#4 Son Wan Ho (Korea)
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Korean No. 1 Son Wan Ho stormed to the final of the Singapore Open, accounting for the fourth seed Viktor Axelsen and sixth seed Tian Houwei on the way. But he failed to ride on that momentum and slumped to a three-game loss to Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the summit clash.
The 28-year-old did not let that setback affect him and it only motivated him for even bigger performances in the latter half of the season. Post the Rio Olympics, where he lost to the eventual winner Chen Long in the quarter-finals, the Korean embarked on his most productive part of the year. He first reached the semi-finals of the Japan Open, then followed it up with a runner-up finish at both the Korean Open and the Denmark Open.
He finally tasted victory at the Korea Masters Grand Prix Gold for his first title of the year. At the Dubai World Superseries Finals, the confident Son put up a stunning show to topple the World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei in his first group match. He eventually reached the semi-finals and was rewarded with his best-ever ranking of No. 4 at the end of the season.
