Shi Yuqi is teaching China’s badminton barons to tiptoe around eggshells, and cultivate patience with athletes who might be physically or mentally weak(er).
In between his two All England crowns — 2018 and 2025, Chinese sport has come a long way in learning to accommodate human fragilities — like having public meltdowns after losing, becoming Viktor Axelsen’s bunny on the Tour after repeatedly losing, and crumpling to the floor mid-match and being stretchered off due to high fever. Yuqi is prone to mental health breakdowns and to giving up because the body is crying out in pain physically. But both athlete and the badminton establishment have somehow clung on to not give up on each other. At Birmingham, Yuqi (pronounced yuchi), assured the coaches that their patience and backing was totally worth it, though China won’t ever stop looking for indestructible tall specimens who don’t come with the associated shenanigans.
It’s unprecedented in Chinese men’s badminton that gets notoriously fretful over any weakness on court, and given how Lin Dan was followed by Chen Jin and then Chen Long took over – all absolute beasts in physicality or sturdiness that kept injuries at bay. Li Shifeng is being built up to be in that same mould of being a looming presence on court, stomping away with big smashes to wins. No one was quite prepared for Shi Yuqi, an elegant strokemaker, with a very skilled watchable, classical game that could be, and indeed was blown apart by the mighty Viktor Axelsen.
The Dane has now twice denied the Chinese the Olympic gold that used to be their preserve, and almost always based on domineering runs on the circuit. Yuqi? He could fall apart with unfailing regularity. Reedily built and the first amongst the social media generation who grew up in Jiangsu sharing their woes, big and small, the ankle gave way far too often, and unlike previous Chinese, Yuqi would speak about his suffering, also because shooting pain would awaken him at night as he bawled desperately to find relief.
China meanwhile was looking for a ready successor for Chen Long. Yuqi whose parents lived briefly in Singapore – where too he struggled with alienation not knowing English and found an oasis in badminton – was a strokemaking delight. But not built strong (by Chinese standards). He even lost to Indian Rohit Yadav Chittabonia in an Asian junior meet, though him and Chen Yufei won mixed doubles and he escaped reproval.
But he was hardly going to be one of those Chinese No 1s who would sit atop the global ranking charts, only due to his propensity to injury. He broke down often. Two months after an ankle surgery, he was catapulted onto the court, and that aggravated the ligaments even more. It was while he was shouldering the burden of Chinese badminton in the post Lin Dan era, that his injuries struck at the most inopportune times. Yuqi had defeated Lin Dan for his first All England title in 2018, so the succession had seemed seamless. The Chinese weren’t prepared for Yuqi yelling out in pain publicly and throwing a fit about having to play when not at 100 percent.
At the 2021 Thomas Cup, things came to a head when he removed his socks and thrust the foot sole with a giant blister into the cameras. The elders were flabbergasted. He also retired from a team tie with Kento Momota, a set down and trailing 5-20, denying the Japanese an outright win, on the brink. The elders would banish him from even being seen publicly for 10 months for the unsportsmanlike conduct.
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Yuqi was in physical pain, resented being made to play and had already logged an epic meltdown against Li Shifeng at an All England final, losing 26-24, 21-5. Losses to Axelsen piled up as it became clear the Chinese couldn’t outgun the Dane.
Four titles in 2018 didn’t see a follow up successful season, and though he looked good for a medal in Paris, another loss was handed to him, by Thai Kunlavut. In the middle, he had lost three matches in the Asiad team event, and patience ran thin, as his vulnerabilities in big games was plain to see. But each time, he would bounce back and the game was ethereal on good days, even as he reached World No 1.
The Paris setback sent him spiraling and he had to disappear, put physical distance between himself and badminton. By now, and with Shifeng hitting the high chords, the Chinese had begun to be patient with Yuqi, who remains a far more complete and versatile player than Shifeng. At the Xiaohutuxian Cup (like Chinese National Games) in November, Yuqi was down with fever and penciled in only for third singles, his team hoping it wouldn’t come to that in a team match.
But his wretched luck saw him forced to play the decider, and he would get stretchered out as the fever rose and he collapsed on the court. There was plenty of outrage on how players deserved to be not pushed to the limits. But 2024 had ended with yet another ‘episode’. Yuqi was top seed at All England but hardly deemed a favourite. As the seeds cleaned out one after another, he found himself in the final against Lee Chia Hao after dumping Shifeng 21-19 in the third in the semis.
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This time nothing went wrong, as he won 21-17, 21-19. After Tokyo, he had told BWF: “In the build-up to the Olympics, I lost my interest and enthusiasm. My recovery was not systematic and not ideal. I had no idea what the next day would bring, so every day was gruelling.”
At the All England he would say, “It’s been 7 years, a lot has happened. I played a lot of semis and finals,” he would say, quipping after being asked if he was happy to finally play well, “Not just here, last year I didn’t do too bad, did I? But let’s do it again,” he would beam.
In the middle of all this, he recorded a cover of ‘You raise me up’ by Josh Groban, which became a Weibo sensation in China. Amidst imperfections, his singing pitch was perfect.
