The Wang Lao Ji BWF World Championships 2013 have come and gone like a whirlwind – enjoy some of the highlights for which this Major Event will long be remembered.

Guangzhou hosted the 19th edition of the BWF World Championships; the first being held in Malmo, Sweden, in 1977. These were the second World Championships staged in China, after Beijing in 1987.

Athletes from 48 countries across five continents competed – 182 male players and 155 female players, totaling 337.

Host country, China, had the highest number of players who qualified through world rankings – 28 – while Indonesia had 26.

Ratchanok Intanon became the youngest Singles World champion of either gender when she won the Women’s Singles title in Guangzhou.

BWF home page: Egypt’s Nadine Ashraf – partnered in Mixed Doubles by Mahmoud El Sayad – cut a unique and stylish look in her hijab.

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WELCOME

BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund  (right) accepts a token of appreciation from Mr. Cai Zhenhua, Vice Minister of General Administration of Sport, Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee and President of the Chinese Badminton Association, at the welcome dinner on Sunday 4 August.

Sponsorship spotlight: BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund (second left) presented sponsor representatives with tokens of appreciation at the welcome dinner.

Left to right: Mr. Zhou Xu Hong, Chery Anhui Automobile Southern China, District Planning Section Chief; Ms. Li Zhu Jun, Li-Ning Marketing Director; and Mr. Huang Qinjian, Redbull Vitamin Drink Co. Ltd., Guangzhou Branch, General Manager.

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MEDALLISTS

Women’s Doubles

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Women’s Singles

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Mixed Doubles

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Men’s Doubles

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Men’s Singles 

(Absent: Lee Chong Wei)

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MEMORIES

India’s PV Sindhu screams in delight as she knocks out defending Women’s Singles champion, Wang Yihan of China, in the quarter-finals.

China’s big two – Chen Long (foreground) and Lin Dan – faced off for a place in the Men’s Singles semi-finals.

Spain’s Carolina Marin (left) tested eventual Women’s Singles winner, Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, in the quarter-finals.

Edwin Ekiring of Uganda won many fans in Guangzhou.

Guys Got Skills: Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana (left) and Denmark’s Rasmus Bonde sent spectators wild with these shots.

Referees, umpires and a member of the medical team bid farewell on the last day of the Wang Lao Ji BWF World Championships.

Volunteers and staff jump for joy outside the Tianhe Indoor Gymnasium to celebrate the successful hosting of the Wang Lao Ji BWF World Championships.

An almost packed venue on the final night of competition.