Shi Yuqi
Shi Yuqi is a Chinese badminton player and current world champion in the men's singles discipline. He won his first Super Series title in the 2016 French Open. At the 2017 All England Open, he defeated 6-time champion Lin Dan to reach the final, and repeated the same feat again at the 2018 All England Open, where he outclassed Lin Dan in the tournament final. He is the current All England Open champion, having won the 2025 edition of the tournament.
Shi won the gold medal at the 2025 World Championships, defeating Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the final, 7 years after winning the silver medal at the 2018 World Championships, losing to Japan's Kento Momota in the final. He also led his country to victory multiple times in team events, in the 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 edition of the Sudirman Cup, at the 2018 and 2024 edition of the Thomas Cup, and at the 2018 and 2022 Asian Games men's team event. He won the silver medal in the men's singles event at the 2022 Asian Games, losing to his compatriot Li Shifeng in the final.Early life
Shi was born on 28 February 1996, in Nantong, Jiangsu, to parents Shi Lei and Fang Fang. He started playing badminton at age six when he entered a junior sports school in the city to practice badminton. In 2007, he went to Singapore to study as well as play badminton. He enrolled in Yu Neng Primary School and trained at the Singapore Badminton School under ex-SBA chief coach Zhang Qingsong. In 2009, he returned to China after the 2008 financial crisis.
In 2011, he won first place in the Jiangsu Province youth badminton competition. After that, he successfully entered the Jiangsu Province badminton team and became a professional badminton player. In 2012, he participated in the National Youth Championship for the first time and won the championship. At the age of 16, he was selected for the national badminton team.Career
2012–2015: Youth Olympics gold and Asian Junior Champion
In 2012, Shi participated in his first Asian Junior Championships and came in second in the mixed team event after China lost 0–3 to Japan in the final. In the boy's singles event, he lost to C. Rohit Yadav of India in the round of 32 after a three-game battle that lasted for 65 mins. In the 2013 edition of the Asian Junior Badminton Championships, Shi, as a member of the Chinese team, came in first in the mixed team event, beating South Korea 3–1 in the final. He competed at the Asian Youth Games, winning the bronze medals in the boys' singles and mixed doubles, partnered with Chen Yufei. Later that year, Shi made his senior international debut at the Korea Grand Prix Gold where he would lose in the first round to South Korea's Hong Ji-hoon in two straight games after advancing from the qualifiers.
In 2014, Shi had the first breakthrough of his fledgling career. He won the mixed team and boys' singles titles at the Asian Junior Badminton Championships. He first helped China defend its mixed team title by sweeping South Korea 3–0 in the final. In the boys' singles event that followed, he advanced to the final, defeating Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan in three games to win the title. Shi then followed up with another mixed team success at the World Junior Championships, where China defeated Indonesia 3–0 in the final. He also won a silver medal in the boys' singles event after losing to his compatriot Lin Guipu in the final. In August, at the Youth Olympic Games, he won the boys' singles gold after avenging his defeat to Lin Guipu at the World Junior Championships final by defeating him this time.
Shi, however, did not have a good year in 2015; his best showing was at the China Open, where he reached the quarter-finals of the tournament, losing to Son Wan-ho of South Korea in three games.2016: Three tour titles
In 2016, Shi became a first-line player on the Chinese badminton team. He started the season poorly though, reaching only the semi-finals of the Syed Modi International in his first eight on tour. However, his form improved later in the year and he won his first senior title on tour by winning the Indonesia Masters after his compatriot Huang Yuxiang retired in the second game of the final with Shi leading 21–12, 11–0. He followed up from his success by winning the French Open next, beating Lee Hyun-il in two straight games. Shi then continued his rich veins of form by winning the Bitburger Open, beating India's Sourabh Varma in the final.Shi continued his good form into 2017. He started the season by winning a bronze medal in the Asia Mixed Team Championships where China lost to the eventual winner Japan 1–3 in the semi-finals. In March, he reached the final of the All England Open by beating his senior Lin Dan in the semi-finals. He, however, would lose in the final to Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei in two straight games. Shi reached another final at the Swiss Open, but lost tamely to Lin Dan in the final this time around. In April, he competed in the Asian Championships and finished with a bronze medal after losing to compatriot Chen Long in the semi-finals. In August, Shi participated in his maiden World Championships but was knocked out by Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki in the third round. At the year-end World Superseries Finals, he lost in the semi-finals to Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.2018: First All England and World Tour Finals titles, Thomas Cup and Asiad Team Champions, World Championships silver
