In the world of badminton, Olympic glory remains elusive for some of the sport’s brightest stars. Even with their stellar records and honors, five of the top players have not yet won an Olympic medal, which is frequently regarded as the highest honor in sports.
With his recent second gold medal in Paris, Viktor Axelsen has further elevated the standard for badminton brilliance. This follows ten years of supremacy by Chen Long, Lin Dan, and Lee Chong Wei.
As the sport develops, new players have emerged who are challenging the established while still striving for that elusive podium finish.
Let’s look at the top five badminton players who have never won an Olympic medal.
5. Anders Antonsen
Anders Antonsen, who is currently ranked sixth in the world, has won three medals at the world championship, including silver in 2019. In a thrilling three-set quarterfinal match at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting defeated the Dane. His Paris 2024 campaign came to a similar end when he lost to Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in the quarterfinals. At 27, Antonsen remains hopeful of securing an Olympic medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
4. Chou Tien-chen
The 34-year-old Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan made his Olympic debut in 2016 but was defeated in the quarterfinals by top seed Lee Chong Wei. In Tokyo 2020, he met a similar end when he lost to Chen Long in yet another quarterfinal match. Chou’s final Olympic medal attempt came in Paris, where he lost to Lakshya Sen of India in the quarterfinals. Chou’s fight with early-stage colorectal cancer last year makes his story all the more inspirational.
3. Akane Yamaguchi
At 27, Akane Yamaguchi has won four world championship medals, including gold in 2021 and 2022, making her a formidable force in women’s singles. However, Olympic success has eluded her across three Games. In 2016, she competed in her first Olympics, losing in the quarterfinals. At Tokyo 2020, as the fourth seed, she again exited in the quarterfinals. History repeated itself in Paris, where top seed An Se-young ended her run in the last eight. Yamaguchi is now aiming for her last chance to win Olympic hardware at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
2. Kento Momota
Kento Momota, regarded as one of the greatest badminton players of all time, won gold in the world championships in 2018 and 2019 and won an astounding 11 titles in 2019. Following his triumph at the 2020 Malaysia Masters, Momota’s form was disrupted by a tragic accident. Despite being the top seed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (held in 2021 at his home venue), he was unexpectedly knocked out in the round-robin stage by Heo Kwang-hee. Following the Thomas Cup in May 2024, Momota announced his retirement.
1.Shi Yuqi
World number one Shi Yuqi, who had an outstanding record, was the favorite going into the Paris Olympics. Shi has played a key role in China’s two Thomas Cup and three Sudirman Cup triumphs. He also won silver in the 2018 World Championships and gold in the Asian Games in 2018 and 2024. Despite winning four major titles in 2024 before the Olympics, Shi suffered a surprising quarterfinal exit by Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in Paris.
Cover Credits – BWF Official
