Badminton is celebrated for precision and agility, while its explosive, lightning-fast shots and smooth, careful strokes make it the most captivating racket sport around. The discipline has long gained worldwide popularity, and the number of its players increased significantly over time.
Today, you will learn about the most skillful badminton stars who demonstrate stunning performance during each match.
Their chances of winning are always high, which gives you an advantage in predicting game outcomes even before the action begins, especially if you arm yourself with the most accurate badminton betting odds. So what are they – the best players to watch right now?
Viktor Axelsen (Denmark)
Viktor Axelsen is one of the most prominent badminton superstars of our time. He has permanently etched his name into the history of sports with his exceptional playing style and unparalleled achievements.
His inspiring path to the badminton legend started at the age of 6 when he engaged in the sport. In 2006 and 2008, Viktor emerged victorious at the National Junior event, and a year after, he won the European U17 Championships and the German Junior.
Since that time, Viktor gained a raft of achievements:
- 1 gold and 1 silver at the World Junior Championships
- 1 gold and 1 bronze at the European Junior Championships
- 2x gold and 1 bronze at the Olympic Games
- 2x gold and 1 bronze at the World Championships
- Bronze at the 2013 Sudirman Cup
- 1 gold and 4x bronze at the Thomas Cup
- 2023 European Games winner
- 3x gold, 1 silver, and 4x bronze at the European Championships
- 5x gold and 1 silver at the European Mixed Team Championships
- 6-time winner at the European Team Championships
- 25 BWF World Tour titles
P.V. Sindhu (India)
This is another talented player who started achieving impressive results at a young age. The Indian star inherited her love for sports from her father, P.V. Ramana, who was a professional volleyball player and performed for the national team.
Sindhu began her badminton career at the age of 8, and already at 14, she entered the international circuit and won bronze at the 2009 Sub-Junior Asian Championships. The shuttler also achieved gold at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games and the Asian Junior Championships in 2012.
Later, Sindhu showed striking performance at the 2016 Olympic Games – she was the first Indian woman to get silver, as well as the youngest player to earn this title. Her other achievements include:
- Silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics
- Bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
- 1 gold, 2x silver, and 2x bronze at the World Championships
- 2x bronze at the Uber Cup
- 2x gold, 2x silver, and 1 bronze at the Commonwealth Games
- 1 gold and 1 silver at the Asian Games
- 2x bronze at the Asian Championships
- Bronze at the 2023 Asia Mixed Team Championships
- 2024 Asia Team Championships winner
- 1 gold and 1 silver at the South Asian Games
- 4 BWF World Tour titles
Carolina Marin (Spain)
Carolina Marin is regarded as one of the most outstanding female singles players in the world. She displayed passion for the sport from a young age and quickly rose through the ranks due to her exceptional talent.
Her breakthrough occurred in 2009 when she became the first Spanish female shuttler to gain silver at the European Junior Championships, while she also won gold at the European U17 Championships in the same year.
In 2011, Carolina demonstrated her tactical brilliance at the European Junior tournament once again and grabbed the gold medal.
The Spanish talent has achieved a lot throughout her career:
- 2016 Olympic Games winner
- 3x gold and 1 silver at the World Championships
- 2023 European Games winner
- 7-time European Championships winner
- 1 silver and 2x bronze at the European Team Championships
- 10 BWF World Tour titles
Shi Yuqi (China)
Shi Yuqi is so far the world №1 in men’s singles known for his technique, strategic gameplay, and speed on the court. He began his badminton journey at the age of 6 and managed to win his first titles in the national and international youth competitions from 2012 to 2014, including gold medals at the Asian Junior Championships, Youth Olympic Games, and World Junior Championships. His further achievements were no less prominent:
- Silver at the 2018 World Championships
- 3x gold and 1 silver at the Sudirman Cup
- 2x gold and 1 silver at the Thomas Cup
- 2x gold and 1 silver at the Asian Games
- 1 silver and 2x bronze at the Asian Championships
- Bronze at the 2017 Asia Mixed Team Championships
- Silver at the 2018 Asia Team Championships
- 10 BWF World Tour titles
Anders Antonsen (Denmark)
Like Axelsen and Yuqi, Anders Antonsen started to play the sport when he was 6. In 2015, the Danish shuttler earned gold at the European Junior Championships and established himself prominently in the professional badminton scene.
He also won a number of national tournaments in the same year, which brought him the title of the European Young Player of the Year. Thanks to his patience and focus on consistency, Anders has achieved great results on the global badminton scene:
- 1 silver and 2x bronze at the World Championships
- 3x bronze at the Thomas Cup
- 2019 European Games winner
- 2x gold and 2x silver at the European Championships
- 4x gold at the European Mixed Team Championships
- 4x gold at the European Men’s Team Championships
- 7 BWF World Tour titles
