Return to Paris and attack with all the best in the World Championships of the National Badminton Championships

China Sports Daily reporter Zhou Yuan

On the 22nd, the Chinese badminton team flew from Beijing to Paris to participate in the 2025 World Badminton Championships. From August 25 to 31, the competition will be held at the La Chapelle Gate Stadium in Paris. A year after the Paris Olympics, the national badminton team returned to the Olympic venues. What are the expectations of the players?

Men's Singles: Face the Challenge directly

This World Championships is destined to be different for the national badminton men's singles. All four players are in the upper half, and it is difficult to avoid "internal friction" in advance. The national badminton men's singles will face the challenge directly.

From the current perspective, Shi Yuqi, the world's number one, is still a favorite to win the championship and is also the greatest hope for the national badminton men's singles championship. At the Paris Olympics a year ago, the number one seed Shi Yuqi stopped in the quarterfinals. Returning to Paris a year later, Shi Yuqi is still the number one seed and will face the same test. All players will attack him without any worries. For 29-year-old Shi Yuqi, how to maintain good physical fitness at the World Championships to deal with continuous high-intensity combat and maintain a stable mentality is the key.

During the Los Angeles Olympic cycle, Li Shifeng began to reposition himself and no longer put his position very high because he won the All-English Open and Asian Games championships in 2023. Since the beginning of this year, his performance has stabilized, but he has not yet achieved a breakthrough in the high-level championship. In this World Championships, Li Shifeng may face Malaysian star Li Zijia in the second round, which is the first hurdle on his way forward. If the promotion is successful, Li Shifeng may usher in a "same-family battle" with Lu Guangzu.

Lu Guangzu also performed well this year, and he won the runner-up in the Asian Championships. However, in the second half of the year, Lu Guangzu's performance declined and was also affected by injuries. At this World Championships, Lu Guangzu looks forward to regaining his form. Weng Hongyang lacks stability. He participated in the World Championships for the first time. All he had to do was to perform stably.

The national badminton men's singles have many main opponents in this World Championships, including Denmark's Antonsen, Thailand's Kunlavut, Indonesia's Jonathan, as well as host players Ranil, Big Popov, Little Popov, etc.

Shi Yuqi (who participated in the World Championships for the fifth time, ranked No. 1 in the world):

Everyone thinks I am a favorite to win the championship and have great expectations for me, but I must try my best to block these sounds. The World Championships test more about adaptability on the field, and I hope that I can apply my previous experience to this game.

Lu Guangzu (who participated in the World Championships for the fifth time, ranked 11th in the world):

World Championships are completely different from the usual Open. Everyone will try their best to play 100%, and they must also do their best to play well.

Li Shifeng (who participated in the World Championships for the third time, ranked fourth in the world):

Every opponent must strive to win and find ways to face it positively, but keep a normal mind.

Weng Hongyang (first time participating in the World Championships, ranked 16th in the world):

Looking forward to the first World Championships, we will not put a lot of pressure on ourselves. Every opponent is not easy to play, so be prepared for every game.

Women's Singles: Work together to break through

The women's singles pattern in today's world badminton world is clearer - Chinese players collectively challenge South Korean star An Xiying. As the world rankings show, An Xiying ranks first, Chinese players Wang Zhiyi, Han Yue and Chen Yufei ranked second to fourth, and defending champion An Xiying is undoubtedly the strongest opponent in the women's singles in this World Championships.

Judging from the signing form, Chen Yufei and An Xiying are in the upper half, while Wang Zhiyi, Han Yue and Gao Fangjie are all in the lower half. This is Chen Yufei's sixth time participating in the World Championships. Her best result was the runner-up of the women's singles at the 2022 Tokyo World Championships. She entered the semi-finals in three other World Championships in 2017, 2019 and 2023 and stood on the podium, and entered the quarterfinals in 2018. After returning from the Paris Olympics vacation, Chen Yufei has won five championships this season, but he has suffered losses when he met An Xiying in July and the Chinese Open twice, and Chen Yufei has also exposed some problems. In the competition with An Xiying, physical fitness and multi-photo ability are very important.

Wang Zhiyi's performance this season is more stable, reaching the finals of the World Badminton Federation Tour 7 times. But at present, she needs to be more active on the court, especially in the multi-shoot competition with An Xiying, she should enrich her offensive methods and try to avoid being passive.

