Who are the all-time highest-ranked Indian badminton players in each category?

Indian badminton players have achieved the number 1 ranking in three categories.

The last two decades have seen the rise of Indian badminton. What was once seen as a sport in which only Southeast Asian countries could dominate, has now gained popularity in various nations including ours.

While Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand will be names that will be eternally etched in Indian badminton history, the likes of Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Srikanth Kidambi, Lakshya Sen, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have become household names in fifteen years, by their performances in global events.

A streak of Olympic medals started for India in the sport at the London Olympics 2012 and ended at the Paris Olympics 2024. While there has been a slight dip recently, the future is bright, with several talents emerging.

Recently, the Women’s Doubles duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand rose to World Number #9, eclipsing the legendary duo of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa who had a career-high ranking of number #10. With the two girls aged just 21, they undisputedly have a glittering career ahead and can aspire to rise to the summit.

Also Read: BWF India Open: Full list of title winners

On that note, let’s take a look at the top-ranked Indian badminton players in each category, across the history of the sport in the country.

Men’s Singles – Srikanth Kidambi & Prakash Padukone

While the Men’s Singles category hasn’t been India’s forte in the last two decades, it is worth noting that this is the only category in which the nation has had two representatives reaching the top of the rankings. Prakash Padukone first achieved the feat in 1980, after he had won the Denmark Open, All England Championships, and Swedish Open back-to-back. The shuttler from Bengaluru has also won two World Cup medals (one gold) and a World Championship bronze, apart from two Asian Games medals.

Srikanth Kidambi rose to the pinnacle of the rankings in 2018. While Viktor Axelsen dethroned him in a week, it was a good achievement for the star shuttler, after a dream run last year where he won four Super Series titles. The 31-year-old Rio Olympics 2016 quarterfinalist is a World Championship silver medalist and has one Asian Games medal. He was also part of the squad, which created history by winning the Thomas Cup 2022.

Women’s Singles – Saina Nehwal

In 2015, Saina Nehwal dethroned Li Xuerei to become the World Number #1, ending a 119-week-long dominant run by the Chinese shuttler. This was following her first-ever Indian Open Super Series title triumph. Creditably, the 34-year-old managed to stay at the top for nine consecutive weeks.

India’s first-ever shuttler to medal at the Olympics (she clinched the bronze medal at the London Olympics in 2012), Saina has also won two World Championship and Asian Games medals each.

Men’s Doubles – Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who have unarguably formed the nation’s greatest pairing in the category, rose to the first spot in the rankings in 2023. This was following a stunning run, where they won five titles in the same year, including a historic gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Continuing their reign, in May 2024, they also surpassed Nehwal to hold the Indian record for the most weeks as World Number #1.

The ‘Brothers of Destruction’ have won 9 BWF World Tour Titles. They also have one World Championship and two Asian Games medals in their kitty and were an integral part of the squad that triumphed at the Thomas Cup 2022.

Also Read: Top five Indian badminton players with most BWF 1000 titles

Women’s Doubles – Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand

The duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand recently rose to number #9 in the BWF World Rankings, thus eclipsing the record held by the legendary pairing of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa (career high of Number #10). Their quarterfinal finish at the Malaysian Open gave them sufficient points to become just the second Indian pair in the category, to enter the top 10.

The two 21-year-olds have reached the All England Championships semifinals twice. They also have an Asian Team Championship gold and Mixed Team Championship bronze in their cabinet, along with two Commonwealth Games medals.

Mixed Doubles – Valiyaveetil Diju and Jwala Gutta

In the mixed doubles event in which the country has enjoyed very little success, the pair of V. Diju and Jwala Gutta achieved a career-high ranking of World Number #6. Although this record was set nearly fifteen years ago, it is yet to be broken. The right-left combo notably first won the 2008 Bitburger Open in Germany.

They then became the first Indian badminton mixed doubles pair to win a Grand Prix Gold title, in Chinese Taipei in 2009 and reached the finals at the BWF Super Series Masters Finals the same year- a first for the nation in any discipline. They eventually went on to represent India at the London Olympics 2012.

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