Top 5 men’s badminton players in 2017

#1 Viktor Axelsen

YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships - Day Four- 2017 — Viktor Axelsen

Towards the end of last year, Viktor Axelsen had told Sportskeeda that he wanted to focus on doing well at the All England Championships and the World Championships in 2017. While he faltered at the former, he fulfilled his promise at the latter.

This was a year in which Axelsen truly blossomed and came into his own. Ever since he was crowned the world junior champion in 2010, there was never any doubt of the immense talent that he is endowed with. But it took him some time to achieve his potential.

Last year’s Rio Olympic bronze medal and the World Superseries Finals title gave him what was earlier missing -- unwavering self-belief. The 23-year-old rode on it to find success at the World Championships, the World Superseries Finals, the Japan Open and the India Open, all of which contributed to sending up to the pinnacle of the world rankings.

He pretty much mastered every top shuttler this year. From Lin Dan to Lee Chong Wei, Chen Long, Srikanth Kidambi and Son Wan Ho, everyone succumbed to the Dane, bolstering his case as the world’s current best shuttler.

About the author

Sudeshna is a veteran Indian Sports and International Tennis journalist as well as editor at Sportskeeda. She has an overall experience of over 10 years with top publications like The Bridge, Fox Sports Asia, and gained a keen interest in Indian sports since the 2002 Commonwealth and Asian Games when she was in school.

Sudeshna holds a Master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She attends tournaments regularly and being a highly experienced journalist, she ensures she only contacts the correct people from her network for the most authentic information to be put in her articles.

Sudeshna’s favorite Indian athlete is PV Sindhu owing to her big-tournament performances. She also admires Tennis legend Rafael Nadal for his resilience and has witnessed the Spaniard in action at the French Open, due to which, Roland Garros is her all-time favorite Grand Slam tournament.

Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics made a lasting impact on Sudeshna. She has also interviewed him along with Badminton star Chirag Shetty and several other sports personalities. She has done on-ground reporting on multiple ITF tournaments along with the Premier Badminton League, Asian Boxing Championships and the Davis Cup.

When not using her skills and years of experience in crafting compelling content, Sudeshna likes to read, watch movies and travel.

Know More

Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee