Top 10 best female badminton players in the world

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Nine of these shuttlers will be aiming for glory at the Tokyo Olympics.

The quick feet, the smashes, the gentle takes - Badminton at its best is truly an entertaining spectacle. As the Tokyo Olympics clock ticks closer and closer to the opening day, let's take a look at 10 of the best women gracing this sport on the court at the moment, nine of whom will put their skills to test at the Tokyo Olympics.

10. Pornpawee Chochuwong (Thailand)

Thailand’s Chochuwong came into the limelight during her exploits in the Junior Badminton category. She won the Silver at the 2015 Asian Championships at 17 years of age, before doing the same at the World Junior Championships.

She also won two Bronze medals in the Southeast Asian Games in 2017 and 2019. Chochuwong has one BWF World Tour title, when she upset Carolina Marin in the Spain Masters in 2020 and clinched the gold. She reached the final of the 2021 All England Open, but lost to Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara.

9. He Bingjiao (China)

24-year-old He Bingjiao started making an impact in the badminton world since 2013. She won Bronze at both the World and Asian Junior Championships girls’ singles. In 2014, she upgraded her World Junior Bronze to a Silver, while she upgraded her Asian Bronze to a Gold in 2015. She also won the 2014 Youth Olympic Games Gold in the same event.

Her senior career has also been equally monumental. The Chinese shuttler won one BWF World Tour title and reached the finals of two others. She won the Bronze at the 2017 Asian Championships in Wuhan, before reaching the finals and clinching a Silver two years later in the same competition. He Bingjiao also won the Bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships held in Nanjing.

8. An Se-young (South Korea)

An Se-young is a 19-year-old badminton prodigy slowly finding her place amongst the greats of the sport. The World No. 8 ranked shuttler has quietly made a name for herself and has won five BWF World Tour titles. Her statement win came in 2019, when she beat Spanish star Carolina Marin in a three-set final in the French Open.

She has also beaten Chinese legend Li Xuerui in the New Zealand Open. Along with five titles, Se-young has two runners-up medals as well. Yet to win a major senior championship medal, it won’t be a surprise to see the South Korean star make a huge impact at the Tokyo Olympics.

7. P.V. Sindhu (India)

Sindhu started with a Bronze medal at the Asian Junior Championships in 2011. She won the Gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the same year, before upgrading her Asian Junior Medal to Gold in 2012. In 2013 Sindhu made a mark at the World Championships, when she reached the semi-finals and won the Bronze medal. She has routinely been amongst the medals since then, winning another Bronze in 2014, two Silvers in 2017 and 2018 and finally the Gold in 2019.

One of her remarkable achievements came at Rio 2016, when she reached the finals of the women’s singles events. She lost out to Carolina Marin, but her Silver made her an icon in India. She also won the Silver at both the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2018 Asian Games. Her other notable accolades include Bronze at the 2014 Asian Championships and a third placed finish at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

6. Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand)

Thai Badminton icon Intanon has been active on the international stage from the young age of 13, reaching the finals of the Laos international series. She didn’t take much time to put the world on notice, when she became the youngest ever winner of the girls’ singles event in the World Junior Championships at the age of 14. She continued the winning spree in the tournament in both 2010 and 2011.

Her first senior title came in 2013 at the age of 18, in Guangzhou. She then became the youngest ever winner of the women’s singles at the World Championships, when she beat Li Xuerui in the final. The Thai shuttler also won the Asian Championships in 2015, beating Xuerui again. Her sudden peak mellowed over the years, but she came back strongly in 2019, winning the Bronze medal at the World Championships in Basel. She would be looking to add the coveted Olympic medal to her list with a strong showing in Tokyo.

5. Akane Yamaguchi (Japan)

Yamaguchi will be one of the two home favourites at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The World No. 5 has had a steadily growing badminton career since winning the Silver medal at the 2012 World Junior Championships. She ruled the junior stage winning the Gold at the World event in both 2013 and 2014. At the Asian Junior Championships, she won the Bronze in the 2012 edition, before winning the Gold in the 2014 tournament.

Yamaguchi’s senior career has been spectacular. Although, she failed to win a medal at the 2016 Olympics, finishing in fourth place to fellow countrywoman Okuhara, Yamaguchi has maintained a steady run of form in the Championships. The Japanese shuttler won the Gold at the 2019 Asian Championships, having won the Silver two years before. In 2018, she won the Bronze at both the World Championships and the Asian Games. The 24-year-old also has six BWF World Tour titles to her name.

4. Nozomi Okuhara (Japan)

Heading into the Tokyo Olympics, Okuhara will be one of the most highly anticipated host country performers. The Japanese shuttler finished third at the Rio Olympics and would be keen to make an upgrade. The 2017 World Championships winner will be one of the favourites, especially with Rio Gold medalist Carolina Marin out.

Okuhara came into the spotlight when she won the Bronze at the World Junior Championships in 2011. She won the Silver at the Asian Junior event in 2012 and upgraded her Bronze to Gold at the 2012 World Junior Championships. The Japanese star has won five BWF World Tour titles, including the 2021 All England Open, when she beat Pornpawee Chochuwong in straight sets. The World No. 3 also finished second At the 2019 World Championships held in Basel, losing to PV Sindhu in the final.

3. Chen Yufei (China)

The 2014 Asian Junior Championships, saw 16-year-old Chen Yufei make a major mark when she reached the finals. She lost to Akane Yamaguchi, but came back with a vengeance two years later, when she won the Gold in Bangkok. The same year saw the Chinese shuttler win the Gold at the World Junior Championships in Bilbao.

In 2017, Chen won the Bronze at the World Championships.  The next year she reached the finals of the Asian Championships, losing to Tai Tzu-ying and claiming Silver. 2019 saw her win the Bronze medal at both the World and Asian Championships. Chen has won nine BWF World Tour titles, but she is still searching for a major tournament victory. The World No. 2 will be highly motivated to prove her doubters wrong in Tokyo.

2. Tai Tzu-ying (Chinese Taipei)

27-year-old Tai Tzu-ying’s first major badminton medal came at the 2009 Kuala Lumpur Asian Junior Championships, where she reached the finals. Her Silver proved to be the first of many medals that would see her dominate the world and Asian stages. The Chinese Taipei shuttler won the Bronze at the 2014 Asian Championships. A year later, she gained a third place finish at the Asian Championships.

She won the Asian title in 2017 and 2018 before winning the Gold at the Asian Games in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang edition. She has been a consistent winner on the BWF World Tour, nabbing 11 titles from 19 finals. Her most recent victory came in the BWF World Tour Finals in 2020, when she beat Carolina Marin in a thrilling three-set encounter. She is yet to make an impact at the World Championships or the Olympics and Tokyo seems like the ideal platform for the same.

1. Carolina Marin (Spain)

Marin is a badminton prodigy. At age 28, she has already achieved all the major titles in her sport and is an icon in her home country. The Spaniard announced herself at the 2009 European Junior Championships, when she clinched the Silver medal in the girls’ singles event at 16 years of age. Two years later, she upgraded it to a Gold, while also winning the Bronze on the World Junior stage.

Her senior stage performances proved to be even more inspiring. Marin won five consecutive European Championships titles in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2021. She also won the world title thrice in 2014, 2015 and 2018. One of the most successful badminton players of all-time, Marina achieved another first at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, when she beat PV Sindhu to the Gold. Marin, however, will not be defending her Olympic title in Tokyo due to injury, but she still remains one of the best to have taken the court.

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