BANGKOK: Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen and Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi were named male and female player of the year respectively by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) here yesterday.
Olympic and world champion Axelsen and women’s world champion Yamaguchi were crowned the best players of 2022 in an awards ceremony, held in conjunction with the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals, to recognise the best players of the 2021/2022 season.
China’s mixed doubles pair Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong were named the best pair of the year.
Meanwhile, men’s singles young player Kodai Naraoka of Japan won the Eddy Choong Most Promising Player of the Year Award, while Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto from Indonesia were honoured as the most improved players of the year.
In para badminton, Daiki Kajiwara of Japan (wheelchair 2) won the Male Para Badminton Player of the Year Award while World Champion in the Women’s Singles SU5 category at the 2022 Para Badminton World.
Germany’s Rick Hellmann and Thomas Wandschneider took the Para-Badminton Pair of the Year Award. – Bernama
