Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 3, 2023: Badminton legends Lin Dan (China) and Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) have been elected to the BWF Hall of Fame for 2023.
They will be inducted at a ceremony on Friday, May 26 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Malaysia.
The pair were the most dominant men’s singles players of their generation.
Having begun their senior international career in the early 2000s, Lee and Lin went on to stamp their presence on the game until their retirements in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
A measure of their dominance is that, between them, they contested a total of five Olympic and 10 BWF World Championships finals.
Lee and Lin set several records during the course of their long careers. Lee finished with 47 BWF Superseries/World Tour titles and was world No.1 for an amazing 349 weeks.
Lin was unrivalled when it came to the Major Championships, with two Olympic and five World Championships titles.
Lee commented: “When I was a small kid in Penang, I was trying all means to be able to play in a proper badminton hall, and now we're talking about the Hall of Fame.
“Since falling in love with this game, all I've ever wanted to do is to is play the game to my best, enjoy the adrenalin rush, represent my country, win medals for them and produce a badminton spectacle which can put a smile on every fan watching it. It was awesome, and I've never regretted any moment of my career.
“When you looked at some of the unbelievable talents to have graced the badminton arena in the past, I feel very honoured to join the Hall of Fame. Without my coaches, teammates, family, as well as my opponents, i won't be able to achieve this.
“To be inducted alongside Lin Dan into BWF Hall of Fame makes it even more special.”
BWF President Poul-Erik Høyer added: “Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan were among the foremost ambassadors of badminton over a major part of the last two decades. With their outstanding performances, they drew whole generations of fans to the sport. They both richly deserve to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.”