Chen Yufei: 5 things you need to know about PV Sindhu's next opponent in Denmark Open

China has been known to create some incredible badminton stars over the years. Such is the passion for racquet sports in the country, that undoubtedly table tennis and badminton are ruled by Chinese players on a regular basis. But its fair to argue that Chinese badminton has been going through somewhat of a rough patch lately.

With Lin Dan falling to third in the overall rankings and no female badminton star in the top 5 of the women's rankings, its safe to say that China needs one of their younger players to take the baton and continue the race to the top.

One of the Chinese players aiming to do just that is fledgling starlet Chen Yufei. Following her successful run in the junior championships, the next big thing in the sport has starred at the senior level with regular medal performances on the world stage. Her nemesis of sorts as of late? India's PV Sindhu.

The Olympic medallist is on a path of destruction of her own and faces off against Yufei at the Denmark Open, hoping to get past the youngster in her bid to win another top honour. But beating this feisty kid may be a harder task than one might imagine. Here's why:

#5 Defending BWF World Junior Champion

Chen Yufei has been mixing it up at the senior world stage just recently but her name is well known around the circuit thanks to her impressive performances at the junior level. Apart from performing brilliantly in the team events for her country, she has consistently taken over the singles division on the under 19 stage, most recently capturing the BWF World Junior Championship title, a tournament that an innocent-looking Saina Nehwal once won in 2008. The victory in 2016 well and truly put her on the map and she's been going all guns blazing ever since. She is certainly one to watch out for.

#4 Secured Bronze at the BWF World Championships

The transition was successful to senior level

Making a transition from junior to senior level is never easy, as most prodigies will tell you. It takes a couple of years to adjust to the high level of competition before showing your best at the higher level. But for Chen Yufei, this did not necessarily seem like a big deal. Her 2016 Junior Championships victory brought her enough momentum to represent her country at the recently concluded BWF World Championships held in Glasgow, Scotland. She performed admirably at the event and her bronze medal winning performance led China to yet another triumph at the World Championships, easily taking top spot in the overall category.

#3 She has beaten PV Sindhu before

Before the iconic match in Denmark, Yufei would take inspiration from the fact that she actually holds a victory over India's highest ranked women's player today. Their head to head record is in favour of the Indian but the Chinese teenager beat Sindhu shockingly at the Malaysia Open in Jaunuary of this year. It's a testament to her fighting spirit that despite being fairly new in the senior circuit, the Chinese athlete pulled off a historic win to boost her confidence and give her the necessary momentum to take her career a notch higher. In Sindhu's own admission, her match with Yufei is not going to be easy at all.

#2 Youngest player in the top 10

Youngest in women's singles top 10 currently

The brutal rankings system of badminton is hard to keep up with. You need to keep winning regularly in order to stay atop the rankings and while India's hope PV Sindhu currently sits second overall, her position could be in danger if she stumbles at upcoming events.

Creeping up the ladder is China's Yufei however, and now ranked 10th in the world, she has become the youngest player in the current list of top 10 players to be there. With the likes of Marin, Okuhara and Intanon also in the mix, the list of top women's players looks exciting to say the least. At just 19-years-old, the future looks incredibly bright for Yufei and her best is surely yet to come.

#1 The future of Chinese badminton

And finally, there is no doubt that Chen Yufei is the leading light for young badminton players coming out of China. The nation's stronghold over the sport may appear to be diminishing but in Yufei they have an able deputy to pin their hopes on.

Her recent performances have been nothing short of sensational and she's growing from strength to strength in her bid to become the world's best. Her favourable 108-39 record is proof that she will stop at nothing to become badminton's shining star in the coming years. With her best yet to come, China will hope that their dominance in badminton kicks into gear thanks to Yufei's undoubted brilliance.