Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan to be inducted into BWF Hall of Fame

Both legends dominated the men's singles section during their careers.

Badminton legends Lin Dan (China) and Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) have been elected to the BWF Hall of Fame for 2023. Both shuttlers will be inducted at a ceremony on May 26 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Malaysia. The pair enjoyed equal success in their respective careers dominating the court whenever they played. 

Malaysian legend Lee Chong Wei retired in 2019, finishing with 47 BWF World Tour titles and spent 349 weeks as WR 1(the most in the badminton circuit to date). Lee is a triple silver medalist at the Olympic Games (Beijing, London, and Rio), and was the sixth Malaysian to win an Olympic medal. He announced his retirement after struggling to return to full fitness following a nose cancer diagnosis and finished his career with 713 wins and 135 losses (win: loss - 5:1 approx).

On the other hand, Chinese legend Lin Dan had major success at the Olympic Games as he won two Olympic gold medals and five World Championship titles. Lin had completed the "Super Grand Slam'' by winning nine major titles in the badminton circuit - Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, Super Series Masters Finals, All England Open, Asian Games, and Asian Championships, becoming the first and only player to achieve this feat. The former WR 1 also became the first men's singles player to retain the Olympic gold medal by winning in 2008 (Beijing Olympics) and successfully defending his title in 2012 (London Olympics).

The BWF President Poul-Erik Høyer on the induction said, “Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan were among the foremost ambassadors of badminton over a major part of the last two decades. With their outstanding performances, they drew whole generations of fans to the sport. They both richly deserve to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.”