Why do some players come of age sooner than others? – Steve’s Badminton Blog and Website

In a quiet week for international badminton, where only several smaller tournaments are going on, it gave me a bit of time to think. Some players seem to reach their peak much sooner, other slower. This is an interesting topic to note, let’s discuss.

In all professional sports, we often see youth players who are brimming with potential. What that means when we look at the technical details, is that these young players seem to have all the skills necessary to be a great player, but what is not yet proven is their temperament and attitude. In a team sport such as football, sometimes, the team can carry the player, but in an individual sport such as badminton, this is even more important.

In football, we have seen countless young players who were hailed as the next great, but never reached that level. As I follow Arsenal, I know of a few English players who were hyped up to stratospheric levels, but never made it far. Some examples are Jack Whilshere, David Bentley and Jermaine Pennant. These 3 were once hailed as the next stars at Arsenal, but they never reached that level.

For badminton, we have seen plenty of players who had such potential, but never reached the level which punters and coaches saw in them. In Malaysia alone, we have had so many stars at the youth level, but they always falter at the senior level. There are many reasons for this, too many to even discuss.

I digress a little, as the focus of today is for players who are able to step up, but at different times. Then there are those who seem to be up there consistently all the time. What gives?

Lee Chong Wei

Let’s look at the legendary Lee Chong Wei. Lee Chong Wei started slowly in his career. He only started showing results in 2004 by winning 2 tournaments. In 2005 he won 2 tournaments again. In 2006 he won 4 tournaments, and 2007 he won 3 tournaments. In the Olympic year of 2008, he won 2 tournaments. And in 2009 is when he really went up to the level we all know when he start winning 7 tournaments. In 2010 he won 10 tournaments! And the wins kept coming until age caught up and in the final 2 years of his illustrious career, 2017 and 2018, he had “only” 2 tournament wins in those years.

When Lee Chong Wei started showing consistent results in 2004, he was 22 years old. While that is already a good level for most players, Lee Chong Wei managed to push his level even higher and truly reaching is peak in 2009 at the age of 27, and staying at that level until 2016 when he turned 34 years old. This is remarkable and only 1 player in current times comes close: Chou Tien Chen.

Effectively, Lee Chong Wei fully matured at 27 years old, despite him reaching world number 1 in the world ranking in 2006 at the age of 24. Arguably, it can be said that Lee Chong Wei reached his peak in 2006 at 24 years old and stayed at his peak until 2016 when he turned 34. Again, this is the legendary Lee Chong Wei, and he is a statistical anomaly.

Lin Dan

Lin Dan is a phenomenon. He won the Asia junior title in 2000 when he was 17 years old. He turned professional at 18 and won his first senior tournament in 2002 at 19. He won 3 tournaments in 2003, followed by winning 6 tournaments in 2004 at 21 years old. He was world number 1 in 2003, when he was just 20 years old.

Lin Dan reached his peak earlier than Lee Chong Wei at 21 years old. And Lin Dan managed to stay at that level until 2013, when took a break. Despite him continuing to win tournaments, the win rate is no where near his peak. Lin Dan’s streak was from 2003 until 2013.

Lin Dan peaked very early and maintained that level for a decade. That time overlapped with Lee Chong Wei’s peak decade. That gave us the fiercest rivalry known in sports. Those were great times.

Chen Long

Chen Long won the junior world championship in 2007 when he was 18. At the senior level, he had a slow start. He won a small tournament in 2009 and in 2010 he won a Super Series, the China Open. In 2011 he won 3 Super Series tournaments and 1 Grand Prix Gold tournament. He won 5 tournaments in 2012, and another 5 in 2013. He won 4 tournaments in 2014 and reached World Number 1 in the same year.

Chen Long showed steady progress from 2011, but never really peaked until 2014. This was likely due to Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei dominating the scenes. When Lin Dan dropped away in 2013, it opened the door for Chen Long to step up. And Chen Long took that chance and started to challenge Lee Chong Wei for dominance.

Chen Long stayed at his peak until the 2016 Olympic games when he took the gold medal. After that, his level dropped and he never reached the same level despite him still competing and winning some tournaments. Chen Long stayed at his peak from 2011 until 2016. That is a relatively short 6 years when compared with the 2 legends before him.

