The 2024 BWF Player of the Year Awards are set to honor badminton’s brightest talents, with Olympic champions Viktor Axelsen, An Se-young, Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan, and Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong among the standout nominees. This year marks a significant evolution in the awards process, with revamped regulations and an updated voting system.
Highlighting Excellence Across Five Categories
The awards celebrate exceptional performance in men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. Nominees are recognized for their outstanding skill, consistency, sportsmanship, and impact over a 12-month period, from December 1, 2023, to November 30, 2024.
Winners are determined using a combined scoring method. This includes world ranking points earned during the eligibility period and votes from a five-member expert panel. Points from marquee events, such as the BWF World Tour Finals and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, are given double weight, making these tournaments pivotal in deciding the winners.
Nominees Across Categories
In men’s singles, Viktor Axelsen faces stiff competition from Shi Yuqi, Chou Tien-chen, and Anders Antonsen. Meanwhile, An Se-young leads the nominations in women’s singles alongside Wang Zhiyi, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, and Han Yue.
Men’s doubles nominees include Paris 2024 silver medalists Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang, alongside All England champions Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto, Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, and Kang Min-hyuk/Seo Seung-jae.
For women’s doubles, Olympic gold medalists Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan join Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning, Baek Ha-na/Lee So-hee, and Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida in the race for top honors.
Mixed doubles features strong representation from China, with Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong leading the pack. They are joined by fellow countrymen Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping and Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin, as well as Indonesia’s Dejan Ferdinansyah/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.
New Categories and Changes
This year introduces new categories, replacing the former Most Improved Award with Players’ Player of the Year (Men and Women). These accolades allow peers to recognize top-ranked singles players and doubles pairs. Additionally, the Eddy Choong Most Promising Award has been rebranded as the Eddy Choong Rising Star Award, exclusively spotlighting athletes aged 21 and under.
Recognizing Para Badminton Achievements
In Para badminton, Paralympic champions Cheah Liek Hou, Daiki Kajiwara, Qu Zimo, and Kumar Nitesh are among the nominees for Men’s Para Badminton Player of the Year. In the women’s category, Li Feng Mei, Sarina Satomi, Liu Yu Tong, and Leani Ratri Oktila stand out. Some athletes, including Qu and Oktila, are also nominated for the Para Badminton Pair of the Year alongside their respective partners.
Gala Night Celebration
The winners will be unveiled on December 9, 2024, at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals Gala Dinner. The ceremony will be streamed live on BWF TV, Facebook, and Weibo, bringing the global badminton community together to celebrate another year of excellence.
