Guangzhou: Badminton’s biggest stars are set to be honored at the annual Badminton World Federation (BWF) Players of the Year Awards – which will be held next Monday prior to the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals.
This year’s Male Player of the Year and Female Player of the Year for both badminton and para-badminton together with Eddy Choong Most Promising Player of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year awards will be crowned at the Garden Grand Ball Room, in Guangzhou, China.
World No. 1 men’s singles player Kento Momota is one of the biggest names nominated for the Male Player of the Year award together with Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuldo of Indonesia who won 8 BWF World Tour titles this year and also the 2018 Asian Games.
Mixed doubles specialist Zheng Siwei of China who won a staggering 9 titles with his partner Huang Yaqiong, was nominated for the male player of the year award for the second time in a row.
Huang, on the other hand, was nominated for Female Player of the Year alongside World No. 1 women’s singles player Tai Tzu Ying, and Japan’s women’s doubles pair Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota.
Spain’s three-time world champion Carolina Marin and the 2016 Rio Olympic champion Carolina Marin was a surprise omission from the Female Player of the Year award.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei who won the 2018 Youth Olympics Games & the 2018 World Junior Championships was shortlisted for the Eddy Choong Most Promising Player of the Year award.
Nominees for the men’s Para-Badminton Player of the Year include Cheah Liek Hou of Malaysia, Lucas Mazur of France and Jack Shephard of England.
Here is the complete list of nominees:
Male Player of the Year
Kento Momota (Men’s Singles, Japan)
Highlight: Winner – Total BWF World Championships 2018 & Badminton Asia Championships 2018
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuldo (Men’s Doubles, Indonesia)
Highlight: 8 x Winner – HSBC BWF World Tour 2018 & Asian Games 2018
Zheng Siwei (Mixed Doubles, China)
Highlight: Winner – Total BWF World Championships 2018 & Asian Games 2018
Female Player of the Year
Tai Tzu Ying (Women’s Singles, Taipei)
Highlight: 6 x Winner – HSBC BWF World Tour 2018 & Asian Games 2018
Huang Yaqiong (Mixed Doubles, China)
Highlight: Winner – Total BWF World Championships 2018 & Asian Games 2018
Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (Women’s Doubles, Japan)
Highlight: 6 x Winner – HSBC BWF World Tour 2018
Eddy Choong Most Promising Player of the Year
Apriyani Rahayu (Women’s Doubles, Indonesia)
Highlight: Winner – YONEX-SUNRISE DR. AKHILESH DAS GUPTA India Open 2018 & TOYOTA Thailand Open 2018
He Jiting (Men’s Doubles & Mixed Doubles, China)
Highlight: Winner – VICTOR Korea Open 2018 (Mixed Doubles)
Han Chengkai/Zhou Haodong (Men’s Doubles, China)
Highlight: Winner – YONEX French Open 2018
Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Women’s Singles, Indonesia)
Highlight: Semifinal – TOYOTA Thailand Open 2018 & DANISA Denmark Open 2018
Goh Jin Wei (Women’s Singles, Malaysia)
Highlight: Winner – Youth Olympics Games 2018 & World Junior Championships 2018
Male Para-badminton Player of the Year
Lucas Mazur (France)
Highlight: Winner – Men’s Singles SL4 & Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5 European Para-Badminton Championships 2018
Cheah Liek Hou (Malaysia)
Highlight: Winner – Men’s Singles SU5 Dubai, Uganda, Turkey & Ireland Para-Badminton International 2018
Jack Shephard (England)
Highlight: Winner – Men’s Singles SS6 & Men’s Doubles SS6 European Para-Badminton Championships 2018
Female Para-badminton Player of the Year
Sujirat Pookkham (Thailand)
Highlight: Winner – Women’s Singles WH1 Spain, Turkey & Thailand Para-Badminton International 2018
Yuma Yamazaki (Japan)
Highlight: Winner – Women’s Singles WH2 Spain, Turkey, Thailand & Japan Para-Badminton International 2018
Leani Ratri Oktila (Indonesia)
Highlight: Winner – Women’s Doubles SL3-SU5 & Mixed Doubles SL3-SU5 Asian Para Games 2018
Most Improved Player of the Year
Seo Seong Jae (Men’s Doubles & Mixed Doubles, Korea)
Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara (Women’s Doubles, Japan)
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chiraj Shetty (Men’s Doubles, India)
He Jiting (Men’s Doubles & Mixed Doubles, China)
Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (Men’s Singles, Indonesia)
