🏸 Badminton · Men's singles

Lee Chong Wei

Malaysia · 2000–2019

349 weeks as world number one, and three Olympic silvers.

349
Weeks at no. 1: 3
Olympic silvers: 69
Career titles: 4
All England titles

Career

Lee held the world number one ranking longer than anyone in the men's game and won almost everything except the two titles he wanted most — he lost three Olympic finals, two of them to Lin Dan. His speed and defensive retrieval set the standard for a generation.

Honours

Longest reign as world number one in men's singles
Three consecutive Olympic silver medals
Four All England Open titles
First Malaysian to top the world rankings

More Badminton greats

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Lin Dan

The only player to complete the Super Grand Slam — every major title.

Men's singles · 2000–2020

P. V. Sindhu

First Indian woman to win a badminton world title.

Women's singles · 2009–present

Carolina Marín

Broke Asia's grip on women's singles almost single-handedly.

Women's singles · 2009–present