Li Shifeng

Li Shifeng
李诗沣
Li with his gold medal of the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics
Personal information
Born (2000-01-09) 9 January 2000 (age 26)
Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Sport
CountryChina
SportBadminton
HandednessRight
Men's singles
Career record218 wins, 84 losses
Highest ranking3 (31 October 2023)
Current ranking14 (20 October 2026)
BWF profile
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  China
Sudirman Cup
Gold medal – first place2021 VantaaMixed team
Gold medal – first place2023 SuzhouMixed team
Gold medal – first place2025 XiamenMixed team
Thomas Cup
Gold medal – first place2024 ChengduMen's team
Gold medal – first place2026 HorsensMen's team
Silver medal – second place2020 AarhusMen's team
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place2022 HangzhouMen's singles
Gold medal – first place2022 HangzhouMen's team
Silver medal – second place2026 Aichi–NagoyaMen's team
Asian Championships
Silver medal – second place2024 NingboMen's singles
Bronze medal – third place2025 NingboMen's singles
Youth Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2018 Buenos AiresBoys' singles
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2017 YogyakartaMixed team
Gold medal – first place2018 MarkhamMixed team
Bronze medal – third place2018 MarkhamBoys' singles
Asian Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2018 JakartaMixed team

Li Shifeng (Chinese: 李诗沣; pinyin: Lǐ Shīfēng; born 9 January 2000) is a Chinese badminton player. He is a gold medallist in the men's singles at the 2022 Asian Games. He was part of the winning Chinese team at the 2021, 2023, and 2025 Sudirman Cup; 2022 Asian Games, and also at the 2024 and 2026 Thomas Cup. Li reached a career high as world number 3 in the BWF World rankings on 31 October 2023. Li is the 2018 Olympic Youth boys' singles gold medallist competing at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

He was part of the Chinese junior team that won the gold medals at the 2017, 2018 World Junior Championships, and 2018 Asian Junior Championships.

Early life

Li began playing badminton at the age of 6 with support from his father. Li then practiced in the Jiangxi team when he was in the elementary school. When Li was 12, he visited Fuzhou's Bayi team, eventually joining and training with them. He subsequently finished as a runner up at a national competition. At the age of 14, he participated in the National youth team training centre in Shenyang and entered the National second team in 2017.

From a young age, he was noted to display exceptional skill and determination on court, quickly rising through the ranks in China's competitive youth badminton scene, emerging as one of China's brightest badminton talents at the time. Whilst growing up and training, he stated that both Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei were his idols whilst expressing deep admiration for Japan's Kento Momota. Li said that he had a desire to incorporate their playing styles into his gameplay.

Career

2024

Li started off the 2024 season poorly, he participated in the 2024 Malaysia Open, beating Lee Chia-hao and Weng Hongyang in three games. However, he lost in the quarter-finals to Lin Chun-yi. He subsequently suffered multiple first and second round exits to Koki Watanabe at the India Open, Brian Yang at the Indonesia Masters, Lakshya Sen at the French Open and Toma Junior Popov at the All England Open.

Li found more success during the Asian Championships, reaching the final, but losing to Indonesia's Jonatan Christie in straight games, marking Li's first medal in this competition. He would go on to participate in the 2024 edition of the Thomas Cup, as China's second men's singles choice. He found some more success during the Thomas Cup, however, he lost to Lakshya Sen during the quarter-finals and Jonatan Christie during the finals. China would still eventually win the Thomas cup that year, marking Li's first Thomas Cup gold medal.

Li participated in the Malaysia Masters, avenging his defeat by Toma Junior Popov but ultimately losing in the quarter-finals to Ng Ka Long. At the Singapore Open, he reached his first final of 2024 beating Lei Lanxi, Lee Cheuk Yiu and Loh Kean Yew along with a semi-finals walkover from Viktor Axelsen. He lost the final to his compatriot Shi Yuqi. He would lose again to Shi Yuqi in the semi-finals of the Indonesia Open, who eventually won the tournament.

At the 2024 Olympic Games, Li was eliminated by Loh Kean Yew in the knockout stages. What followed this was a string of first, second and quarter-final round exits, losing at the Korea Open to Lee Chia-hao, China Open to Chou Tien-chen, Arctic Open to Lee Cheuk Yiu, Denmark Open to Anders Antonsen. His title drought of 2024 came to an end, winning the Japan Masters, comfortably beating 1st seed and reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the semi-finals and Lee Chia-hao in the finals. He lost to Lin Chun-yi at the China Masters in the first round.

Li qualified for the 2024 World Tour Finals, where he would lose to Anders Antonsen in his first group stage match, but go on to beat Chou Tien-chen in three games and Lee Zii Jia by retirement. Ultimately this was not enough to advance into the knockout stages, thus ending the 2024 season for Li.

2025–2026

Li started off the 2025 season at the Malaysia Open. He reached the semi-finals before subsequently being beaten by the eventual champion Shi Yuqi in three games. Li then suffered a first round defeat to Malaysia's Leong Jun Hao marking his first ever loss to Leong. Li subsequently suffered a quarter-finals exit to Taiwan's Wang Tzu-wei at the Indonesia Masters.

After taking a 2-month break, he entered the 2025 edition of the All England Open. Competing as the 2023 former champion he reached the semi finals, having beaten his youth rival Lakshya Sen in two games, however he lost to his compatriot Shi Yuqi once again in three games. Li lost in the semi-finals at the Swiss Open to Christo Popov in two straight games. he then won a bronze medal at the Asian Championships, losing in the semi-finals to Lu Guangzu, marking his second medal at the Asia Championships.

