The Badminton World Federation (BWF) concluded its year-end Awards for 2023 by honoring An Se Young and Seo Seung Jae as the top female and male players, respectively.
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The Badminton World Federation (BWF) concluded its year-end Awards for 2023 by honoring An Se Young and Seo Seung Jae as the top female and male players, respectively. An Se Young, the 21-year-old prodigy from Gwangju, reigned supreme in the women’s singles category. She captured an impressive 11 titles, including the coveted BWF World Championships 2023 and the Asian Games gold medal.
An Se Young reached the finals in 13 of the 14 tournaments she competed in, losing just once to Chen Yu Fei, the world’s second-ranked player. This sensational performance ensured her year-end ranking as world No.1 as she prevailed over her closest competitor with a significant 6000-point lead. The decision to award An Se Young the BWF Female Player of the Year title was unanimous, despite strong performances from her fellow nominees Chen Yu Fei and Akane Yamaguchi.
Seo Seung Jae, the 24-year-old talent from Seoul, clinched the BWF Male Player of the Year award as he surprisingly surpassed frontrunners like Viktor Axelsen and Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Seo had a phenomenal 2023 season. He became the first male player since 1999 to win two events at the BWF World Championships 2023, securing victories in both men’s doubles with Kang Min Hyuk and mixed doubles with Chae Yu Jung. Additionally, he bagged four titles on the BWF World Tour, two each in men’s and mixed doubles categories.
In the doubles category, Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan were crowned ‘Pair of the Year’ after a season that earned them seven title victories, including the Asian Games and World Championships. The duo made it to six consecutive finals from July to October, winning five of them. In the mixed doubles category, the duo of Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin, who advanced to No.6 in the BWF rankings in their debut year, were honored as the ‘Most Improved Player of the Year’. The men’s doubles category saw rookies Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning, who broke into the top 10 and clinched four titles, being awarded the ‘Eddy Choong Most Promising Player’ achievement.
The year 2023 is the last year with the current BWF awards format. The nominees are traditionally chosen by the BWF Council based on performances from November 1 of the preceding year to October 31. However, starting in 2024, the awards system will undergo significant development. The three main awards will be expanded to five, with the Pair of the Year award being split into three separate awards for each doubles category.
Moreover, the selection process will integrate world ranking points accumulated from December 1 of the preceding year to November 30, alongside evaluations from a panel of experts after each major event. This includes the Super 750 and Super 1000 World Tour stops, the Olympic Games (or World Championships), and the World Tour Finals. The change aims to bring more inclusivity and a comprehensive assessment of performances throughout the year.
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