Famous 20th Century Badminton Players

Arjuna Award- and Padma Shri-winning Indian badminton player and former world number 1, Prakash Padukone was the first to win the All-England Open Badminton Championship from India. A World Cup and Commonwealth Games champion, he co-owns Olympic Gold Quest. He is also known as Bollywood star Deepika Padukone’s father.

The second Indian badminton player to win the All-England Open Badminton Championships, Indian badminton star Pullela Gopichand now coaches the Indian national team. He was 11 when he began playing the sport. An Asian Championship bronze winner, he has been awarded countless honors, such as the Arjuna Award and the Padma Bhushan.

Zhang Ning is a Chinese retired professional badminton player who won the gold medal at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, becoming the only female badminton player to win successive Olympic singles gold medals. A three-time winner at Asian Games, Zhang Ning has also represented China in international competitions like the Sudirman Cup and Uber Cup.

Misbun Sidek is a Malaysian former badminton player best known for winning the bronze medal in the men's doubles event at the 1980 World Championships in Jakarta. He has also won medals at important tournaments like World Cups, Thomas Cup, Southeast Asian Games, and Asian Championships. Sidek is currently serving as the team director of the national junior badminton team.

Wong Choong Hann is a Malaysian former badminton player. In 2003, he became the first player from Malaysia to win a medal at the BWF World Championships in the men's singles event when he won the silver medal. During his career, Wong Choong Hann also won medals at the Commonwealth Games, Southeast Asian Games, and Asian Games.

Once world number 1 in women’s singles, Chinese badminton player Ye Zhaoying has won countless medals, including an Olympic bronze and a World Cup gold. She later excelled in golf, too. She and her husband, footballer Hao Haidong, were removed from all Chinese records for criticizing the Communist Party.

Retired Chinese badminton player Chen Hong has been an Asian champion and a Sudirman Cup winner. He has also won bronze medals at the World Championship and the Asian Games. A former world number one, he has also scored wins in the Dutch, Denmark, and Singapore Opens.

Malaysian badminton player and coach Rashid Sidek has had an illustrious playing career, winning 2 Asian Championships, 2 Asian Cups, and 2 Commonwealth Games, among other championships. He has also coached the national badminton team and the para-badminton team, leading Cheah Liek Hou to a Paralympic gold medal win.

Yang Yang began his badminton training at 12 and created history when he became one of only four badminton players to earn two World Badminton Championship titles in the men's singles category. Post-retirement, he focused on coaching and also launched a sports equipment brand in Malaysia and a badminton club in China.

Roslin Hashim is a former Malaysian badminton player who played badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's singles. He was placed just behind the bronze medalist Soni Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia. He was regarded as a controversial figure during his career and once threatened to take the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to court. 

Indian badminton player Syed Modi was not just an 8-time back-to-back national champion, but had also won a Commonwealth Games gold, along with 3 Asian Games bronze medals and an Asian Championship silver. He was 26 when he was shot dead while coming out of a stadium after practice.

The president of the Delhi Capital Badminton Association, Ameeta Singh is a former national badminton champion player who later stepped into politics. An MP from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, she represented the INC before joining the BJP. She is also the former wife of murdered badminton ace Syed Modi.

Razif Sidek is a Malaysian former badminton player and coach. One of the famous five Sidek brothers, he received his initial training in badminton from his father, Haji Mohd Sidek. He regularly partnered with his younger brother, Jalani, and they became one of the best doubles pairs in the world in the 1980s and early 1990s.