Players

Two-time Olympic medalist (gold 2020, bronze 2024). 6'4", dominant overhead game.

• 2020 Olympic gold + 2024 Olympic bronze
• 2017 + 2022 World Champion
• Career-high BWF #1
• 2020 + 2022 + 2024 All England champion

Started at Højbjerg BK in Aarhus and won the junior World Championship in 2010 at 16. Broke through senior ranks with a 2014 World Championships bronze, beating Lin Dan en route. Olympic gold in Tokyo 2020 followed by bronze defense in Paris 2024 — at 6'4" he set the standard for the modern attacking game.

Two-time Olympic champion (2008, 2012). Widely considered the greatest singles player of all time.

• 2008 + 2012 Olympic gold
• Five-time World Champion (2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
• Six-time All England Champion
• Career grand slam — every major title

Considered the greatest singles player to ever pick up the sport. A decade of dominance built on physical power and tactical flexibility — could grind from the back court or finish at the net. Olympic golds at Beijing (home soil) and London made him the first man to defend the singles title. Retired 2020 after a 20-year international career.

Three-time Olympic silver medalist. World #1 for a record 199 consecutive weeks.

• Three Olympic silvers (2008, 2012, 2016)
• 199 consecutive weeks at BWF #1 — record
• Four-time All England Champion
• Malaysia's flag-bearer at three Olympics

Malaysia's most decorated athlete in any sport. Held BWF #1 for 199 consecutive weeks — a record likely never to be broken. Lost three Olympic finals across three consecutive Games (Beijing, London, Rio) — the silver-medal narrative defined his career as much as his footwork did. Beat nasal cancer in 2018 before retiring in 2019.

2004 Olympic + 2005 World Champion. Considered to have the most beautiful backhand in badminton history.

Former World #1. Five-time European Champion. Never won Olympic gold but defined Danish badminton through the 2000s.

2016 Olympic gold + two-time World Champion. Retired 2021 after the Tokyo Olympics.

Two-time World Champion (2018, 2019). Career derailed by a 2020 car crash; retired 2024.

Eight-time All England Champion (record). 1970s-era global star, predates Olympic-era badminton.

Aggressive, attacking style — 2019 + 2024 World Championships silver.

2023 World Champion, Olympic silver 2024. Three consecutive junior world titles.

• 2023 World Champion
• 2024 Olympic silver
• Three consecutive Junior World Championships (2017-2019)

Thailand's standard-bearer, won three straight Junior Worlds before turning pro. Maturity beyond his age — patient rallies that wear opponents down rather than out-power them. Beat Kodai Naraoka in five games for the 2023 World title and took silver in Paris 2024.

Career-high BWF #1 in 2024. 2024 All England Champion.

2021 World Champion — first from Singapore.

2021 All England Champion. Malaysia's #1 men's singles since LCW retired.

2018 Asian Games bronze, Tokyo 2020 bronze.

2018 Asian Games gold. Consistent top-10 fixture.

Veteran top-10 player. Tall, attacking style with sharp net play.

2023 World Championships silver. Defensive-minded endurance player.

2022 All England runner-up. Commonwealth Games gold 2022.

Late-career breakthrough; 2023 Asian Games bronze and World Championships bronze.

2023 All England Champion.

North America's top men's singles player.

Younger Popov brother. France's other top MS player.

2024 Olympic gold + 2023 World Champion. Career grand slam by age 22.

• 2024 Olympic gold
• 2023 World Champion
• 2022 + 2023 Asian Games gold
• BWF Female Player of the Year 2023

Korean prodigy who broke into the senior circuit at 16 and won her first BWF World Tour title before turning 18. The 2023 World Championships win at 21 completed her career grand slam. Capped Paris 2024 with Olympic gold — at 22, already one of the most decorated women's singles players of her era.

Two-time World Champion (2021, 2022). Endurance specialist.

• Two-time World Champion (2021, 2022)
• Career-high BWF #1
• 2022 + 2024 All England runner-up

5'1" of relentless defense — turned a perceived height disadvantage into a stamina weapon. Back-to-back World titles in 2021 and 2022 anchored a long run inside the top 5. Court coverage and depth-shot consistency keep her competitive against a younger, taller field.

