Shi Yu Qi, An Se Young, and Cheah Liek Hou claimed double honours at the BWF Player of the Year Awards, announced during the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2025 Gala Dinner in Hangzhou.
Shi and An were named Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles Players of the Year, and also earned the Players’ Player of the Year accolade in their respective categories. Malaysia’s Cheah took home Para Badminton Male Player of the Year and Para Badminton Pair of the Year with Fareez Anuar.
The awards were presented by BWF President Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul.
Shi Yu Qi receives the Player of the Year award from BWF President Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul
The awards recognise exceptional talent, consistency, fair play, and personality across the season (Dec 2024–Nov 2025).
Twenty-year-old Victor Lai, who made history by becoming the first Canadian medallist at the BWF World Championships, was named for the Eddy Choong Rising Star of the Year Award.
Victor Lai won the Eddy Choong Rising Star of the Year award
Other winners:
- Men’s Doubles: Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae (Korea)
- Women’s Doubles: Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning (China)
- Mixed Doubles: Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Supissara Paewsampran (Thailand)
- Women’s Para Badminton: Ilaria Olgiati (Switzerland)
- Best Dressed: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (India) and Putri Kusuma Wardani (Indonesia)
Winners’ Reactions:
Shi Yu Qi
“Last year also I got the Player of the Year award, but my performance last year can’t be compared with what I achieved this year. If I had to rate my 2025 performance, it would be 8 or 9 out of 10. But I will keep going.”
An Se Young
“I feel honoured to be presented with these awards. They are encouragement for me to make more efforts. Winning titles proves my efforts; however, the Players’ Player of the Year Award is recognition from other players and it embodies the love and appreciation of my competitors, so it’s a very special one.”
Kim Won Ho
“This was an award I always wanted, so I feel glad that I won it this time with my brother Seung Jae. I never expected to perform so well this season. Pairing with Seung Jae this season is an honour and a pleasure and I’ve put a lot of effort and I’ve given my all on court.”
Liu Sheng Shu
“We will encounter more challenges. We will stay committed to our path. We have many more titles to claim, and we have a lot of role models in the Chinese team, and we have a lot to learn from them.”
Dechapol Puavaranukroh
“This is the first time I’m winning this award. I want to say thank you to Fame (Paewsampran) – we did it together. If not for her, we could not do this, so I’m proud of my team. We had good teamwork; win or lose, we stayed strong.”
Victor Lai
“Throughout this year I’ve been improving and I’ve been on a steady upward trend, and I hope next year I can continue to keep this form. This award is affirmation of the work I’ve put in this year with my trainers and I hope that this is just the beginning of more growth.”
Cheah Liek Hou
“It is very meaningful for me because this is the first time I got this award. I would like to thank BWF for recognising that I’m one of the best athletes of 2025.”
Ilaria Olgiati
“I’m feeling very happy and honoured to be amongst such unbelievable players. I’m so happy for Badminton Europe and Switzerland. I improved a lot in playing tough opponents and I trained a lot and that helped a lot.”
Guide on Criteria for Award Selection
Watch LIVE Ceremony on Replay
BWF Newsletter
