Shi Yuqi

Shi Yuqi was born on February 28, 1996, in Nantong, Jiangsu, China, to parents Shi Lei and Fang Fang. He first played badminton when he was six years old and enrolled in a junior sports school in the city. Shi traveled to Singapore in 2007 for both academic and badminton purposes. He enrolled at Yu Neng Primary School and trained with Zhang Qing Song, a former SBA chief coach, at the Singapore Badminton School. After the world financial crisis in 2009, he went back to China.

Shi Yuqi’s first significant achievement came in 2011 when he topped the youth badminton tournament in Jiangsu Province. This victory led to his recruitment into the professional badminton team of Jiangsu Province. At just 16 years old, he was picked to represent the national badminton squad. His first participation in the National Youth Championship also occurred in 2012, where he emerged as the champion. He competed in his maiden Asian Junior Championships in the same year. The Chinese team, with Shi included, finished second in the mixed team event, falling to Japan in the final. 

In 2013, Shi and the Chinese team clinched first place in the mixed team event at the Asian Junior Badminton Championships, defeating South Korea in the final. During the Asian Youth Games, he secured bronze medals in boys’ singles and mixed doubles, partnering with Chen Yufei. Shi’s career gained further momentum in 2014 when he won both the mixed team and boys’ singles titles at the Asian Junior Badminton Championships. He played a crucial role in helping China retain its mixed team title by securing a clean sweep against South Korea in the final. 

In the boys’ singles event, Shi made it to the final and prevailed over Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama and claimed the title. His success continued at the World Junior Championships as he contributed to another mixed team victory against Indonesia. However, in the boys’ singles event, Shi was the runner-up, losing to fellow countryman Lin Guipu. At the Youth Olympic Games in 2014, Shi won the boys’ singles gold and gained revenge against Lin Guipu, whom he had lost to at the World Junior Championships final.

Shi Yuqi rose to prominence as a first-tier player on the Chinese badminton squad in 2016. His inaugural senior title victory came when he won the Indonesia Masters, after fellow Chinese player Huang Yuxiang had to withdraw from the final due to injury, with Shi in the lead. His impressive form continued with a win at the French Open, where he outplayed Lee Hyun-il from South Korea in two consecutive matches.

Shi kept his momentum going into 2017, starting the year with a bronze medal from the Asia Mixed Team Championships, despite China’s defeat by Japan in the semi-finals. The All England Open final saw him play against his mentor, Lin Dan, whom he overcame in the semi-finals, only to be defeated by Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei. He finished with a bronze medal in the Badminton Asia Championships after being defeated by his countryman Chen Long in the semi-finals.

The year 2018 was particularly a remarkable one for Shi. Starting the year with a win at the India Open against Chou Tien-chen from Chinese Taipei, he went on to win a silver medal in the Asia Team Championships. His crowning glory came when he claimed the All England title by defeating Lin Dan in the final, earning his first Super 1000 title. As a member of the Chinese team in the Thomas Cup, he secured the crucial men’s singles match against Kenta Nishimoto to help his team in defeating Japan. 

However, at his second World Championships, Shi had to settle for a silver medal after losing to Kento Momota from Japan. He also helped China claim a record sixth gold medal at the Asian Games 2018 in the men’s team event. At the year-end tournament, he avenged his defeat at the World Championships by overcoming Kento Momota, clinching his first World Tour Final title.

In the 2019 season, Shi clinched his maiden Swiss Open title by defeating B. Sai Praneeth and then bagged a silver medal at the Asian Championships after falling to Kento Momota in the final. At the Sudirman Cup, he engineered a dramatic turnaround against World No.1 Kento Momota, aiding China’s clean sweep against Japan and securing their eleventh title. Unfortunately, he suffered a serious ankle injury in a match against Anders Antonsen at the Indonesia Open and had to withdraw.

In 2021, Shi participated in only four tournaments due to his injury and commitments, which included the delayed Tokyo Olympics, the Chinese National Championships, the Sudirman Cup, and the delayed Thomas Cup. His Olympic journey ended in the quarter-finals against Viktor Axelsen, despite an easy win against Jonatan Christie in the knockout round. Shi finally won his first national title at the Chinese National Championships and performed exceptionally at the Sudirman Cup by assisting China in defending its title against Japan.

In 2020, Shi’s withdrawal during the Thomas Cup match against Kento Momota sparked controversy and led to his suspension from the national team and a ban from international tournaments for a year. After serving his ban, he returned to action at the 2022 BWF World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, making it to the third round before being defeated by Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting. Shi bounced back by winning his first Danish title at the Denmark Open, defeating Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia, and ended the season on a high note by winning the Australian Open by beating compatriot Lu Guangzu.

Despite participating in only six competitions in 2022, Shi was one of only three men’s singles players to have won two or more BWF Tour titles. The others were Viktor Axelsen and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting. Shi’s performance continued to shine in 2023. He played an instrumental role in steering the Chinese team towards the Sudirman Cup final, with outstanding wins over top players Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Kodai Naraoka at the knockout stage of the 2023 Sudirman Cup. He overcame Lee Yun Gyu of South Korea in straight sets in a match that lasted almost an hour, helping China clinch their 13th Sudirman Cup title.