A sportsperson is always ready for challenges and knows how to face them and overcome them. Well, here are a few comeback stories in badminton that define determination, focus, and hard work. Let me take you across such inspirational stories of badminton athletes who have made a comeback after facing difficult challenges.
Lee Chong Wei
In April 2015, Lee Chong Wei was handed a backdated eight-month ban for his anti-doping rule violation. Unfortunately, he had tested positive for the banned drug, dexamethasone. Due to this, he was stripped of his 2014 Silver medal at the World Championships. He was World no. 1 at that time.
After serving his suspension, Lee Chong Wei bounced back on the International Circuit by winning back to back titles at the US Open, and Canada Open. He also won the French Open, his maiden China Open, and the Hong Kong Open. Above all, Lee medalled at the 2015 World Championships and 2016 Rio Olympics.
His ranking had come down to World no. 180 when he started after the suspension as he had missed many tournaments, and by the end of the year he rose to be under the top 5 players in the world. It is not easy to come back to such a competitive sport after 8 months. Lee’s comeback is one of the greatest comebacks in badminton history.
Carolina Marin
The Rio Olympic Gold medallist, Carolina Marin suffered a career-threatening ACL injury at the finals of the 2019 Indonesia Masters due to which she was forced to retire from the tournament. Marin’s on-court performance is always entertaining for a fan. She is aggressive and above all, a fighter for every point.
Well, her recovery was as fast as she is on the court. Within eight months, Marin returned by defending her China Open crown. In the process, she defeated Tai Tzu Ying 14-21, 21-17, 21-18. Considering she hadn’t beaten Tai in their previous six encounters, Marin who was unseeded in the tournament appeared to have returned from injury better than her previous self. Marin is currently ranked World no. 6 and it will be worth a while to see if she can retain her Olympic title.
Lin Dan
After winning the 2012 London Olympics gold medal, Lin Dan stopped playing for almost a year. The rockstar of badminton defeated the World no. 1, Lee Chong Wei to clinch his second Olympic Gold medal. His absence from practice and various tournaments prompted retirement rumors.
He came back in 2013 competing at the Badminton Asia Championships in Taiwan. However, he withdrew from the quarterfinals citing a shoulder injury.
Suddenly it was announced that Lin had accepted a wildcard to compete at the BWF World Championships. Interestingly, Lin had won the title four times but this time would be expected to be different as he had spent a considerable amount of time out of tournaments.
Just like a movie story, superstar Lin Dan shocked everyone by defeating World no. 2, Chen Long on his way to defeat his long time Malaysian rival, Lee Chong Wei in a dramatic final in which the World no. 1, Lee, retired due to a cramp.
This led him to win his fifth World Championship title.
Saina Nehwal
The former World no.1 endured an injury-plagued 2016 season. She sustained an intra-articular injury (inside the joint) to her right knee. As a result, she lost in the group stage of the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, in 2017 Saina made a comeback by capturing the season’s first title at the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament, defeating Thailand`s Pornpawee Chochuwong in straight games in the finals.
Victor Axelson
In early 2018 Axelson went under a knee surgery which forced him to miss the All England Championships. Previously, he was great form after winning five titles including the World Championships and World Tour Finals. The former World no. 1, made a promising comeback in 2020 after a title win at the Barcelona Spain Masters and a final appearance at the All England Championships before claiming the Indian Open crown.
Kento Momota
In 2016, Kento Momota was banned for one year as he was caught gambling, which is illegal in Japan. He was ranked World no. 2 at that time and the saddest part was that he could not take part in the Rio Olympics though he was qualified for it.
Momota came back in his greatest form ever in 2018 by winning the Asian Championships after defeating the Rio Olympic gold medallist, Chen Long in the finals. He went on to win four more titles in 2018 and 11 titles in 2019, thereby breaking Lee Chong Wei’s record of winning the highest number of titles in a year. The Tokyo Olympics would be Momota’s debut at the Olympics. To know more about Kento Momota, click here.
Final Thoughts
All these players have made a phenomenal comeback after surpassing different challenges. Like its said, after a bad phase, there always comes a good phase in life. Well, these players have made their comeback with even better performances compared to the past.
I hope you liked the article.
Thanks for reading. Keep playing.
