China and Indonesia have been the twin powerhouses of international badminton over the past 40 years, capturing the vast majority of Olympic medals, Thomas/Uber Cups, and World Championship titles.
With badminton functioning as a core pillar of national pride, deeply woven into the country's social fabric, and millions of regular players across the archipelago keeping the talent pipeline active, badminton still commands the lion's share of Indonesia's Olympic success.
Increased global competition
China leads the all-time gold medal count at the World Championships and Olympics, backed by a powerful state-run sports training system. Together, both nations created an era where clean sweeps of major podiums have been frequent occurrences.
However, shortly before the Badminton World Championships are set to get underway in New Delhi on Monday, China and Indonesia and other nations are suffering the effects of increased global competition, according to Meibom.
“Regarding the level of competition - back when I was a coach (around the turn of the century), five countries were contending for medals; now, there are 13 or 14. The global competition affects all the traditional powerhouse nations."
Chinese question marks
“If you look at the historical results at the World Championship and the Olympics, the five 'old' powerhouses China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia and Denmark are all affected by the marked increase in global competition. The world has changed, and we are operating in a completely different global competitive landscape than we were three decades ago,” says Meibom.
With the World Championships in New Delhi, India, fast approaching, alarm bells may be about to go off for Chinese men's badminton following a wave of early exits across recent major World Tour events.
Since they won the Thomas Cup (at the beginning of May, beating France 3-1 in the final), the Chinese men's singles players haven’t performed as well as expected and have not reached a final. So, the shape of the Chinese men is a huge question mark going into the World Championships.
Historic group-stage exit
“Shi Yuqi (the World No.1) is still the favourite, but it is not as clear-cut as before. The men’s draw looks very open. If he finds his form, it will take a lot to beat him, but his form has been a bit inconsistent lately, and there is more uncertainty regarding his form going into the Championships.”
Indonesia head into the Championships on the back of their historic group-stage exit at the 2026 Thomas Cup in Horsens. Their shocking exit ended a 68-year run of dominance, exposing a rare crack in badminton's most enduring empire and possibly marking a defining shift in the sport's power balance.
Ongoing political unrest within federation
For a country with 14 Thomas titles where badminton is not merely a sport but a cornerstone of national identity, failing to reach the knockout stages is equivalent to Brazil failing to qualify for a football World Cup. The crisis has allegedly triggered major internal shake-ups, including high-profile coaching transitions and administrative restructuring inside the national training centre.
“A number of their players have initiated their own setup, which means that they may have lost a little bit of the cohesiveness they previously possessed,” says Meibom. Badminton is such a huge thing in Indonesia and engages millions of people."
"Obviously, there will be a reaction when you don't perform well at the Thomas Cup, and that will create some turbulence. Perhaps, one of the few competitive advantages we have in Denmark compared to other countries is that we are reasonably stable in terms of politics and leadership. There isn't much drama here, and I strongly believe that continuity is a key competitive factor in an elite sport,” ends Meibom.
The Badminton World Championships take place in New Delhi between August 17th and 23rd.
Svend Bertil Frandsen has been Senior News Editor for Flashscore News in Denmark since September 2022. He has formerly worked for UEFA and FIFA and is a former tennis pro. He specializes in news around football, tennis, badminton and handball. You can also follow him on LinkedIn.
