It’s a well-known fact, even for those who only follow badminton superficially, that this sport is predominantly dominated by Asian nations, with China being a major powerhouse. However, the level of dominance they have just demonstrated hasn’t been seen for 12 years. The newly released world rankings on Tuesday show Chinese players or pairs leading in all five events. The last time this happened was in 2012. At that time, Lin Dan, who had just celebrated his second Olympic gold, ruled the men’s singles, while Wang Yihan had the most ranking points in the women’s singles. In doubles, the pairs Cai Yun / Fu Haifeng, Tian Qing / Zhao Yunlei, and Xu Chen / Ma Jin were at the top. Prior to that, this was a relatively common occurrence between 2007 and 2008, but since then, China’s dominance at this level has diminished. Even in 2012, this situation lasted for „only” two weeks (and not even consecutive ones).
For months now, Chinese players have led the men’s singles and all the doubles world rankings, with only the women’s singles title missing. This week, that gap was filled after Olympic champion An Se-young dropped to second place. The South Korean player has not competed since the Paris Games due to injury, meaning she could not defend her points from last year’s China Open and the Asian Games. Her place was taken by Chen Yu Fei, who, like her rival, has been struggling with injuries since the Olympics and is likely to return only in 2025. However, the Chinese player had fewer points to defend from this time last year, allowing the swap to happen. It’s likely that Chen Yu Fei’s reign won’t last long either, as she will also lose many points from the European tournaments, meaning she may only enjoy a short stint at the top of the rankings. The most secure position, however, seems to be in mixed doubles, where behind the world’s top pair, the 2nd and 3rd ranked pairs are also Chinese.
No other nation has been able to achieve this feat. Denmark came the closest at the beginning of the 21st century. In 2001, Europeans led in four events, with the generation represented by Peter Gade and Camilla Martin.