Viktor Axelsen

Axelsen won the World Junior Championship in 2010 at age 16 and the European junior championship in 2011 at age 17. He won 2 international challege tournaments in 2013. He won 1 Grand Prix Gold tournament in 2014. He won 4 tournaments in 2017 and 2 tournaments in 2018. In 2019 he won 2 tournaments. In 2020, a pandemic shortened year, he won 3 tournaments. Axelsen started peaking in 2021 and won 6 tournaments.

Despite having an early start, Axelsen truly reached his peak in 2021 at the age of 27. He initially reached world number 1 ranking in 2017 when he won 4 tournaments that year, but he did not manage to sustain that peak, largely due to Kento Momota. When Kento Momota faded away in 2021 after the car accident, that allowed Axelsen to dominate.

Axelsen stayed at his peak until 2023 and started to decline in 2024. Axelsen’s time at his peak can be stated to be from 2017 until 2023, but specifically it is from 2021 until 2024, a span of 4 years.

Kento Momota

Momota won the world junior championship in 2012 when he was 18. Momota won 3 lower tier tournaments in 2013 at 19, winning the Thomas Cup in 2014 at 20 and then winning 3 higher tier tournaments in 2015 at 21. He won another higher tier tournament in 2016 before he got banned. When he got out of the ban in the 2nd half of 2017, he won 5 lower tiered tournaments. In 2018 he won 7 tournaments at 24. In 2019, he won higher tier 11 tournaments, a record which stands today. In 2020, he won 1 tournament before getting injured in a car accident. He won 1 more tournament in 2021 at age 27, and did not challenge for titles after that.

Momota is a natural talent. He is not in a badminton playing nation, so the opportunities and exposure levels are not as high as Malaysia, Indonesia and China, yet he is one of the most talented players in the world. He showed potential at an early age and did manage to win the world junior title at 18.

Momota was starting to peak in 2016 at age 22, but he got himself banned. He peaked in 2017 and maintained his level until 2020 when he got into a car accident. It is an unfortunate end to his run. He peaked from 2017 until 2020, a period of 4 years. If he had not met with that unfortunate car accident, he could have lasted for at least 5 years in his peak, perhaps a little bit longer if he kept himself fit and healthy. But, all that is academic now. But for the short time we got to see Momota at his peak, he was breathtaking.

Shi Yuqi

Shi Yuqi won the Asian Junior Championship in 2014 when he was 18. His next tournament wins came in 2016, 3 wins at 3 different levels at age 20. In 2018 he won 3 tournaments, followed by 1 tournament win in 2019. 2020 and 2021 were years where Covid-19 travel restrictions hampered his participation in tournaments and he had no wins then. In 2022, when China allowed their players to travel, he won 2 tournaments. 2023 saw a drought where he had no individual tournament wins. 2024 saw 5 tournament wins at age 28, and in 2025 to date in October 2025, he has 5 tournament wins.

Shi Yuqi is a late bloomer in badminton. He only managed to reach his peak in 2024 at age 27 and reached the world number 1 ranking. This is similar to Viktor Axelsen truly blooming at age 27. If Shi Yuqi is able to maintain his health and fitness, he should have a run of around 4 to 5 years in his peak. That means we will be able to see more of Shi Yuqi at his best.

Conclusion

The analysis of some of the recent World Number 1s for men’s singles has revealed that not everyone peaks at the same age. Some peak sooner than others. To reach that peak, players must have the right skills and fitness, and when they finally gain enough experience to control the game as well as themselves they are able to perform at their peak. And staying at the peak level is extremely difficult, it is down to the player’s health and fitness as well as external factors which can be summarized as “LUCK”.

Of the 6 greats analyzed, each one of them peak at different ages and also for different durations. Let’s put that down into a simple table:

No	Player	Age of first Peak	Number of Years at Peak	Peak Age range
1	Lee Chong Wei	27	8	27 – 34
2	Lin Dan	21	11	21 – 31
3	Chen Long	22	6	22 – 27
4	Viktor Axelsen	27	4	27 – 31
5	Kento Momota	22	4	22 – 26
6	Shi Yuqi	27	2 and counting	27 – ??

These stat reveal some interesting points for discussion. The latest for these players to peak is 27, and the earliest is 21. The longest streak is by the GOAT, Lin Dan. And the oldest to be still in his peak is Lee Chong Wei at 34. Momota is the most tragic of these players, but his streak is as long as his rival Axelsen.

That’s it for this entry.

Until the next entry, eat well, get plenty of rest and keep the badminton going!