Liu Yuchen
Liu Yuchen is a Chinese badminton player. He was the men's doubles World Champion in 2018, two-time Asian Champion in 2017 and 2018, and also a silver medalist at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's doubles|2020 Summer Olympics] partnered with Li Junhui. Liu was part of the national team that won the 2018 Asian Games – Men's team|2018 Asian Games], 2018 Thomas Cup, and 2019 Sudirman Cup. Together with Li, he achieved the men's doubles world number 1 on 6 April 2017, and occupied the top ranking for ten weeks.
Career
Liu competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's doubles|2020 Summer Olympics]. Partnered with Li Junhui, he won a silver medal in the men's doubles after being defeated by Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin of Chinese Taipei in the final in straight games, 18–21, 12–21. Following the loss, he and Li received immense backlash from Chinese netizens for being unable to win the gold medal.In 2022, Liu started a new partnership with Ou Xuanyi after Li Junhui's retirement. In the Indonesia Open, the duo beat Korea's Choi Sol-gyu and Kim Won-ho to become the first men's doubles pair from the reserves’ list to win a Super 1000 title. They qualified to compete at the 2022 [BWF World Tour Finals|World Tour Finals] and emerged victorious after beating Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the final.
In 2023, Liu and Ou helped the Chinese national team reach the Sudirman Cup knockout stage#Final|final round] of the Sudirman Cup. Facing former world no. 1 pair Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in the semi-finals while Japan was leading the tie 2–1, Liu and Ou saved four match points being down 16–20 in the deciding set and converted their first to keep China alive in the tie. They eventually got into the final. Liu said after the match, "We didn’t think too much. We played each point. We kept doing what we did towards the end. It’s unbelievable." After compatriot and world no. 1 Jia Yifan won the deciding rubber, she stated, "We wouldn’t be here if not for the men’s doubles, they did a great job." Ultimately, the Chinese national team went on to win the 2023 Sudirman Cup.
Liu competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's doubles|2024 Summer Olympics], but failed to make it into the knockout tournament. Some fans and commentators have attributed Liu pair's absence from the knockout tournament to his group being ridiculously stacked compared to the other groups. In addition, Kim Astrup, whose pair was in the same group as Liu's, remarked that making it into the quarter-finals from their group deserved a medal on its own due to how loaded their group was.
On 19 August 2024, Liu announced his retirement from international badminton. His farewell party was held after the 2025 BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou.
Personal life
His sister, Liu Jing, is a swimmer.Liu is often jokingly called Hendra Setiawan's 'eldest son' by fans, due to his public admiration towards the elder shuttler and his closeness with Setiawan's family. Liu himself has acknowledged the joke in an Instagram post with Setiawan's family during the Indonesia Masters in Jakarta.
Liu's father is the coach of the Beijing Municipal women's Badminton team. His mother has also coached the Beijing badminton team.
On 2 August 2024, Liu proposed to his girlfriend, fellow Chinese badminton player and 2020 Olympic silver medalist Huang Yaqiong, right after she received her gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Adidas Arena, Paris, which she accepted. One year after the proposal, the couple shared on Weibo that they had registered their marriage.
Achievements
Olympic Games
Men's doubles| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Tokyo, Japan |  BWF World ChampionshipsMen's doubles
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