With the long-awaited TotalEnergies BWF World Championships gold and three HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000 titles, this was Shi Yu Qi’s year. As he heads to Hangzhou to defend his title, the world No.1 will look to put the finishing touches on an astonishing season that saw him finally address the one lacuna in his career – the absence of a major individual title.

Yet, despite his rich haul, men’s singles is open. There is Anders Antonsen, who was consistent through the year, appearing in five finals; Jonatan Christie, who struck a rich vein of form in the second half of the year with three titles in four events; and Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who won three back-to-back titles midway through the season.

Then there are other world-beaters like Li Shi Feng, the ageless Chou Tien Chen, the constantly improving Christo Popov and Kodai Naraoka. All in all, a week of close contents is set to unfold.

Kunlavut Vitidsarn

Season Highlights:

Silver: World Championships
Winner: Indonesia Masters, Badminton Asia Championships, Thailand Open, Singapore Open
Runner-up: Arctic Open

Li Shi Feng

Season Highlights:

Winner: Malaysia Masters, Hong Kong Open
Semifinalist: Malaysia Open, All England, Swiss Open, French Open

Chou Tien Chen

Season Highlights:

Winner: Arctic Open
Runner-up: Taipei Open, Indonesia Open
Semifinalist: US Open, China Open, Hong Kong Open, Korea Open, Australian Open

Anders Antonsen

Season Highlights:

Bronze: World Championships
Winner: Indonesia Open, French Open
Runner-up: Malaysia Open, Thailand Open, Korea Open

Christo Popov

Season Highlights:

Runner-up: Swiss Open, French Open
Semifinalist: European Championships, Singapore Open, Japan Open, Hong Kong Open, China Masters

Jonatan Christie

Season Highlights:

Winner: Korea Open, Denmark Open, HYLO Open
Runner-up: Indonesia Masters

Shi Yu Qi

Season Highlights:

Gold: World Championships
Winner: Malaysia Open, All England, Japan Open, China Open
Runner-up: Denmark Open

Kodai Naraoka

Season Highlights:

Winner: Kumamoto Masters
Semifinalist: Malaysia Open, Malaysia Masters, Canada Open