Top seven lesser-known badminton players to watch out for in 2025

Rakshita Ramraj is one of the few players to keep an eye on in 2025.

Badminton has often seen rising stars emerge from the shadows to dominate the sport. We have seen players like Viktor Axelsen, Carolina Marin, and An Se-young were once underdogs before winning big. In this article, we will see some new generation of shuttlers, who have shown flashes of brilliance in junior circuits, national tournaments, and tournaments like BWF 300, and who knows maybe they can be a big thing in 2025.

Here we take a look at the top seven lesser-known badminton players to watch out for in 2025:

Hina Akechi (Japan)

Hina Akechi at just 19 years of age has already shown her potential to be one of the next big things in Japanese badminton. Former BWF world number 1 player in women’s singles carries the legacy of her early championships.

Her 2019 Asian Junior U-17 and 2018 Asian Junior U-15 titles clearly show her capacity to do big things. The 2024 season saw her making a breakthrough performance at the next level at Indonesia Masters, where she clinched a Super 100 tournament title, defeating Riko Gunji 21–10, 22–20.

Also Read: Top five badminton players with most BWF World Tour titles

Jia Heng Jason Teh (Singapore)

Singapore’s badminton hopes are riding on Jason Teh and in the early 2025 season, he hasn’t disappointed, bagging Thailand Masters recently. Jia has been knocking on the door for quite some time and in 2022, he contributed to Singapore’s bronze medal at the 2022 Asia Team Championships and Commonwealth Games. His 2024 journey also included runner-up finishes at the Polish and Luxembourg Open, and semi-final appearances at the U.S. and Vietnam Opens.

Jin Yong (Korea)

Inspired by his former badminton player mother, Jin Yong’s journey from Dangjin Elementary School to the national team represents a classic sports narrative of inherited passion while a third-year high school student in 2021, he won the men’s doubles national selection tournament, which led to his fast-tracking in Korean Team.

Yong who plays Men’s doubles has been runner-up at Malaysia Masters and Korea Masters but with different partners. But his fortune changed when he partnered with Seo Seung-jae, winning the China Masters in 2024. The 2025 season has started well with a win in the recently concluded Thailand Masters.

Also Read: Top five badminton tournaments with highest prize money ft. Malaysia Open

Wang Zheng Xing (China)

China continues to throw up new badminton players. The 22-year-old Wang Zhengxing is their new kid on the block; The 2021 gold medal at the Summer World University Games has quickly gone to another level with Victories at Ruichang China Masters and runner-up positions at Baoji China Masters, Vietnam Open, and Korea Masters in 2024 season and the 2025 has started well as well with runner up finish at Thailand Masters.

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

Riko Gunji (Japan)

Riko Gunji’s journey in badminton since childhood has been about early success and steady progress. Riko has won the 2019 BWF World Junior Championships gold for girls’ singles and slowly transitioning her junior success into senior tournaments and her 2022-2024 performances reveal a player who is gradually gathering international recognition.

She has been runner-up at at Indonesia Masters and Kaohsiung Masters and although her recent loss to Hina Akechi at the 2024 Indonesia Masters might seem like a setback, but Japanese has shown growth.

Supissara Paewsampran (Thailand)

Thailand’s Supissara Paewsampran who plays mixed doubles can be the next big thing for South East nation in the category. Paewsampran, who partners with Dechapol Puavaranukroh clinched Japan Masters, Syed Modi International, Malaysia Open in 2024. The doubles player has not started the 2025 season badly either and has won the Thailand Masters recently.

Also Read: Top five fastest smashes in women’s badminton history

Rakshitha Ramraj (India)

India has thrown up some exciting upcoming talent recently in Women’s singles like Tanvi Sharma, and Anmol Kharb. Now, Rakshita Sree looks to be the girl next door. In the 2024 season, she won the Slovenia Open and the India International and a few runner-up finishes in tournaments such as the Sri Lanka International and the Reunion Open.

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