Han Yue played speed and offensive ability against An Xiying in the semi-finals of the China Open last month, but when facing high-level opponents, she needed better physical support.

Returned to the arena after serious injury surgery and went around in circles, Gao Fangjie is about to make her debut in the World Championships. Compared with the other three, Gao Fangjie's performance has greater ups and downs and more mistakes. He needs to be controlled at the World Championships in order to go further.

The last time the national badminton women's singles won the championship was in 2011. This time they need to rely on collective strength to break through. Chen Yufei may first meet An Xiying in the upper half, and she will also strive to win.

Chen Yufei (scored the World Championships for the sixth time, ranked fourth in the world):

This year, I have experienced a lot of things, learned a lot, and watched a lot. Losing at the La Chapel Gate Stadium last year left me with a deep memory. When I stood on the court again, I had to take every game more rigorously and stand up wherever I fell.

Wang Zhiyi (who participated in the World Championships for the fourth time, ranked second in the world):

Very longing, I have made full preparations for the World Championships and hope to perform well.

Han Yue (who participated in the World Championships for the fifth time, ranked third in the world):

I still hope to stand on the podium. The opponents in the lottery are all very good, so I need to make more preparations and do my best while hoping that I can enjoy the process.

Gao Fangjie (first time participating in the World Championships, ranked 14th in the world):

hopes to play to your best level. No matter what the signing form is, if you want to go far, you must play well and your destiny is in your own hands..

Jia Yifan (scored the World Championships for the seventh time, ranking sixth in the world):

Everyone is on the same starting line. I believe that I can fight tough battles. No matter what difficulties or challenges I encounter, I am looking forward to facing them and fighting will be over!

Zhang Shuxian (scoring the World Championships for the fourth time, ranking sixth in the world):

is full of unknowns and expectations for the World Championships. I hope we can face the problems with a good attitude and impact our opponents.

Li Yijing (who participated in the World Championships for the first time, ranked seventh in the world):

The two of us should be more daring to play. No matter who we face, we must have the desire to win and give full play to our existing things.

Luo Xumin (first time participating in the World Championships, ranked seventh in the world):

I will play the First World Championships in a relatively excited state and strive to go further.

Men's Doubles: Let's try it out

This year, the national badminton men's doubles won the highest podium in the World Badminton League High-Level Open, and only two pairs participated in the World Championships. Faced with a more intense competition, the national badminton men's doubles need to give it a try under greater pressure.

Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang won the runner-up at the Paris Olympics a year ago, and the higher attention he has gained since then puts forward higher requirements on the stability of their own core. The past year of the Paris Olympics, their results have been up and down, but they have gradually climbed up this year. They have reached the semi-finals in the Asian Championships and advanced to the semi-finals in the Chinese Open. In the Second World Championships, the "King Liang" combination is no longer a favorite to win the championship, which allows them to face it with a more peaceful attitude. If we can perform with a try, the sixth-ranked "King Liang" combination in the world is worth looking forward to.

At the beginning of this year, Chen Baiyang/Liu Yi reached the final of the World Badminton Federation Tour Super 1000, showing an upward momentum, but after April, they quickly reached the "second double" position, and their overall strength and mentality were not ready. After that, the two experienced ups and downs and were constantly adjusting. Now that they are participating in the World Championships for the first time, the "100-point" combination will not have too many ideas, and they fight with the mentality of fighting to the end.

The two pairs of national badminton men's doubles are in the lower half of the area. The main opponents in the same half of the area are the Indian group Ranki Reddy/Sheti, the Malaysian group Xie Dingfeng/Su Weiyi, etc.

Liang Weikeng (scored the World Championships for the second time, ranked sixth in the world):

When we left Paris last year, we made a wish to come to Paris a year later. The game is coming now, and we will do our best.

Wang Chang (the third time participating in the World Championships, ranked sixth in the world):

Returning to Paris, we are very looking forward to it and will be more fully prepared.

Chen Boyang (first time participating in the World Championships, ranked 11th in the world):

I will be excited and nervous, but I will focus on me in the competition and do my best to fight.

Liu Yi (first time participating in the World Championships, ranked 11th in the world):

We will do our best to ensure that the ball will not land and never give up.