In 1992, badminton became a sport of the Olympic Games, divided into five events: men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. Today, badminton is arguably one of the most popular ball games in the world, a sport that demands high levels of fitness, endurance, strength, agility, precision, and speed. Their sassy and heroic appearances on the court are the result of sweating and hard training off the court. There are many famous badminton players in the world. Today we will take stock of the 5 greatest badminton players in history. Our Super Dan is no doubt at the top of the list!
Lin Dan
Lin Dan, who enlisted in the army at the age of 12, has an innate arrogance. In front of this arrogance, his biggest opponent is only himself. He’s “the greatest player” to opponents and a super Dan to millions of fans. Facing longtime rival Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan proved to the world why he became a badminton legend. Lin Dan, widely regarded as one of the greatest singles players in badminton history, was the only Super Slam player before the age of 28. Super Dan won 5 golds and 1 silver in the World Badminton Championships and 2 gold medals in the Badminton World Cup. He has also won 5 Thomas Cup titles and is the first athlete in badminton history to win consecutive Olympic championships. He deserves the top spot!
2. Taufik Hidayat
Lin Dan, who enlisted in the army at the age of 12, has an innate arrogance. In front of this arrogance, his biggest opponent is only himself. He’s “the greatest player” to opponents and a super Dan to millions of fans. Facing longtime rival Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan proved to the world why he became a badminton legend. Lin Dan, widely regarded as one of the greatest singles players in badminton history, was the only Super Slam player before the age of 28. Super Dan won 5 golds and 1 silver in the World Badminton Championships and 2 gold medals in the Badminton World Cup. He has also won 5 Thomas Cup titles and is the first athlete in badminton history to win consecutive Olympic championships. He deserves the top spot!
Taufik Hidayat won six men’s singles titles at the Indonesia Open. With the 2-0 victory over Lin Dan at the 2005 World Championships, Taufik became the first player in the world’s badminton men’s singles to combine the Olympic and Asian Games. A Grand Slam player who has won the World Championships, the World Championships, and the Thomas Cup.
3. Gao Ling
The legend of Chinese women’s badminton, Gao Ling has won a total of 14 world championships in his career, surpassing the legendary stars Li Lingwei and Ge Fei who have won 13 world championships. She is widely regarded as one of the most successful doubles players in badminton history, winning two gold medals in mixed doubles, one silver in women’s doubles, and one bronze in women’s doubles at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. From 2001 to 2006, she and her partner Huang Sui won six consecutive women’s doubles titles at the All England Open.
4. Wu Junming
Indonesian badminton player Wu Junming is a miracle in the history of doubles. Whether it is tactical awareness, technical skills, spiritual strength, and personality, he is a model figure in the badminton world. He represented his native Indonesia from 1992 to 2001, and from 2001 represented and coached Team USA. He won the men’s doubles gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the men’s doubles champion at the 2001 and 2005 World Championships, and the US Open, Taipei Open, Japan Open, and many other doubles titles.
5. Lee Chong Wei
Malaysian badminton player Lee Chong Wei is known as the first badminton brother in Malaysia and is listed as the four kings of the world’s badminton world together with Lin Dan of China, Taufik of Indonesia, and Peter Gade of Denmark. Lee Chong Wei was ranked number one in the world in January 2006, becoming the third Malaysian player to achieve this feat. He won a total of 3 silver medals in the Olympic Games and won the men’s singles championship in the BWF Super Series year-end finals in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2013.