Li won the Malaysia Masters, defeating all of his opponents in two games, and dominating India's Srikanth Kidambi with scores of 21-11 and 21–9, marking his first title of the season, and subsequently becoming the first Chinese men's singles player to win a title in the Malaysia Masters since its inception in 2009.

Li claimed his second title of the year at the 2025 Hong Kong Open, comfortably defeating Lakshya Sen in two straight games of 21-15 and 21-12.

In 2026, Li helps the Chinese team to win the 2026 Thomas Cup. He then won his first title of the year by retain the Malaysia Masters title.

Achievements

Asian Games

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref
2022 Binjiang Gymnasium, Hangzhou, China China Shi Yuqi 23–21, 21–13 Gold Gold

Asian Championships

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref
2024 Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, Ningbo, China Indonesia Jonatan Christie 15–21, 16–21 Silver Silver
2025 Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, Ningbo, China China Lu Guangzu 21–19, 10–21, 14–21 Bronze Bronze

Youth Olympic Games

Boys' singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref
2018 Tecnópolis, Buenos Aires, Argentina India Lakshya Sen 21–15, 21–19 Gold

World Junior Championships

Boys' singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref
2018 Markham Pan Am Centre, Markham, Canada Japan Kodai Naraoka 11–21, 21–19, 17–21 Bronze Bronze

World Tour (7 titles, 5 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.

Men's singles

Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result Ref
2019 Canada Open Super 100 India Parupalli Kashyap 20–22, 21–14, 21–17 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2022 Thailand Open Super 500 Malaysia Lee Zii Jia 21–17, 11–21, 21–23 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2023 German Open Super 300 Hong Kong Ng Ka Long 22–20, 18–21, 18–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2023 All England Open Super 1000 China Shi Yuqi 26–24, 21–5 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2023 Canada Open Super 500 India Lakshya Sen 18–21, 20–22 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2023 U.S. Open Super 300 Thailand Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21–15, 21–18 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2023 French Open Super 750 Indonesia Jonatan Christie 21–16, 15–21, 14–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2024 Singapore Open Super 750 China Shi Yuqi 21–17, 19–21, 19–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2024 Japan Masters Super 500 Malaysia Leong Jun Hao 21–10, 21–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2025 Malaysia Masters Super 500 India Srikanth Kidambi 21–11, 21–9 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2025 Hong Kong Open Super 500 India Lakshya Sen 21–15, 21–12 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2026 Malaysia Masters Super 500 Thailand Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul 21–16, 21–17 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner

International Challenge / Series (2 runners-up)

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref
2019 Austrian Open Netherlands Mark Caljouw 21–8, 21–23, 9–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2019 Iran Fajr International Thailand Kunlavut Vitidsarn 18–21, 17–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

Junior International (3 runners-up)

Boys' singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2017 Korea Junior International China Bai Yupeng 16–21, 13–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2018 Dutch Junior International Thailand Kunlavut Vitidsarn 18–21, 14–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2018 German Junior International Thailand Kunlavut Vitidsarn 15–21, 11–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
  BWF Junior International Grand Prix tournament
  BWF Junior International Challenge tournament
  BWF Junior International Series tournament
  BWF Junior Future Series tournament

Record against selected opponents

Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 3 March 2026.

References

  1. ↑ "Players: Li Shifeng". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Backflipping Shifeng wins Asian Games badminton gold". New Straits Times. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "Innovation and firsts light up badminton programme in BA". Olympic. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  4. 1 2 "走近青奥会国羽小将李诗沣 羽球人生才刚刚起航". Sina Sports (in Chinese). 9 October 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  5. ↑ Hearn, Don (11 November 2018). "World Juniors Team Final – 5th straight for China!". Badzine. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  6. ↑ "Li Shi Feng Willing to Bide His Time". Badminton World Federation. 13 July 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  7. ↑ "Li Shi Feng". Yonex. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  8. 1 2 "Li Shi Feng emulates hero Lin Dan by winning Yonex All England". All England Badminton. 19 March 2023. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Badminton Asia Championships conclude in Ningbo". Zhejiang Government. 15 April 2024. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  10. ↑ "China beats Indonesia to regain Thomas Cup". Xinhua. 5 May 2024. Archived from the original on 10 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  11. 1 2 "World No.1 An Se-young and No.2 Shi Yuqi claim singles titles at Singapore Open". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  12. ↑ "Li Shi Feng". Paris 2024 Olympics. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024.
  13. 1 2 "Kumamoto Masters: Dominant show by Li, Yamaguchi". Badminton World Federation. 17 November 2024. Archived from the original on 15 January 2025. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "Chinese shuttlers sweep into finals in all five events at Malaysia Open". Xinhua. 12 January 2025. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  15. 1 2 Boopathy, K. M. (25 May 2025). "Shifeng tames exhausted Srikanth to claim Malaysia Masters title". New Straits Times. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  16. ↑ Boopathy, K. M. (25 May 2025). "Shi Feng Cipta Sejarah, Juara Pertama China Di Masters Malaysia" (in Malay). Bernama. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  17. 1 2 McNamara, Paul (14 September 2025). "Mainland China stars dominate Hong Kong Open, Wang Zhiyi and Li Shifeng triumph". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 29 November 2025. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "2026年羽毛球汤姆斯杯决赛：中国队3比1击败法国队，再度捧起冠军奖杯" (in Chinese). International Olympic Committee. 4 May 2026. Archived from the original on 5 May 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  19. 1 2 Salim, Faizal (24 May 2026). "Shi Feng retains Malaysia Masters crown, emulates Chong Wei". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 24 May 2026. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  20. ↑ Sukumar, Dev (13 October 2018). "Goh all the way - Finals: YOG 2018". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  21. ↑ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  22. ↑ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.