Greatest Badminton Players
The following is from my personal opinion.
There are many talented and great players for sure.
The list is just some of them:
Lin Dan- GOAT of Badminton
Lin Dan (Chinese: 林丹; born 14 October 1983)[1] is a Chinese former professional badminton player. He is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, five-time World champion, two-time World Cup champion, two-time Asian games gold medalist, four-time Asian Champion, as well as a six-time All England champion. Widely regarded as the greatest badminton player of all time,[3][4][5] by the age of 28 Lin had completed the "Super Grand Slam", having won the full set of all nine major titles in the badminton world of his time: Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, Thomas/Uber Cup, Sudirman Cup, Year-end Finals, All England Open, Asian Games, and Asian Championships, becoming the third player to achieve this feat after Ge Fei and Gu Jun.[6][7]
Viktor Axelsen - maybe next GOAT
Viktor Axelsen (born 4 January 1994) is a Danish badminton player. He is a two-time Olympic Champion, two-time World Champion, and four-time European Champion. He has held the No. 1 BWF World Ranking in men's singles for a total of 183 weeks (as of August 2024), and he is the current world No. 2.[2] Known for his powerful smashes and solid defence, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest badminton players of all time.[3][4][5][6]
Lee Chong Wei- A Tragic Hero
Datuk Lee Chong Wei DB, DCSM, PJN, DSPN, AMN, JP, PhD(SptsSc) (h.c.) (Chinese: 李宗伟; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lí Chong-úi; born 21 October 1982) is a Malaysian former professional badminton player. As a singles player, Lee was ranked first worldwide for 349 weeks, including a 199-week streak from 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012.[1][2] He is the fifth Malaysian player after Foo Kok Keong, Rashid Sidek, Roslin Hashim and Wong Choong Hann to achieve such a ranking (since official rankings were first kept in the 1980s), and is the only Malaysian shuttler who has held the number one ranking for more than a year.[3] On 2 May 2023, Lee was inducted to BWF Badminton Hall of Fame.[4][5] He is considered in sources as one of the greatest badminton players of all time.[6][7]
Taufik Hidayat- Mr. Backhand
Taufik Hidayat (born 10 August 1981) is an Indonesian retired badminton player. He is a former World, Olympic, two time Asian Games, and three time Asian champion, and the youngest world number one in the men's singles. Hidayat has won the Indonesia Open six times (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006).[2] He is considered one of the great men's single players in badminton history and has earned the nickname "Mr. Backhand".[3]
Kento Momota- The Brightest Meteor
Kento Momota (桃田 賢斗, Momota Kento, born 1 September 1994) is a former Japanese badminton player.[1] He has won several major badminton tournaments including two World Championships titles, two Asian Championships titles, and one All England title. Momota has received a Guinness World Records certificate for "The most badminton men's singles titles in a season", for his achievements by winning 11 titles in the 2019 season.[2] He is considered to be one of the greats of badminton.[3][4]
Lee Yong-dae- Handsome and Dangerous
Lee Yong-dae (Korean: 이용대; Hanja: 李龍大; Korean pronunciation: [i.joŋ.dɛ̝]; born 11 September 1988) is a professional badminton player from South Korea who had been successful in both men's and mixed doubles. He reached world number 1 ranking with 4 different partners, Jung Jae-sung, Ko Sung-hyun and Yoo Yeon-seong in men's doubles, and Lee Hyo-jung in mixed doubles. He won a total of 43 Superseries titles, 37 in the men's doubles, the most of any doubles player in one discipline, and 6 in mixed doubles. He was ranked world number 1 in men's doubles for 117 consecutive weeks with his last partner, Yoo Yeon-seong.
Tony Gunawan- Frontcourt Master
Tony Gunawan (Chinese: 吳俊明; pinyin: Wu Junming; born April 9, 1975) is an Indonesian-born American former badminton player. He gained several international achievements for Indonesia and later for the United States, including Olympic gold medal and world champion title.
Gao Ling- Maybe best female mix player
Noted for her consistency, anticipation, forecourt prowess, and sporting smile, Gao is one of the most successful doubles players in the history of women's badminton. Her four Olympic badminton medals are the most of any player.
She has won titles at almost every top tier tournament in the world. Gao has earned four gold medals (among nine medals in total) at the BWF World Championships, three of them in women's doubles with Huang Sui (2001, 2003, and 2006) and one of them in mixed doubles with Zhang Jun (2001). She and Zhang Jun won consecutive gold medals in mixed doubles at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, overcoming severe tests in both.
Rudy Hartono
Rudy Hartono Kurniawan (born Nio Hap Liang (Chinese: 梁海量; pinyin: Liáng Hǎiliàng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Niô͘ Hái-liâng);[2] 18 August 1949) is an Indonesian former badminton player holding the record of winning the men's singles title at the All-England Championship eight times,[3] including seven times consecutively from 1968 to 1974.[4] He won the World Championship in 1980 on his only attempt at this title. He is one of the most famous players in the history of the sport and is considered to be one of the greatest badminton players of all time.[5][6]