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The Lin Dan-Lee Chong Wei rivalry is comparable to the Federer-Nadal rivalry of badminton. Whenever the two badminton greats clash on court, they always present to fans badminton at the highest quality. Lin Dan’s demolishing of the Malaysian in Beijing Olympics, the epic finale of London Olympics, and Lee Chong Wei’s breakthrough victory in the semi-final of Rio Olympics, are testaments to their dominance and prominence in world badminton. However, a new era has emerged after the Rio Olympics, wherein promising young players have superseded Lee and Lin as the leading figures in men’s singles. Five players that have stood out during this transitioning period from Rio to Tokyo Olympics are Srikanth Kidambi, Viktor Axelsen, Shi Yuqi, Kento Momota, and Anthony Ginting. Before commenting on their performances over the past two years and prospects of winning the gold medal in Tokyo, one has to start with Chen Long – the man who was dubbed by many as the heir to Lin Dan.
Chen Long (China, 29 years of age)
Chen Long rose to prominence in 2010 after winning the China Open title. Since then, he has won two World Championship titles, a bronze medal in Rio Olympics, and seventeen Superseries titles. His biggest achievement, of course, was triumphing in the Rio Olympics. When he brushed past Lee Chong Wei in straight games in Rio, many thought that the victory marked the beginning of Chen Long’s era.
However, Chen has been a massive shadow of himself since the Olympics. Not only has he merely won one tournament title in two years, but he also lost the status as China’s no.1 to his younger teammate Shi Yuqi. Chen Long’s downfall is baffling, given that he has not won every major title like Lin Dan. His trophy collection still misses the Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup and Asian Games gold medal.
While China regain the Thomas Cup in May, Chen Long nearly cost his country the trophy when he lost the first match of the tie against Kento Momota.
He also failed to help his country retain the Sudirman Cup last year, albeit winning his match in the final. As for the Asian Games, he helped his country clinching the gold medal in team’s event, but he was defeated by Anthony Ginting in the quarter-final.
Chen Long was well-known for utilizing his fine physique to produce powerful smashes and cover every side of the court. However, with his declining physical conditions, Chen is no longer a formidable champion. It remains questionable if he could challenge for Tokyo Olympics, help his county regain the Sudirman Cup, and win the elusive Asian Games individual gold medal, in order to make him a true great like Lin Dan.
Srikanth Kidambi (India, 25 years of age)
Srikanth Kidambi took the badminton world by storm last year when he won two back-to-back Superseries titles. His injury hampered his progress in the World Championship, but many believed that he is still a force to be reckoned after recovering from the injury. Such has not been the case. Srikanth has had a difficult year, with winning a gold medal for the team’s event in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games being his only accomplishment thus far.
The Indian is incredibly gifted – when he shocked Lin Dan to win the China Open title in 2014, badminton fans knew that this youngster has something special. Under the tutelage of Indian great Pullela Gopichand and former coach of Taufik Hidayat Mulyo Handoyo, Srikanth peaked in 2017 and appeared to be on course towards fulfilling his great potential. However, Handoyo’s departure, Srikanth’s injuries, and inability to deliver top performances consistently have let many of his fans down.
His steep smashes are second to none, his intelligence and awareness on the court are equally impressive, yet he simply could not maintain his form on a regular basis. He has lost way too many matches to opponents who are levels below him. If Srikanth still dreams about becoming a world class player and challenging for the Tokyo Olympics, he needs the guidance of another top coach who can get the best of him and help him regain his confidence.
Viktor Axelsen (Denmark, 24 years of age)
Since his days at the junior level, Viktor Axelsen has convinced many that he is the undisputed heir of Peter Gade and will one day enter the center stage of world badminton. Indeed, 2017 was the breakthrough year for Axelsen. He defeated Chou Tien Chen, Chen Long and Lin Dan to become a world champion (the first Dane to do so in twenty years).
Three months later, he defeated Shi Yuqi and Lee Chong Wei to win the Superseries Finals in Dubai. As he climbed to the top of the BWF World Rankings and won the first event of the BWF calendar in 2018, it was thought that Axelsen is going to take over men’s singles for the year. Unfortunately, an ankle injury in January ruled him out of action for a few months. Since then, for whatever reasons, the Dane has failed to replicate his top form in the second half of last year.
