BWF Year-End Awards 2023: Full list of winners

Korea bagged Male and Female Player of the Year awards.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) honoured the best players and pairs of the year at the BWF Year-End Awards 2023 ceremony, which was held in conjunction with the BWF World Tour Finals 2023 draw ceremony in Hangzhou, China on 11 December.

The ceremony saw Korea bag the top honours, as An Se Young and Seo Seung Jae won the female and male player of the year awards respectively. An Se Young and Seo Seung Jae also became the first Korean players to win these awards since Lee Yong Dae and Park Joo Bong in 2008.

An Se Young, who turned 21 this year, had a phenomenal season, winning 11 titles in the assessment period. She became the youngest ever world champion in women’s singles, as well as the first Korean to win the Asian Games gold in the same event. She also won five consecutive titles in a span of two months, including the prestigious All England Open and the Denmark Open as well as Asian Games Gold.

An, who is currently ranked No.1 in the world, beat off stiff competition from China’s Chen Yu Fei and Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, who were also nominated for the female player of the year award.

Seo Seung Jae, 25, made history by becoming the first male double title winner at the BWF World Championships since 1999, when he won the men’s doubles with Kang Min Hyuk and the mixed doubles with Chae Yu Jung. He also won four BWF World Tour titles in the period, including the Indonesia Open and the French Open.

Seo, who is ranked No.2 in both men’s doubles and mixed doubles, edged out former world champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and current world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, who were also nominated for the male player of the year award.

Apart from the individual awards, China won awards in three categories, as women’s doubles pair Chen Qing Chen & Jia Yi Fan, mixed doubles pair Jiang Zhen Bang & Wei Ya Xin, and men’s doubles pair Liu Sheng Shu & Tan Ning won different categories.

Chen/Fan, who are the world No.1 pair in women’s doubles, dominated the 2023 season with seven titles, including the Asian Games gold, the Sudirman Cup and the Thomas & Uber Cup. They were named for the ‘Pair of the Year’ award, ahead of India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, China’s Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong and mixed doubles world champions Seo/Chae Yu Jung.

Bang/Xin, who are the world No.3 pair in mixed doubles, were named ‘Most Improved Player of the Yea’ ahead of Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei and Denmark’s Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen. Bang/Xin won five titles in the assessment period, including the Asian Championships and the Swiss Open.

Shu/Ning, who are the world No.9 pair in men’s doubles, received the ‘Eddy Choong Most Promising Player’ award, ahead of Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin and Thailand’s Benyapa Aimsaard/Pornnicha Suwatnodom. Shu/Ning broke into the top 10 of the world rankings with four World Tour titles, including the China Open and the Korea Open.

There were also awards for the best dressed male and female player at the Gala. Chen Tang Jie of Malaysia and Jongkolphan Kititharakul of Thailand walked away with the respective prizes. Chen wore a stylish black suit with a red tie, while Jongkolphan wore a stunning blue gown with a floral pattern.

The ceremony also set the stage for the BWF World Tour Finals 2023, which will be held from December 13 to 17 in Hangzhou, China. The BWF World Tour Finals 2023 will feature the top eight players and pairs in each category, who will compete for the prestigious title and a share of the USD 1.5 million prize money.

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BWF Year-End Awards 2023: Full list of Winners

• Male Player of the Year: Seo Seung Jae (South Korea)
• Female Player of the Year: An Se Young (South Korea)
• Pair of the Year: Chen Qing Chen & Jia Yi Fan (China)
• Most Improved Player of the Year: Jiang Zhen Bang & Wei Ya Xin (China)
• Most Promising Player of the Year: Liu Sheng Shu & Tan Ning (China)
• Best Dressed Male Award: Chen Tang Jie (Malaysia)
• Best Dressed Female Award: Jongkolphan Kititharakul (Thailand)

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