Top Paid Badminton Athletes in the world

Badminton is one of the widely notable sports in the world. The racket sport has fared well amongst the youth and is a great workout for fitness aficionados to stay in shape too. Earlier, the sport was taken up by Indian youth to secure their jobs in the government sector, however, times have changed drastically now. All thanks to the top badminton stars including the likes of PV Sindhu, Srikanth Kidambi, Saina Nehwal and the list goes on. 

Now, the sport has reached another level thereby becoming a millennial’s favorite.  The sport has glorified and enhanced in financial, social and political factors. Badminton players earn their maximum revenues via endorsements, however, only a few athletes round up to millions in their bank balance. Here are some of the top paid badminton players in the world with jaw-dropping treasures that will take you by surprise!

Lee Chong Wei: $75 Million

We bet the name of Lee Chong Wei is familiar to every badminton fan. The ace shuttler hailing from Malaysia is undoubtedly the legendary player of all-time. Chong Wei holds the 2nd spot in the World Ranking. He has won the All-England Open thrice and also bagged a gold for the Commonwealth Games besides smashing a hattrick of winning silver at the Olympics. Chong Wei has also won the Malaysia Grand Prix Gold title four times progressively.

He is an extremely talented attacker player, but he is also equally amazing at playing a defensive style. With steep crosscourt and straight smashes, he can lead an opponent to downtown.  He is among the most renowned and popular athletes of Malaysia and has a tremendous fan following. His immense popularity and “Datuk” salutation has garnered him surplus attention.

Lin Dan: $33 Million

The top shuttler of China is popular for his fantastic game and techniques. The World No 6 is currently the only combatant of Lee Chong Wei. Lin Dan has been the five-time world champion, and he had also conquered the title of the Olympic twice. Not just the World Championships but Lin Dan has also won Thomas Cup and Sudirman Cup five times. Apart from this, Lin Dan has also conquered the World Cup back-to-back, two times and Asian Games twice both at the singles and team events.

Lin Dan has the trademark of being an aggressive attacker. His smashes are extremely powerful, and he often uses the jump smash technique on his opponents. He reaps handsome revenue by endorsements. Lin Dan has an ardent fan following and with his extremely attractive features; he has been approaching the screen.

Chen Long: $22 Million

Chen Long is indeed a gifted singles player who has carved a niche for himself lately. He holds the 4th Spot in the World Ranking. The player has been progressively enhancing the quality of his game and learning the deceptive techniques to drizzle his opponent. He has 26 prominent badminton titles. Recently, at the Rio Olympics, he won the gold medal by defeating the star Lee Chong Wei. The two-time world champion has also conquered the All England champion title. He won the Super Series Premier three times along with this; he has also won the Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix tournament.

On the court, Chen Long is a powerful attacker and is equally good at defending. He has also won up to more than ten super series and has been earning a lot for five years.

PV Sindhu: $8.5 Million

The Olympic queen of India, PV Sindhu is not just rich by her gaming style and qualities, but she is also rich when it comes to the revenues. The Wonder Woman has won silver at the Rio Olympics and BWF World Championships twice. Currently, she is reigning at the 3rd position in the World Ranking. Sindhu has won two Superseries titles and Six Grand Prix Gold, along with two different international events.

Sindhu is known for aggressive game on court and hits the powerful cross court and backhand smashes. She gets an advantage of her tall height, which makes it easy for her to play solid and robust smashes. The 2018 Asian Games Individual Events silver medallist is at the seventh place in the list of Forbes riches female athletes in the world this year. Sindhu has conquered many Grand Prix and titles at a very young age and still setting milestones in her badminton career.

Saina Nehwal: $4 Million

Securing the World No 10 spot in the current BWF ranking, Saina Nehwal has always been a favourite of everyone. She is one of the most impressive names in the history of badminton. Saina is the only Indian in the history of Badminton who has won at least one medal in every BWF individual event. Saina is also the first Indian shuttler to win a medal at the Olympics. Saina is two-time Commonwealth Games winner. She has also acquired the second runner-up spot in the Asian Championships. Recently, at the Asian Games 2018, Saina became the first Indian to win Bronze.

Saina is a rally player and has a good net play. She has received a lot of recognition for her immense efforts and remarkable gaming style and performance at the International level. She also has a racquet, especially dedicated to her as a tribute; Yonex GR 201 Badminton Racquet.

Kento Momota: $3.5 Million

The 24-year-old Japanese badminton star, Kento Momota secures a spot in the list of the top paid shuttlers. This comes as no surprise for us. The World No 4 shuttler has been delivering splendid performance progressively. Recently, Momota won the gold medal at the BWF World Championships in Nanjing and proved his worth to the entire world. Earlier he won the Bronze medal in the World Championships. He also won the title at the Asian Games that took place in China. He is a great shuttler who has numerous badminton tournaments.

Momota has a very unpredictable style of play, due to which his opponents’ fail to understand his shots and smashes.

Carolina Marin: $2.5 Million

Marin is amongst the most loved badminton players in the world. She is firm at the 4^th spot in the World Ranking. The Spaniard has won the World Championships lately but her impressive performance is nothing new to the world. She has already grabbed the loftiest titles including the Olympics. She is a three-time World Champion, four-time European Champion and has conquered many other International titles. Marin has conquered Super series premier titles and four BWF super series tournaments.

The southpaw shuttler has one of the swiftest moves on the court. She plays powerful cross-court smashes. She plays wonderfully on the court and defeats her nemeses like a Pro.

All these shuttlers are continuously grinding to reaps better results and do their countrymen proud in the sport of badminton.