Zhao Yunlei named BWF Player of the Year

Mixed and women’s doubles World Champion Zhao Yunlei (pictured) finally won her first BWF Female Player of the Year award for 2014.  Zhao – who also won the mixed doubles and women’s team gold at the Incheon Asian Games, in addition to three Superseries titles in women’s doubles and four in mixed – was unable to win the award after her double gold performance at the London Olympics but finally got her due in 2014.

The nod for Male Player of the Year went to the man with the fewest titles in 2014 of all ten candidates in either gender.  However, men’s singles World Champion Chen Long, did have some notable silver medal performances, in three Superseries events and the Asian Games, to go along with his two Superseries titles.

The award for Most Promising Player of the Year went to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, who won her second straight World Junior Championship title and also reached her first Superseries Premier final, which helped her qualify for the Superseries Finals.  She beat out, among others, Chen Qingchen, who reached a Superseries Premier semi-final and won two Grand Prix Gold titles along with three more World Junior Championship golds.

Click here to read the report on the BWF website