Source: NURPHOTO /Kabir Jhangiani
[Saba Sports News] Badminton frequently sees the emergence of new stars. Recently, the Badminton World Federation published a list of seven badminton prospects to watch in 2025. The first is Japan’s Hina Akechi, who, at just 19 years old, has shown potential to become a star in Japanese badminton, having won the Asian Youth U-17 championship in 2019 and the Asian Youth U-15 championship in 2018. The second is Singapore’s Teh Jia Heng, who helped Singapore win a bronze medal at the Asian Team Championships and the Commonwealth Games in 2022, and went on to win the men’s singles title at the 2025 Thailand Masters. The third is Korea’s Yong Jin, whose path in badminton is a typical example from a sports family inspired by his former badminton player mother. In 2021, as a senior in high school, Yong Jin won the Korean men’s doubles national selection competition, quickly entering the national team. In the 2025 season, he has already claimed victory at the Thailand Masters. The fourth is Wang Zhengxing from China, who won a gold medal at the 2021 Summer Universiade and has since emerged in higher-level competitions, being the runner-up in men’s singles at the 2025 Thailand Masters. Lastly, Japan’s Riko Gunji won the women’s singles gold medal at the 2019 BWF World Junior Championships and has been a runner-up at the Indonesia Masters and Kaohsiung Masters from 2022 to 2024. In the editor’s view, these young players have shown potential in the past season, and perhaps 2025 will be their year to rise.