Olympic silver 2020. Wrist-deception player; longest-reigning WS #1.

• 2020 Olympic silver
• Longest-reigning women's singles #1 in BWF history
• Three-time All England Champion
• Two-time Asian Games gold

Taiwan's GOAT — held BWF WS #1 ranking longer than anyone in BWF history. Doesn't beat opponents with power; beats them with disguise. Every drop, slice, and net shot looks identical until the racquet face turns at the last frame. Retired from international play in late 2024.

Olympic gold 2020.

Olympic gold 2016. Three-time World Champion. Only European to win an Olympic singles title.

• 2016 Olympic gold (only European Olympic singles champion)
• Three-time World Champion (2014, 2015, 2018)
• Six-time European Champion
• Career-high BWF #1

Lone European in a sport long dominated by Asian programs — won gold in Rio 2016 with a screaming, fist-pumping intensity that shifted how women's singles is played. Two ACL injuries (2019 right knee, 2024 left knee in the Paris semifinal) cost her two more Olympic shots. The headline of her career is resilience, not just titles.

Olympic silver (2016) + bronze (2020). 2019 World Champion.

• 2019 World Champion (first Indian)
• Olympic silver 2016 + bronze 2020
• Five-time World Championship medalist

India's most decorated badminton player — Olympic medals at consecutive Games. Trained under Pullela Gopichand at his Hyderabad academy. Height and reach turn defensive rallies into attacking ones; her smash speed is among the fastest in women's singles.

First Indian to win Olympic medal in badminton (bronze 2012). India's torchbearer for women's badminton.

• 2012 Olympic bronze (India's first badminton medal)
• 2015 World Championships silver — first Indian woman to reach final
• World #1 in 2015
• Commonwealth Games gold (2010, 2018)

Hyderabad-trained alongside PV Sindhu under Pullela Gopichand. India's first Olympic badminton medallist (bronze London 2012) and the first Indian woman to top the BWF singles rankings. Her career-defining 2015 — World Championships silver plus a #1 ranking — set the highest peak any Indian woman has reached in the sport.

1992 Olympic gold — the first ever Olympic gold in badminton history. Indonesian national hero.

2012 Olympic silver. Long stints at WS #1. 2011 World Champion.

Back-to-back Olympic gold medals (2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing) — only WS player to defend the Olympic title.

Two-time World Champion (1983, 1989). China's first global badminton star alongside Han Aiping.

2024 Olympic silver (received via Marín's mid-final injury).

2024 All England Champion.

2024 Olympic bronze — Indonesia's first WS Olympic medal.

Teenage breakout — Japan's next-generation singles hope.

USA's top-ranked WS player. CHN-born, naturalised USA.

Canada's most decorated badminton player. Multi-time Pan Am champion.

Olympic silver 2024.

Olympic bronze 2020. 2022 World Champions.

2022 Commonwealth Games gold. 2023 Asian Games gold — India's first MD Asian Games gold.

England's top MD pair.

European powerhouse pair; multiple European titles.

2021 World Champions.

2022 All England Champions.

2012 Olympic gold + 2008 silver. Four-time World Champions together.

2008 Olympic gold. Hendra later partnered Mohammad Ahsan for two more World titles.

2012 Olympic silver. European doubles standard-bearers for a decade.

2014 + 2015 World Champions. Lee also won Olympic gold in XD (2008).

Olympic gold 2020. Five-time World Champions together.

2024 Olympic gold.

Malaysia's top WD pair.

India's emerging WD pair. Gayatri is Pullela Gopichand's daughter.

2018 + 2019 World Champions.

2004 Olympic silver. Gao Ling also won Olympic golds in XD (2000, 2004).

2016 Olympic gold — Japan's first Olympic badminton gold.

Olympic gold 2024. Multiple-time World Champions.

Former World #1; 2021 World Championships silver.

2024 Olympic silver.

Europe's top XD pair; multiple European titles.

2016 Olympic gold. Natsir also won Olympic silver (2008) and World gold with Nova Widianto earlier.

Back-to-back Olympic gold in XD (2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens).