Top 10 badminton players who retired in 2024

Many badminton stars announced their retirements from the sport this year.

The year 2024 has been emotional for badminton fans, with several legends bidding adieu to the sport. Japanese fans, in particular, faced a series of shocks as several top players announced their retirement. The most surprising was Aya Ohori, who posted on Instagram that she would retire at the end of the year.

Kento Momota, Wakana Nagahara, Kanta Tsuneyama, and the doubles pair Akira Kago and Taichi Sato were the other notable badminton players who retired in 2024.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Lee Yang also announced his retirement after playing his final tournament, the Taipei Open. Lee, alongside his partner Wang Chi Lin, had a successful career that culminated with them defending their Olympic gold in Paris.

Meanwhile, Indonesian fans also bid farewell to their legendary doubles pair, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, popularly known as the “Minions” while the “Daddies”, Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan also announced their retirements.

Tokyo Olympic silver medallist He Bing Jiao of China retired post-Olympics while the Thai women’s doubles team of Rawinda Prajongjai and Jongkolphan Kititharakul also announced their farewells from the sport. Zheng Siwei is also another top name to retire this year.

The other players who have announced retirement are Liu Yuchen, Ou Xuanyi, Tan Qiang, Rena Miyaura and Selena Piek. Let’s look at the top 10 players who have announced their retirement in 2024.

Badminton players who retired in 2024

1. Aya Ohori

The most shocking announcement of this year will definitely be Aya Ohori. The World No. #7 has said goodbye to the sport at the age of 28 following the conclusion of the 2024 BWF World Tour finals. Aya Ohori has won eight titles (five Super Series, one International Challnage and two World Tour).

In 2022, she won the Asian Games bronze medal after defeating Tai Tzu Ying and Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals respectively. She also played a key role in the team events at Hangzhou as the third women’s singles players behind Nozomi Okuhara and Akane Yamaguchi, helping the team to a bronze-medal finish in the team event.

2. Rawinda Prajongjai/Jongkolphan Kititharakul

Thailand pair Rawinda and Jongkolphan are among the top names who bid adieu to badminton this year. The duo together has won four world tour titles and three Grand Prix titles together. They were an integral part of the Thailand mixed and women’s teams and helped their nation to two bronze medals in the Sudirman Cup and one silver & two bronze in the Uber Cup.

They women’s doubles pair won a bronze medal at the 2023 Asian Championships and reached as high as World No. #5 in the BWF Rankings.

Also Read: Top 10 best moments in Indian sports in 2024

3. Wakana Nagahara

Nagahara, a former World No. #1 in women’s doubles alongside Mayu Matsumoto, has also announced her retirement this year. The pair together were crowned world champions in consecutive editions and also returned with bronze medals in the following two Championships. In 2018, Nagahara won the Most Improved Player of the Year award after lifting two titles on the BWF World Tour and reaching five finals.

Wakana Nagahara finishes her career with a total of eight titles (five world tours, two Grand Prix and one International Series). Among them is the prestigious All England Open, which she and Matsumoto clinched in 2021—two years after finished as runners-up.

4. Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi

Liu Yuchen, the Chinese doubles specialist, has retired from badminton along with his partner Ou Xuanyi. Before teaming up with Xuanyi, Liu had played with Li Junhui. Together they had won silver at the Tokyo Olympics and were also crowned World Champions in 2018. Yuchen/Junhui also bagged bronze in the same competition a year later.

Liu has a total of 16 titles from 31 finals, of which 11 came with Li Junhui and four titles with Ou Xuanyi. On the other hand, Ou Xuanyi has won 10 titles. Before partnering with Liu Yuchen, Ou’s partners were Ren Xiangyu and Zhang Nan.

Xuanyi and Yuchen together won four BWF Tour titles, which also includes the BWF World Tour Finals in 2022 where they defeated Daddies (21-17, 19-21, 21-12).

Also Read: Top five greatest badminton players from USA ft. Beiwen Zhang

5. He Bing Jiao

Paris Olympic silver medalist, He Bing Jiao’s retirement came as a shocker for many badminton lovers. The 27-year-old was always seen as an underrated player due to the fantastic competition in women’s singles during her time. Throughout her career, the Chinese has been a force to be reckoned with in the badminton world.