He has only won the European Championship since returning from injury and repeatedly lost to his arch rivals – Kento Momota, Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long. He also failed to help Denmark regaining their Thomas Cup title, and his defeat to Momota was regarded by some as the decisive factor in Denmark’s slip-up against Japan in the semi-final. Axelsen’s recent struggles should be seen as a hiccup for a promising youngster. After all, his countless firepower—steep smashes, technical ability, intelligence and confidence on the court—had made him so successful last year. Axelsen certainly can hit top form again in the future, so long as he is given a period of good rest and readjustment at the end of the year.
Shi Yuqi (China, 22 years of age)
With Chen Long and Lin Dan sidelined in the aftermath of the Rio Olympics, Shi Yuqi seized the opportunity to gradually establish himself as China’s no.1 and future men’s singles shuttler. Shi was promoted to the first-team in late 2016 following his stellar performances at the junior level, and he immediately impressed his coaches by reaching the finals of the All England and Swiss Open in March 2017.
After a period of slump in the latter half of 2017, Shi looked rejuvenated and made a terrific start in 2018. Not only did he win the All England Open, he also became China’s first men’s singles player in both Thomas Cup and Asian Games team tournament and successfully helped his country winning both events.
Despite his accolades this year, Shi is not quite a finished product and has struggled against Kento Momota and Viktor Axelsen – two excellent shuttlers who are of a similar age with him. Shi Yuqi already possesses powerful attacking display and deft touches on the court, all he needs are more experiences on major tournaments and confidence against major rivals. It is just a matter of time the Chinese shuttler fulfils his potential.
Kento Momota (Japan, 24 years of age)
Kento Momota is the perfect role model for every young shuttler. He began to make headlines in 2014 after playing a major role in Japan’s historic Thomas Cup triumph. When fans thought that Momota would shine in Rio Olympics, the Japanese was suspended from the national team following a disciplinary issue, a disaster which could have ended his bright career.
Fortunately, the suspension made Momota stronger than ever. Not only did he return to the national squad in eighteen months, but he has also earned a significant breakthrough in 2018. Since April, he has won four titles – including the World Championship.
Throughout these six months, he has defeated almost all top players in straight sets. Unsurprisingly, his mesmerizing form has propelled him to the top of the world ranking for the first time in his career.
Momota’s dramatic story resembles that of Lee Chong Wei a few years ago, with his setbacks came earlier in his career thus allowing him to grow as a player. Today’s Momota is almost a complete player – he possesses the explosiveness of Lin Dan as well as the technical prowess of Lee Chong Wei.
His reading of the game is immaculate and consistency on court has made him a nightmare for most of his opponents. Momota is on course towards fulfilling his biggest dream of winning the Olympics on home soil. The only caveat is that he needs to figure out a way to overcome Anthony Ginting.
Anthony Ginting (Indonesia, 21 years of age)
When badminton fans thought that Momota was formidable, Anthony Ginting proves that the Japanese is a human after all. Ginting twice came close of defeating Momota with the Indonesian squandering an eight point-lead during the semi-final of the recent Asian Games’ Team’s Tournament.
Within a week, Ginting got his revenge by overcoming Momota in straight sets. His brilliant form continued in China Open, when he defeated Lin Dan, Viktor Axelsen, Chen Long, Chou Tien Chen, and Momota en route to winning his first ever major title. One should not be surprised by Ginting’s miraculous journey in Changzhou.
The Indonesian has demonstrated, in early this year when he won the Indonesian Masters, that he is a matured player now and fully capable of challenging elite players. Indonesians have dubbed him as the successor of their legend Taufik Hidayat, but Ginting can also easily be seen as the young Lee Chong Wei.
Ginting’s movement and pace on court are second to none, and his explosiveness has made his attacking shots much effective than before. The biggest room of improvement for Ginting is performing on a consistent basis, but that will come along with the young Indonesian competing in top-level competitions in the years to come.
Despite Lin Dan’s sharp decline and Lee Chong Wei’s battle with illness, the world badminton has not lost its aura, mainly because during this period of transition we have seen the rise of five incredibly talented players – Srikanth Kidambi, Viktor Axelsen, Shi Yuqi, Kento Momota and Anthony Ginting. With each has had their respective dominating period, the discipline of men’s singles is no longer a bipolar one.
Instead, it has become more unpredictable and competitive, as fans not only are curious as to who are the favourites in building up to Tokyo Olympics, but also if there would be new stars in the rising in the foreseeable future? This trend would benefit the development of badminton, as promising shuttlers from different countries are vying for prominence, thus making the sport more competitive and enjoyable.
Let’s hope that this fascinating trend in men’s singles continues as we edge closer to the beginning of the qualification for the Tokyo Olympics next year.
