May 2025 was a competitive month with the conclusion of the Sudirman Cup, no surprise who won that! Followed by 4 top competitions. The Yonex Taipei Open, The Toyota Thailand Open, the Malaysia Masters, and the Singapore Open. There were a remarkable number of good performances from low-ranked competitors to satisfy our hunger for new names in badminton.
🏆 Srikanth Kidambi back in a World tour Final!
In 2017, Srikanth Kidambi was a name associated with elite badminton. One of the top Indian players leading the rise of Indian badminton in men’s singles. Beating the likes of Lin Dan, Viktor Axelsen, Shi YuQi and Chen Long on the BWF world tour. He even reached world number one briefly in April 2018. Since that high in April 2018 Srikanth has been on a steady decline. That was until this month!
At the Malaysia Masters, Kidambi was drawn in qualifying with very low expectations, ranked 65 in the world. However, he battled through qualifying to the main draw before taking out top contenders like Lu Guangzu and Yushi Tanaka to make the final. His first final since the World Championships of 2021, where he lost to Singaporean Loh Kean Yew. This time, in Kuala Lumpur, he faced the ferocious Li Shi Feng who unfortunately, swept the Indian aside in a quick final 21-11 21-9.
Now Srikanth has broken his streak of missing finals, can Srikanth get back to the heights he once reached? Can he win his first title this year since the French Open in 2017?
Chen Yu Fei answers the call at Singapore Open
Chen Yu Fei has had a turbulent past year. After her early exit at the Paris Olympics to compatriot Bing Jiao HE she took a break from badminton saying, “After the Olympics, I didn’t want to return to the field, because I felt that someone without ambition shouldn’t be there.”. The pressure from her nation and the expectation to win must be extremely intense, especially from fans and a country that expects so much. After some time away travelling, doing other things and reflecting on her attitude to badminton she said “I realized that I still love badminton. It’s not just about putting in the effort — having the right mindset is essential, and ambition matters. That’s something I’ll focus on as I move forward.”.
In Chen’s absence, Korean superstar An Se Young dominated the women’s game. That was still the case when Chen Yu Fei returned to the tour in February, as An Se Young knocked Chen out the only 2 times they met. That changed in Singapore when Chen Yu Fei rediscovered her levels, which find her 13-11 up on head to head with An Se Young, to deliver An Se Young her first loss of 2025!
Can Chen Yu Fei be the rival An Se Young needs to create a dynasty like that of Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei?
India are falling short on the BWF world tour!
Although India is now thought of as one of the top badminton nations, they are still waiting for a world tour title in 2025. India has 25 players across all disciplines in the top 50, only 5 in the top 25, and 1 pair in the top 10! Not only are players not ranked highly, but only one player has reached a World Tour final this year. Srikanth Kidambi with his great run at the Malaysia Masters.
The departure of Mathias Boe from the doubles department after the Paris Olympics has damaged all the top doubles players. The singles players are dropping in ranking, except for Ayush Shetty and Malvika Bansod. The athletes feel the pressure for performances, but feel the coaches and administrators aren’t held accountable, per Ashwini Ponappa’s comments in response to Prakesh Padukone; “Disappointing to see this. If a player wins, everyone jumps on the bandwagon to take credit, and if they lose, it’s just the player’s fault?!”
What is going on behind the scenes of Indian badminton? Who will step up to lead them to success? and where will the next title come from?
Vitidsarn shows his true quality!
Since Viktor Axelsen’s dominant Olympic qualifying and subsequent Olympic title, the question has been, who will step up to challenge him or even replace him?
Since that Olympic title, Viktor has fallen to 8th in the world rankings, far below his number 1 status. This gives rise to the question has Viktor ‘fallen off’? He has more injuries and has no clear motivation to keep pushing. In any case, badminton needs a star in Mens singles, and one is being uncovered before our eyes. Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the Thai phenom, has been competing well for years. He is the current World Champion after all. However, he hasn’t been consistent enough. It has always felt like he is part of the pack, one of 5 or 6 good players chasing Viktor. This was reinforced by that Olympic final in Paris last year with Viktor’s emphatic 21-11 21-11 thrashing of Vitidsarn.
Now things appear a little different. Two wins from two competitions in May for the Thai star could be the step up we have been waiting for. Vitidsarn seems assured of himself, focused and ready to compete. If he can stay consistent, reach more back-to-backand finals, and dominate the players he should, then he will take the crown from Viktor.
Malaysia taking over doubles!
What a month it has been for the Malaysian doubles pairs who are throwing down the gauntlet to the rest of the tour. In the last three tournaments of the tour, the Singapore Open, Malaysia Masters and Thailand Open, Malaysia have podiumed. At the Thailand Open, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik took the men’s doubles title after dispatching plucky Danish pair Boe and Kjaer. Over in the women’s doubles, Pearly Tan and Thinaah claimed the title. They took out the Korean wildcard pair of Jeong and Lee.
On Home soil at the Malaysia Masters, we saw an all-Malaysian men’s final in the men’s doubles. Lower-ranked pair MAN and TEE beat compatriots Chia and Soh to claim the title in front of the home fans. In the women’s doubles, Tan and Thinaah again performed well but fell short of the final, losing out to the Chinese pair Jia and Zhang of China.
The Singapore Open returned another title for the Malaysian team with Chia and Soh taking the men’s doubles crown. They beat out 5th seeds Kim and Seo from Korea. While not complete domination, these are great signs of progress for the Malaysians. Consistent performances at the top level against top opponents. Thinaah and Tan’s performance is especially good to see as they are locked in contract negotiations with BAM. Perhaps the negotiation is motivation, but it is great to see them performing under pressure. Head doubles coach Nova Widianto can be proud of the May performances.
Can the mixed doubles or singles now step up to have similar success?
China 14 times champions!
We are all accustomed to seeing China on top of the podium. They are the nation to beat when it comes to badminton, especially the team competitions. This month showed us that again. The conclusion of the Sudirman Cup came early in the month. China, of course, took the title once again. Now the 14-time winner from the 19 editions, utterly dominant. China only dropped two matches in the whole competition, a women’s singles against Thailand and then women’s singles in the final against Korea.
While China’s domination and professional attitude to badminton and these team championships must be commended, unless another nation takes badminton and the competition more seriously, then the Sudirman cup will be a pointless competition. We know the winner before the competition even starts.
Do you think the Sudirman cup is entertaining to watch?
Finally, Europe struggles to make an impact on the big stage!
European shuttlers have had a tough time this month. Only 5 podium finishes out of 80 opportunities! There are bright lights with some of the French men’s singles players and the established Danish singles and doubles players. However, they are not yet bringing the titles to Europe. Overall, the European countries are struggling to even make the quarter-finals of the world tour. What can Europe do to become more competitive with the Asian countries?
