Rahul NareshWith events such as the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games and the Olympics having taken place in the last year or so, badminton is gaining popularity across many nations.
In this article, I present to you my top 20 male badminton players in the world at the moment.
Also Read – Top 10 male badminton players in India
Viktor Axelsen
Viktor Axelsen is the No.1-ranked badminton player in the world right now. The Danish player has had several successes in the sport, most recently his gold-medal win in Tokyo 2020. The 28-year-old has a sufficient amount of badminton behind him, which has contributed to his rise to number one.
Axelson won the World Championships in 2022, a feat he produced after his World Championships win in 2017. As mentioned earlier, Viktor won the gold medal at the 2020 Olympics following his bronze medal in Rio 2016. He is also a multi-time European Championship winner, having claimed the titles in 2016, 2018 and 2022.
Lee Zii Jia
Up next is the Malaysian, Lee Zii Jia. The 24-year-old seems to be just getting started in his career, though he already has several notable achievements under his belt.
Lee took gold at the 2022 Asian Championships and won the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. Although he does not have an Olympic medal yet, he shows promise to get one in the not-too-distant future.
Jonatan Christie
Jonatan Christie is 25 years old and ranks third in the world, and has made a good showing of himself thus far in his career.
So far, Christie has recorded a gold and a silver medal, both at the 2018 Asian Games. He was also a part of the team that won silver at the Thomas Cup earlier this year. He added another silver medal to his tally by winning silver at the Asian Championship.
Anthony Ginting
Antony Ginting is 26 years old and has had a reasonable start to his senior badminton career. He ranks fourth in the world rankings at the moment, one place below his compatriot Jonatan Christie.
One of Ginting’s most prized possessions has to be his bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He also has a silver and a bronze medal that he won at the Asian Games in 2018 to add to his tally.
Chou Tien-chen
Chou Tien-Chen is currently ranked fifth in the World Championships. He is 32 years old and has plenty of experience in the sport. The Taiwanese has been starved of a major win in the form of either a World Championship or an Olympic gold medal.
Chou’s best showing at the World Championships came earlier this year as he took bronze in Tokyo. He also has a silver medal from the Asian Games and a bronze from the Asian Championships to add to his laurels.
Loh Kean Yew
25-year-old Loh Kean Yew currently sits sixth in the world rankings. He’s had a good start to his senior badminton career and looks to be going in the right direction.
Loh won the World Championships held in 2021 and also won silver at the Southeast Asian Games held in the same year. He also has a solitary bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Kodai Naraoka
At 21, Kodai Naraoka is showing promising signs for the future. Naraoka is placed seventh in the world rankings, which is his career-best thus far.
He was a part of the Japanese sides that won bronze in the Thomas Cup in both 2022 and 2020. He also won with the team that took bronze for Japan at the Asian Team Championships.
HS Pranoy
HS Prannoy has also been around for a while and seems to be peeking a little later than expected. The 30-year-old from New Delhi stands at his career-best ranking of eighth and is also the highest-ranked Indian player on this list.
Pranoy was a part of the team that won the Thomas Cup in 2022. However, he has been starved of glory at the singles stage in major tournaments. He was also a part of the team that won gold in the mixed team event at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018.
Kunlavut Vitidsarn
Thailand-based Kunlavut Vitidsarn is only 21 years old, though he has already had a good amount of success. Vitidsarn is ranked ninth in the world at the moment.
Vitidsarn won silver at the 2022 World Championships. This triumph came after his two gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games in 2021. Certainly, there is plenty to come from Vitidsarn in the future.
Lakshya Sen
Lakshya Sen stands as India’s second-highest-ranked player. The 21-year-old is ranked tenth in the world at the moment. Born in Almora, Uttarakhand, Sen has given an excellent account of himself in recent tournaments.
Sen bagged a gold at the recent Commonwealth Games. He was also a member of the team that won gold at the Thomas Cup in 2022. Furthermore, he also made up the team that won silver in the team event held during the Commonwealth Games. He was also a silver medallist at the Youth Olympics that were held in 2018.
Lu Guangzu
Lu Guangzu has broken into the top-twenty-ranked players in the world in the last couple of months. The 26-year-old has played a reasonable amount of badminton and won a few medals thus far.
Guangzu was a part of the silver medal-winning Chinese side in the 2020 Thomas Cup. His latest notable victory came at the 2021 Sudirman Cup, where he won gold.
Zhao Junpeng
The 26-year-old Chinese badminton player, currently sits twelfth in world rankings and marks his career-best ranking.
Junpeng was a part of the China side that won the bronze medal at the Tokyo World Championships in 2022. He also has a gold medal that China won at the Asian mixed team championships in 2019.
Srikanth Kidambi
Up next is the slightly more experienced campaigner, Kidambi Srikanth. The 29-year-old has been around for some time now and has held his position as one of the best singles players in India. He is currently ranked thirteenth in the world, below his compatriots HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen, and three places below his career-best ranking of tenth.
Srikanth was also a member of the team that won the gold at the Thomas Cup in 2022. Furthermore, he won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games’ singles competition.
Lee Cheuk Yiu
Lee Cheuk Yiu is currently 26 years old and is yet to make a significant statement in the form of a big tournament win. The man from Hong Kong is placed fourteenth in the world at the moment.
So far, he has an Asian mixed team championship bronze medal to his name, which adds to his silver and bronze medals at the junior level.
Angus Ng Ka-long
The second player from Hong Kong on this list, aged 28, Angus Ng Ka-long is slightly older than Cheuk Yiu. He, too, has been starved of major victories at the senior level.
Angus was a part of the Asian mixed team championship bronze medal-winning team for Hong Kong in 2019. He also has a men’s team event silver medal that his side won at the East Asian Games in 2013.
Kento Momota
Kento Momota is placed sixteenth in the world at the moment. Aged 28, Momota has been quite good on the international stage thus far in his career and has seen a fair bit of badminton.
Momota won the World Championships on two occasions, in 2018 and in 2019. He’s also a two-time Asian Championship winner. Although Momota has had a good amount of success, he is yet to win a medal at the Olympics.
Kenta Nishimoto
The 28-year-old Japanese player is now placed seventeenth in the world. Nishimoto has been around the Japanese badminton contingent for a while now and has a few notable honours.
Nishimoto was a part of the bronze medal-winning Japanese teams at the Thomas Cup in 2020 and 2022, whilst managing a silver in the same tournament in 2018.
Wang Tzu-Wei
Wang Tzu-Wei is a Taiwanese badminton player who is 27 years old and has had sparse achievements during his time so far in the sport. He is currently placed eighteenth in the world.
Wang was a part of the team that won the bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games. He also won bronze at the East Asian Championships back in 2013.
Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo
The 24-year-old Indonesian has a long way to go as far as his badminton career is concerned. Ranked nineteenth in the world, Wardoyo will be hoping to climb the ladder as the years go by.
Wardoyo was a part of the gold medal-winning Indonesian team in the 2020 Thomas Cup. He also won bronze in the 2022 Asian Championships from a men’s singles perspective.
Li Shi Feng
Li Shi Feng is also a fairly young badminton player who occupies the final spot on this list. He is aged twenty-three and has won a load of medals at the youth level.
In terms of his senior achievements, Feng was a part of the silver medal-winning Chinese team in the 2020 Thomas Cup. However, the youngster is yet to win other tournaments of note.