She won an impressive 12 BWF World Tour titles and reached as high as number #5 in the world rankings. He Bing Jiao was also part of the victorious Uber Cup and Sudirman Cup, two major team competitions in badminton, sides with China. Apart from these, she also won two bronze medals at the World Championships, a silver and two bronze at the Asian Championships as well as two silver and a bronze at the Asian Games.

6. Lee Yang

Two-time Olympic medalist, Lee Yang, also bid farewell to the sport this year. Lee Yang had an emotional retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena, where he played his final match during the Taipei Open. A doubles specialist, Lee with his partner Wang Chi-lin won back-to-back Olympic gold medals, becoming the first unseeded men’s doubles pair to win consecutive gold in Olympic history.

The men’s doubles category is a fast discipline and to maintain such consistency for a long time is remarkable. During his career, Lee won a total of eight BWF World Tour titles, among them two Super 1000 titles and one World Tour finals. He also won one Super Series and three Grand Prix titles with his previous partner Lee Jhe-hui.

Lee will be remembered for his back-to-back Olympic gold and has been one of the best players the nation has ever produced.

Also Read: Top five greatest badminton players from Malaysia

7. Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon

The Indonesian superstars, popularly known as the “Minions,” got their nickname due to their fast and agile playing style and average height, similar to the Minions from the movie Despicable Me. They were a dominant force in men’s doubles, achieving incredible success over the years.

The duo won 19 World Tour titles, 10 Superseries titles, and 4 Grand Prix titles, establishing themselves as one of the most formidable pairs in men’s doubles history. They dominated the men’s doubles sector for quite a long time in the world tour.

Marcus Fernaldi Gideon also partnered with another Indonesian legend, Markis Kido, and enjoyed significant success with him as well. The Minions’ fast and agile gameplay will surely be missed on the world stage.

8. Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan

Popularly known as the Daddies, Indonesian doubles pair Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan bid adieu to the sport after playing for 12 years together. Since coming together in 2012, the duo contested 34 finals in the BWF World Your and won 15 titles—which includes three gold and one silver at the World Championships.

In the Continental arena, they pair clinched the 2014 Asian Games gold and silver at the Asian Championships in 2015. The Indonesia Masters 2024 will be their last tournament.

9. Zheng Seiwei

Three-time world champion and 2024 Olympic gold medallist, Zheng Seiwei, in a shocking turn of events has also announced his retirement from the sport. The Chinese mixed double superstar has had an illustrious career. He has won five World Championships and two at the Olympic Games. He has also won two Asian Games gold medals in mixed doubles.

Zheng has played with many partners, but his most successful partnership was with Huang Yaqiong. They together won two Olympic medals, four World Championships medals—including three gold—and has won 34 titles together (32 World Tour and 2 Superseries). Zheng, 27, has won five BWF World Tour Finals titles. His biggest hunting ground was Malaysia where he won eight titles.

Also Read: Badminton players who made their final appearance at BWF World Tour Finals 2024

10. Kento Momota

Kento Momota was one of the most dominating men’s singles players of his time. He announced his retirement on April 18, 2024, with his final tournament being the Thomas Cup. His farewell was quite an emotional moment for the fans as he was one of the most loved players in the badminton fraternity.

At his peak, the Japanese was unstoppable. However, a car accident changed his life drastically. He was never the same on court following his recovery but carried on. The first Japanese men’s singles player to be ranked World No. #1, Momota headed to the Tokyo Olympics as the top seed but was knocked out in the group stages itself, dashing his Olympics dreams.

Also Read: Kento Momota: The bittersweet farewell of badminton icon

Despite all his struggles, he did manage to eke out a career—and a successful one—in the badminton world. The 30-year-old’s accolades includes two World Championships and two Asian Championships gold medals. Momota won a total of 29 titles, which include 16 BWF World Tour titles, four Super Series titles, two Grand Prix and seven International challengers.

Honourable Mention

B. Sai Praneeth

The first Indian men’s singles player to win a World Championships medal since Prakash Padukone in 1983, Sai Praneeth, has also announced his retirement. In an emotional statement on social media, he announced his decision to bid farewell to the sport. The 32-year-old has started the second stage of his journey as the head coach of the Triangle Badminton Academy in the US.

During his career, Sai Praneeth won nine titles (1 Super Series, 2 Grand Prix and 6 International Challangers). He defeated the likes of Taufik Hidayat, Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan and Chen Long.

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