2018 was one of Shi's best seasons to date. He began by winning the India Open in January, beating Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Tapei in two straight games. In February, he won a silver medal in the Asia Team Championships after China lost to Indonesia 1–3 in the final. He started March by reaching the semi-finals of the German Open, where he lost to Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong in three tightly contested games. He then competed at the All England and won the crown, defeating Lin Dan in the final. It was his biggest-ever individual title on tour and his first Super 1000 title. In May, Shi was selected to represent the Chinese team in the Thomas Cup and he did not disappoint, winning the crucial men's singles tie against Kenta Nishimoto in the final, to help his team to a 3–1 victory over Japan. In July, he participated in his second World Championships and made it to the final where he lost to Japan's Kento Momota, thus finishing with a silver medal, which is his best showing in the tournament thus far. In August, Shi participated in the Asian Games men's team event where China claimed the gold medal for a record sixth time after defeating Indonesia 3–1 in the final. In October, he reached his second French Open final but was defeated by Chen Long in two straight games. At the year-end tourney, Shi avenged his defeat at the World Championships by beating Kento Momota 21–12, 21–11 to win his first World Tour Final title.2019: Sudirman Cup Champion, Asian Championships silver, and First Swiss Open title
Shi's first tournament of the season was at the Malaysia Masters where he reached the quarter-finals but was defeated by Malaysia's Daren Liew in three games. In March, his quest to defend his All England title was thwarted by Viktor Axelsen after losing to him in the semi-finals. Shi then bounced back quickly from his disappointment by winning the next tournament, the Swiss Open. There, he defeated B. Sai Praneeth to win his first Swiss Open title. In April, he competed at the Malaysia Open but lost to Lin Dan in the semi-finals. He then participated in the Asian Championships held in Wuhan, China, where he finished with a silver medal, after losing to Kento Momota in the final. In May, at the Sudirman Cup, Shi helped the Chinese team to win their eleventh title after he completed a stunning comeback over World No.1 Kento Momota to clinch China's three-game sweep of Japan. In July, Shi participated in the Indonesia Open where he suffered a horrible ankle injury in a match with Anders Antonsen and had to retire. For the rest of the year, Shi did not perform well. He only reached the final of the Macau Open, where he lost to Thailand's Sitthikom Thammasin.2020: All England quarter-finalist
Shi had a hectic start to the 2020 season, where he participated in three straight tournaments in January to begin the season. He reached the quarter-finals of both the Malaysia Masters and Indonesia Masters, where he lost to Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia and Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu, respectively. The following week, at the Thailand Masters, Shi managed to reach the semi-finals, where he lost to Ng Ka Long. In March, he competed in the All England Open but was defeated by Viktor Axelsen again albeit, in the quarter-finals this time. This will turn out to be his final tournament of the year as the rest of the tourneys were mostly cancelled after the COVID-19 outbreak.2021: Second Sudirman Cup and First National Games title
In 2021, Shi competed in only four tournaments, namely the delayed Tokyo Olympics in July, the Chinese National Championships, the Sudirman Cup in September, and the delayed Thomas Cup in October. In the Tokyo Olympics, Shi cleared the group stage easily and met Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the knockout round where he had no problem dispatching his opponent, beating him 21–11, 21–9. In the quarter-final, he faced Viktor Axelsen again and lost, which ended the Olympic campaign. In the Chinese National Championships, he finally claimed his first National Games title after beating Jiangsu teammate Lu Guangzu in the final. In the Sudirman Cup, Shi performed well, helping China defend its title from 2019 against rival Japan in a 3–1 victory. In the Thomas Cup, China reached the final but lost to Indonesia 3–0. He did not play in the final.Controversy
Shi played as the first men's singles against Kento Momota of Japan at the 2020 Thomas Cup semi-finals in Aarhus, Denmark. Shi lost the first set 22–20 and retired in the second just as Momota was about to serve at 20–5. This “bizarre” retreat caused some controversy. Shi later cited injuries and tiredness for his withdrawal in a social media post, citing that since he withdrew when the opponent was at 20 points, he has not recorded a loss because it was not at 21. However, that did little to quell netizens' anger, with people calling him out for his unsportsmanlike behaviour.