Top 10 Badminton Legends of All Time (Respect!)
If you have been a badminton fan for some time, you will surely have a badminton legend or two in your mind.
Maybe their badminton skill wins your heart, or badminton reputation, or their stories, or others.
Today we have collected a list of badminton legends, some are old but not forgotten, while some are the epic current players.
Let’s dive right in.
Table of Contents
Lin Dan
Lin Dan is the most successful badminton player in the history of this sport. He has literally won everything he could with his 35 years of age.
Starting with a victory at Korea Open in 2002, Lin Dan has become two-time Olympic champion. Other notable achievements are a five-time champion of the world and impressive six-time All-England champion! He is also the first man who defended his Olympic Gold – it happened in 2012!
He is one of the best defensive players ever seen known for fabulous movement and unrealistic returns. Lin Dan has a bad habit to turn the defeat into a victory in the split of a second – his power of will is simply endless!
Lee Chong Wei
Lee Chong Wei is the best Malaysian badminton player of all time. No player in Malaysia has been that successful ever.
Lee was ranked 1st for 199 weeks in a row, from August from 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012. Here is the list of his trophies:
- Five times Commonwealth champion;
- Two times Asian championship winner;
- One time Southeast Asia champion;
- Three times silver medalist in the Olympic Games;
- Three silver medals and one bronze medal in the World Championships.
Taufik Hidayat
This retired Indonesian player was the opponent everybody afraid while he was active. He won the Olympic Games in 2004. Taufik is the winner of the Indonesian Open six times, which is an absolute record. Hidayat was also the winner of IBF World Championships.
His other most notable achievements are:
- World Championships – one silver and two bronze medals,
- Asian Games – 2 gold, one silver, and three bronze medals;
- Southeast Asian Games – 2 gold, 2 bronze medals;
- Thomas Cup – 2 gold medals.
Taufik Hidayat is known as the master of deceptions. He is one of the rare players who have the equal smashing power from forehand and backhand. Check out the highlights below to see why!
Tony Gunawan
This badminton player from Indonesia is world-wide known as one of the top male double players ever. Tony is a former Olympic medalist and champion of the world. He currently competes for the USA.
He switched a lot of partners during his career. In 2005, he won the World Championship with the American Howard Bach. His partner at the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000 was Candra Wijaya. Yet, his most successful co-player was definitively Halim Haryanto.
Gunawan is known a superb legendary all-around player with awesome net skills and reflexes.
Chen Long
He is also nicknamed “Little Lin Dan” due to his playing style and achievements. This Chinese superstar won the gold medal in the Olympic Games 2016.
He can also turn the defeat into a victory and transit from defense to offense very quickly. He even has no problem returning body shots!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlk7ldoEgiI&vl=en
He won All-England championship two times, just as the World Championship. He was Asian Champion once and the winner of Malaysian Open one time too.
Rudy Hartono
Rudy Hartono is the classic pioneer of this sport from Indonesia. During the era when badminton wasn’t that known, Rudy left a tremendous trail.
He is one of the first tactical players who preferred long rallies. He participated in 1972 Olympic Games in Munich when badminton was included as an Olympic discipline!
Hartono won All-England Championship an impressive six times in a row from 1968 to 1974. He competed at IBF World Championships in Jakarta 1980 and won the title off his first attempt!
Peter Gade
Peter Hoeg Gade is a retired Denmark player who was dominating from 1998 to 2006. He has an impressive score for a European competitor – 22 Grand-Prix titles!
Peter was a five times European champion, four times bronze and one-time silver medalist at the World Championships. He also won at Korea Open champion four times, and All-England Championship once.
His trademarks were very fast attacks and deceptive shots which were confusing even the best players in the world. Some people even call him a “trick shot expert”.
Viktor Axelsen
Viktor Axelsen is a 23-year-old badminton player from Denmark who shocks the world over and over with his achievements. Many players weren’t ranked even 100th in his age, and he storms Europe.
Viktor even parries the most legendary players in the world. He claims his most memorable title is the one he won at 2010’s Men Singles Champion. He is known for outstanding trick shots.
Here is the list of his achievements:
- 2016 Olympic Games bronze medal winner;
- BWF World Championships – gold medal in 2017, bronze medal in 2014;
- European Championships – first place in 2016 and 2018, third place in 2012, 2014, 2017.
Fu Hai Feng
Fu Hai Feng is a former professional badminton player from China. He is one of the best doubles players of all time, known for amazing net performance. He was ranked first in men’s doubles in 2011, while his partner was Cai Yun.
The list of his successes is very long:
- Thomas Cup – 5 gold and one bronze medals – men’s team;
- Sudirman Cup – 6 gold and two silver medals – mixed team;
- World Cup – gold medal in 2005 – men’s doubles;
- World Championships – four gold and two bronze medals – men’s doubles;
- Olympic Games – two gold and one silver medal – men’s doubles.
Lee Yong Dae
Lee Yong Dae is the best Korean badminton player of all time. He is retired but he left an undeletable trail in both men’s and mixed doubles. He was simply an excellent all-around player.
His titles are listed below:
- Asian Junior Championships – seven gold medals;
- World Junior Championships – three gold medals;
- Summer Universiade – three gold medals;
- Asian Championships – five-time winner;
- Asian Games – one gold medal;
- Olympic Games Beijing 2008 – gold medalist.
Other honorable mentions include one bronze medal in Olympic Games, three silvers and three bronzes at World Championships, and three silver medals in Asian Games.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AMNPL88__I
Gao Ling (Bonus)
Gao Ling is a Chinese badminton legend who is mostly known for his superb double skills. Her main features are anticipation, consistency, and amazing ability to recover. She is the only female player to hold 4 Olympic medals! She is the best female doubles player of all time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxBvSA__8XY
Gao has won four gold medals at BWF World Championships, one in mixed doubles and three in doubles. Her partner is Huang Sui. The two female legends earned six consecutive titles at All-England Championships! Her mixed doubles partner is Zhang Jun. The couple won two consecutive Olympic gold medals (2000 and 2004).
Who is your badminton legend?
Ok, it’s actually 11 badminton players in the list.
Who is your best one?
Comment below and let us know!
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