Badminton in 2021 started with a bang – 3 high-prize-money tournaments in Thailand. Even though the tournaments did not carry any Olympic points, there were still many top players present. And some of them went back home significantly richer.
Here is a list of the players with the highest income from their participation in Thailand tournaments.
10. Greysia Polii / Apriyani Rahayu (Indonesia)
Income: 53750 USD per person
The world No. 6 pair managed to win the Yonex Thailand Open after defeating the host pair of Kititharakul and Prajongjai. In doing so, Greysia Polii became the first women’s doubles player in history to win the Thailand Open four times.
9. Chae YuJung (Korea)
Income: 54500 USD
The feisty left-handed mixed doubles player was semi-finalist at Yonex Thailand Open. They settled as runners-up at the Toyota Thailand Open and the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals.
8. An Se Young (Korea) and Chou Tien Chen (Chinese Taipei)
Income: 58000 USD per person
Both players reached the semi-finals of all the three tournaments and thus ended bagging the same amount of prize money – a pretty impressive performance altogether. Currently Chou is ranked 4th in the men’s singles discipline and An is in 8th in the women’s singles world rankings.
7. Kim So Yeong / Kong Hee Yong (Korea)
Income: 74000 USD per person
This women’s doubles pair from South Korea has been in excellent form since 2019. They won the Toyota Thailand Open, were the runners up athe the World Tour Finals and were semi-finalists at the Yonex Thailand Open.
6. Seo Seung Jae (Korea)
Income: 78125 USD
Seo earned a little more prize money than his mixed doubles partner Chae YuJung because of his participation in the men’s doubles discipline with partner Choi Solgyu. His results in the mixed doubles discipline are much better than those from the men’s doubles discipline in the three tournaments.
5. Lee So Hee / Shin Seung Chan (Korea)
Income: 87500 USD per person
Lee and Shin were playing catch-up the entire Thailand tour. They were struggling in the first tournament and Shin Seung Chan seemed to be out of form. However, she pulled through and found her touch on the finals day of the last tournament in Thailand. The first week at the Yonex Thailand Open, they were semifinalists. The second week at the Toyota Thailand Open, they settled for runners up. And finally in the third week, they ended as Champions of the HSBC World Tour Finals.
4. Anders Antonsen (Denmark)
Income: 135000 USD
Anders Antonsen looked like he was in the worst form of his life in Thailand. Maybe it was physical, maybe it was mental. Commentators said he looked like he had not recovered from Covid-19. Yet he managed to win the title at the finale by beating an in-form Viktor Axelsen. As they say, champions win on their good days, but they also manage to win on their not-so-good days.
3. Lee Yang / Wang Chi-Lin (Chinese Taipei) and Dechapol Puavaranukroh / Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Thailand)
Income: 137000 USD per person
Taerattanachai/Puavaranukroh and Lee/Wang grabbed the opportunity and took advantage of the absence of the top ranked players in their respective disciplines. They won 3 titles in 3 consecutive weeks.
2. Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei)
Income: 188000 USD
On the final day of the HSBC World Tour Finals, it was the third time in three weeks Tai Tzu Ying was going up against Carolina Marin in a final. Marin had got the better of Tai in the first two encounters. Tai played the last final like a game of chess and finally put a stop to Marin’s show of power in Bangkok.
1. Carolina Marin (Spain) and Viktor Axelsen (Denmark)
Income: 200000 USD per person
The spot for the highest earners in the three tournaments goes to singles’ players Viktor Axelsen and Carolina Marin. Both Marin and Axelsen maintained great momentum all three weeks in Thailand and showed a lot of improvement in their overall gameplay and physical fitness. They produced the same results in their respective disciplines – winning the Yonex Thailand Open and the Toyota Thailand Open, and runners-up at the HSBC World Tour Finals.
