Shi Yuqi the sole Chinese defender as World Championships approach
In New Delhi on August 15, 2026, Shi Yuqi is the only Chinese player entering the upcoming Badminton World Championships as a defending champion. His Paris victory last year ended a 10-year gap since China’s previous men’s winner, Chen Long in 2015.
China’s historical depth in the sport remains notable — the country has produced 72 World champions — but recent results show a widening international field. On the women’s side, the last Chinese world champion was Yihan Wang in 2011. The article notes that the rest of the world has successfully ended the Chinese chokehold on the sport.
Current ranking numbers underline the shift in depth: China has three women in the top 10 and only two more inside the top 100, while the men have six players in the top 50 and eight in the top 100. Observers at the tournament repeatedly raised questions about the pressure of expectations on Chinese players.
World No. 9 Li Shifeng addressed those queries directly, saying, “The players of China are very good and large in number. We don’t have pressure of performance as such; it is more about learning from each other and it benefits everyone,” Li Shifeng said on Saturday. The piece frames that stance as a recurring theme among Chinese players.
Chen Yufei has come closest among the women to reclaiming a world title, reaching the World Championships final in two of the last three editions but losing both finals to Akane Yamaguchi, including last year. Her recent China Open match also ended in a straight-games defeat to Yamaguchi, and she reflected on the missing title, saying, “I think it is more about ourselves, how we prepare. There is no pressure, only an expectation to do our best. You just need to have faith in yourself and not care about anything else. My biggest obstacle is myself and if I can conquer that, I believe I can win gold,” Yufei said about the missing title in her cabinet.
Shi’s status as the lone Chinese defending champion highlights the altered balance of power heading into the event. For now, though, the pressure is on them.
