlavut Vitidsarn suffered another early exit after losing in the men's singles first round of the US$950,000 BWF French Open in Paris on Tuesday.
Since winning the historic Asian Games men's singles gold medal in Japan last month, Kunlavut has competed in three successive tournaments, and the hectic schedule has likely taken its toll on the Thai star.
The top seed fell to France's Toma Junior Popov 21-9, 14-21, 15-21 in the sixth meeting between the two players, with their head-to-head record now standing at 3-3.
Kunlavut bowed out in the first round at the Denmark Open last week and was a quarter-finalist at the Arctic Open.
Kunlavut was gracious in defeat, praising Popov's all-round game while admitting fatigue played a huge role as the match wore on.
"He can play any style," Kunlavut told bwfworldtour.com. "I'm very tired; my performance wasn't good enough to win today."
The victory marked the first time Popov had beaten the Thai since 2021, but he kept the achievement in perspective.
"It gives me a lot of confidence, but it's only one win. I will have to prove myself in the next round and keep doing so," said Popov.
Another men's singles player, Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul, progressed after he beat Lee Chia-hao of Taiwan 21-10, 21-16. He will face either France's Alex Lanier or Indonesia's Jason Gunawan in the last 16.
Women's singles hope Pornpawee Chochuwong also advanced as she defeated Malaysia's Karupathevan Letshanaa 23-21, 21-15. She will play Japan's Nozomi Okuhara next.
Mixed doubles pair Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai edged past Dejan Ferdinansyah and Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu of Indonesia in the first round 21-18, 16-21, 21-16 on Wednesday.
However another Thai pair, Tanadon Punpanich and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat, bowed out to Wu Hsuang-yi and Yang Chu-yun of Taiwan 15-21, 11-21 on Tuesday.