Famous Badminton Athletes
In order to appreciate the famous badminton athletes of today, we need to revisit the very beginning of the sport and the athletes that shaped into what it has become. Sir George Alan Thomas was one of the very first famous male badminton players. He was born in Turkey in 189
1, and went on to become the most successful All-England Open Champion. He won the event 21 times between 1906-1928. In 1939 he donated the Thomas Cup to be awarded to the men's singles International Champion. In 1949 the Thomas Cup became the men's world team championship. Over his 24 year career he won a total of 90 titles in men's singles, doubles and mixed doubles. He was inducted into the World Badminton Hall of Fame as an Inaugural Member. On the women's side Betty Uber of England was one of the world's top doubles players. She won 13 titles at the All-England Open Championships in a career of singles, doubles and mixed doubles that spanned from the 1930's to the 1950's. In 1950 the Uber Cup was named in her honor for the women's team competition, as it was her idea to have a tournament similar to the men. She made up the draw for the inaugural tournament in 1956-1957, which took place at Lytham St. Annes in Lancashire, England. She was also inducted into the World Badminton Hall of Fame as an Inaugural Member.
The World Badminton Hall Of Fame only holds around 50 elite members. Channarong
Badminton Canada holds two special spots for Channarong Ratanaseangsuang (pictured at right) and Dorothy Tinline. Channarong was born in Thailand and devoted forty years of his life to the sport, while becoming one of badminton's most famous athletes. He was Canada’s National team coach from 1967-1973 and again from 1979-1986. He was awarded the International Badminton Federation Meritorious Service Award in 1988. Chan has also been awarded Sports Hall of Fame membership in Sweden, Thailand and the United States. He tirelessly coached thousands of athletes of all ages and levels, and inspired many to excel. Dorothy Tinline was born in Saskatchewan and was a fixture in the badminton world for 60 years. As a player she won many tournaments at the senior and masters levels. She is an NCCP certified level 3 coach and an International Badminton Federation certified umpire. In 1977 she was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Sports Hall of Fame in 1977 as a builder of the sport. Dorothy's development of Ontario’s coaching program was developed into the national coaching program. She helped to define the national referees course, was a member of the first committee for research and implementation of a national officials organization, spent numerous years on the Boards of Directors of Toronto and District, and was the Badminton Canada president from 1981-1984. Dorothy worked at the international level as a councilor for the IBF, and in 1991she was awarded their prestigious Distinguished Service Award. For her passion and love for the development of the sport she has been given lifetime member status in the OBA, (photo badmintoncanada.ca)
Badminton Canada and the IBF.
Famous badminton athletes currently playing include Lin Dan from China, Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia and Peter Hoeg Gade from Denmark in men's singles. In women's singles the ones to look out for are: Tine Rasmussen of Denmark, Pi Hongyan from France, Xie Xingfang from China and Saina Nehwal from India. Top ranked in men's and women's doubles are the pairs of Jung Jae Sung & Lee Yong Dae from Korea and Cheng Wen Hsing & Chien Yu Chin of Taipei. Mixed doubles have been dominated by Nova Widianto & Lilyana Natsir from Indonesia and Thomas Laybourn & Kamilla Rytter Juhl from Denmark. (For a complete list of top ranked badminton players see the top player biographies section.) Players who are famous because of their records include doubles player Fu Haifeng of China, whose smash has been calculated at an astounding 332km/h (206 mph). And Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia holds the record for the fastest smash recorded in singles competition at 305 km/h (189 mph).