The standout trends and players at the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2023:

Young Generation Comes of Age

The rise in prominence of a young generation in men’s singles has been evident over the last couple of years, through players like Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Kodai Naraoka, Lakshya Sen and Li Shi Feng, all in their early 20s. With Vitisarn and Naraoka facing off for the title – a repeat of their World Junior Championships final in 2018 – Copenhagen will be remembered as the first major final featuring players of this generation.

And with 21-year-old An Se Young taking the women’s singles gold, the returns were good for the post-2000 generation. Both singles winners made history by becoming the first from their respective countries to win gold.

Korea, Unprecedented Success

Korea finally joined an exclusive club of countries – Denmark, Indonesia and China being the others – that have won three gold or more at a single edition of the World Championships. Korea’s three-title haul came as something of a surprise, for, apart from An Se Young, the others weren’t sureshot contenders for gold. Yet, Seo Seung Jae, in the company of Kang Min Hyuk and Chae Yu Jung, had a stellar week, ensuring three gold medals for Korea; Seo himself became only the fourth men’s double titlist ever, after Christian Hadinata (1980), Park Joo Bong (1985, 1991) and Kim Dong Moon (1999).

Silver Lining for Indonesia

Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti provided the silver lining for Indonesia with a runner-up place in women’s doubles, but that apart, the other Indonesian contenders couldn’t make it past the quarterfinals. Indonesia have built up considerable depth in men’s doubles in recent years, with no less than four pairs in the top 15 and six in the top 22. Yet, it must worry them that no pair managed a medal.

Japan, likewise, have cause for concern in women’s doubles which has traditionally been their strength. This was the first time in 10 years that the Japanese failed to secure a women’s doubles medal.

Carolina Marin’s Return

While Carolina Marin has performed creditably since last April on her return from a second knee surgery, her campaign at the World Championships had a different significance altogether. Having proclaimed that she was ready to challenge for the gold at the start of the event, and nearly coming good on her word, Marin has set an example for her contemporaries on sheer grit. Few players have returned to elite level after serious injury; that she did it after two knee surgeries, and came to within one win of her fourth world title, is telling indeed.

Out of the Blue

Denmark had mixed success at their home event, finishing with a silver and a bronze. Viktor Axelsen had been overwhelming favourite for a third men’s singles title, but that didn’t materialise as he fell to a stubborn HS Prannoy in the quarterfinals.

Somewhat unexpectedly, the stars of the show for the hosts were Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen. Getting the crowed fired up with sensational play and knocking out one higher seed after another, Astrup and Rasmussen were in the hunt for gold until the very end.

History-Making Fourth

It was a hat-trick for Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan, making it a record fourth women’s doubles titles overall. They dropped only one game during their campaign – in the quarterfinals against Chiharu Shida/Nami Matsuyama.

Standout Performances

What a week it was for HS Prannoy, who finally secured his first World Championships medal. The third round battle with Loh Kean Yew was one of the tensest contests of the World Championships; Prannoy followed up that hard test with a takedown of home favourite Viktor Axelsen.

Then there was Wang Tzu Wei, who had suffered eight first round exits this year on the HSBC BWF World Tour. Yet, he stirred up the men’s singles draw, beating Lu Guang Zu and Li Shi Feng before stretching Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the quarterfinals.

Former world champion Nozomi Okuhara attracted attention by beating two other former champions – Pusarla V Sindhu and Ratchanok Intanon, and then taking a game off An Se Young, the only game that the eventual champion would lose during the week. Okuhara said she’s “50 to 60 per cent” of her best, meaning her fans can look forward to more of her in coming tournaments.

Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan outplayed two-time champions Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara and raised hopes of a first-ever women’s doubles medal for Malaysia with significant leads over Zhang Shu Xian/Zheng Yu in the quarterfinal. Having fallen narrowly short, the Malaysians were inconsolable.