Sudirman Cup 2023 Review: Shuttlers who impressed and who disappointed

China have won the prestigious tournament a record 13 times in 18 times editions.

The Sudirman Cup 2023, which began on May 14, concluded successfully on May 21, 2023, at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre. China, who had clinched the 2021 edition of the prestigious event, was victorious once again in the Sudirman Cup 2023 to claim its 13th title. South Korea had to settle for second place, also their fifth-runner-up title. While Malaysia and Japan were the semi-finalists in the 18th edition of the event.

In the finals, China accomplished the incredible feat with a clinical performance over South Korea by a 3-0 win. Zheng Siwei/Huang Ya Qiong started well for China by winning the first match against Seo Seung Jae/Chae Yu Jung by 18-21 22-20 21-8. Shi Yuqi joined the party through a comfortable win over Lee Yun Gyu. The third match saw Chen Yu Fei, sealing the deal for China, as she defeated An Se Young by 21-16 22-20 to give the nation its 13th Sudirman Cup title. 

Sudirman Cup 2023: Shuttlers who impressed the most

Men's Singles

Lee Zii Jia (Malaysia)

Lee Zii Jia played an invaluable role in guiding Malaysia to the semi-final of the Sudirman Cup 2023. He started his campaign with a comprehensive win over Australia’s Ricky Tang of Australia by 21-3, 21-13. He then went on to defeat the 2021 World Championships silver medalist Srikanth Kidambi and World No.5 Chou Tien-Chen of Chinese Taipei in straight sets. In the quarter-final, he was given a walkover by World no.1 Viktor Axelsen. However, despite Malaysia’s loss to South Korea in the semi-final by 1-3, Lee Zii Jia won his match-up against Jeon Hyeok-jin in a dominant fashion by 21-11, 21-9.

Shi Yuqi (China)

In the group matches, Shi Yuqi got the better of Egypt’s Adham Hatem Elgamal and Jason Teh of Singapore in straight games. In the quarters, he faced Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, the World no. 2, who he overcame in a little challenging game, though in straight sets by 22-20, 21-14. The semi-final saw a three-set game between Shi Yuqi and Japan’s Kodai Naraoka, the World no.3.

Although the World no.10 lost the first set, he bounced back strongly to win the battle with a score of 13-21, 21-17, 21-17. In the finals, he yet again gave China an advantage by taking them one step closer to their 13th-ever title by defeating Yun Gyu Lee by 21-13, 21-17.

Women's Singles

An Se Young (South Korea)

The 21-year-old An Se Young was dominant right from the beginning for Korea and paved the way for them to the big final. World no. 2 got past the likes of World no. 1 Akane Yamaguchi in one of the group games and the Tokyo Olympics 2020 silver medalist Tai Tzu-Ying in the quarter-finals. However, in the final, she couldn’t continue her dominance as she lost to the World no. 4 Chen Yufei by 16-21, 20-22.

Chen Yufei (China) 

The reigning Olympic champion Chen Yufei was instrumental in China’s record 13th Sudirman Cup title in the 2023 edition. Throughout the tournament, she just lost one match to World No.1 Akane Yamaguchi by 14-21, 15-21 in the semi-final.

Her triumphs in the tournament came against An Se Young in the finals, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the quarters, and Line Christophersen and Rahma Eladawy in the group stage.

Men's Doubles

Aaron Chia/Soo Wooi Yik (Malaysia) 

Aaron Chia/Soo Wooi Yik were an integral part of the Malaysian team that reached the semi-finals of the Sudirman Cup 2023. En route to the semis, they defeated Australia’s Jack Yu/Rayne Wang and World no. 5 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty in the group stage and Kim Astrup/ Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the quarters. Their only loss was against Won Ho Kim/ Sung Seung Na by 21-12, 21-11 in the semi-finals of the tournament.

Women's Doubles

Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan (Malaysia)

Malaysia fielded Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan for three matches in the tournament and the duo didn’t disappoint. They won all three games and dropped just one set. The World no. 8 pair defeated Gronya Somerville/Kaitlyn Ea of Australia 21-12, 21-13, one of their prime rivals Treesa Jolly/ Gayatri Gopichand 21-15, 21-13 and Chun Hsun Teng/ Ya Ching Hsu in three sets 21-15, 19-21, 21-15.

Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan (China)

The three-time World champion Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan from China won all three matches which they played in the Sudirman Cup 2023 in a commanding fashion. They got the better of Yu Jia Jin/Jia Ying Crystal Wong 21-7, 21-8 and Denmark’s Maiken Fruergaard/ Sara Thygesen 21-16, 21-14 in the group matches.

The duo ensured China an easy victory as they defeated Sayaka Hirota/Yuki Fukushima of Japan by 21-11, 21-6, which was pivotal in the nation’s win over Japan by 3-2.

Mixed Doubles

Seo Seung-jae/Chae Yu Jung (South Korea)

Seo Seung-jae/Chae Yu Jung won two of their three games at the Sudirman Cup. They played a vital part in Korea’s route to the finals. Except in the gold medal match, they were at their best form as they overcame the challenge from Tang Jie Chen/Ee Wei Toh by 11-21, 21-13, 21-7 and Chinese Taipei’s Po-Hsuan Yang/Ling Fang Hu by 21-17, 21-19.

Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong (China)

At the Sudirman Cup 2023, Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong competed in just two games, which were knockout matches. Despite that, the mixed doubles pair emerged victorious and helped in gaining the lead for China. In two important games, they prevailed over Rinov Rivaldy/ Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (Indonesia) and Seung Jae Seo/ Yu Jung Chae of Korea.

Sudirman Cup 2023: Shuttlers who disappointed

Men’s Singles

Kodai Naraoka (Japan)

The World No. 3 shuttler Kodai Naraoka was one of the athletes who couldn’t live up to the hype. The Japanese failed to impress, winning just one game out of the three which he played as he lost to Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the quarters in straight sets and Shi Yuqi in the semi-finals by 21-13, 15-21, 17-21.

Women’s Singles

PV Sindhu (India)

The two-time Olympics medalist PV Sindhu didn’t grab a single victory at the Sudirman Cup 2023 as she faced defeat in two of the group matches in which she competed - one against her rival, Tai Tzu-Ying and another against lower-ranked opponent Jin Wei Goh of Malaysia. The World No. 11 hasn’t been in form lately and it was evident during the Sudirman Cup.

Men’s Doubles

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (India)

The World no. 5 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty from India who were estimated to perform well based on their good run in the 2023 season weren’t up to the mark as they couldn’t win a single match in their Sudirman Cup 2023 campaign. Although the first game against Lee Yang/ Ye Hongwei went to three sets, their next match against Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik ended in a straight-set defeat. This was also Chirag and Satwik’s sixth defeat against the Malaysian pair, without winning a single match.

Women’s Doubles

Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (Japan)

The World no. 4 pair of Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota had a discouraging run at the Sudirman Cup. They were completely outclassed by the Chinese pair of Jia Yifan/Chen Qingchen in the semis by 21-11 and 21-6, having lost the first match to Baek Ha-na/Lee So-hee 21-13, 21-18.

Jongkolphan KitithRakul/Rawinda Prajongjai (Thailand)

Jongkolphan KitithRakul/Rawinda Prajongjai were able to win just one out of their games. Their losses at the prestigious event came when they lost to Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida in quarters and Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti in the group stage.

Mixed Doubles

Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino (Japan)

The World no.2 pair, Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino, were not at their best throughout the Sudirman Cup. They lost their first match to World No. 5 Thom Gicquel/ Delphine Delrue and then against Kim Won-ho/Jeong Na-eun, both during the group stages.