Liu Yuchen (Chinese: 刘雨辰; pinyin: Liú Yǔchén, born 25 July 1995) is a Chinese badminton player. He was the men's doubles World Champion in 2018, two-time Asian Champion in 2017 and 2018, and also a silver medalist at the 2020 Summer Olympics partnered with Li Junhui. Liu was part of the national team that won the 2018 Asian Games, 2018 Thomas Cup, and 2019 Sudirman Cup. Together with Li, he achieved the men's doubles world number 1 in 6 April 2017, and occupied the top ranking for ten weeks.
Career
Liu competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Partnered with Li Junhui, he won a silver medal in the men's doubles after being defeated by Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin of Chinese Taipei in the final in straight games, 18–21, 12–21. Following the loss, he and Li received immense backlash from Chinese netizens for being unable to win the gold medal.
In 2022, Liu started a new partnership with Ou Xuanyi after Li Junhui's retirement. In the Indonesia Open, the duo beat Korea's Choi Sol-gyu and Kim Won-ho to become the first men’s doubles pair from the reserves’ list to win a Super 1000 title. They qualified to compete at the World Tour Finals and emerged victorious after beating Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the final.
In 2023, Liu and Ou helped the Chinese national team reach the final round of the Sudirman Cup. Facing former world no. 1 pair Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in the semi-finals while Japan was leading the tie 2–1, Liu and Ou saved four match points being down 16–20 in the deciding set and converted their first to keep China alive in the tie. They eventually got into the final. Liu said after the match, "We didn’t think too much. We played each point. We kept doing what we did towards the end. It’s unbelievable." After compatriot and world no. 1 Jia Yifan won the deciding rubber, she stated, "We wouldn’t be here if not for the men’s doubles, they did a great job." Ultimately, the Chinese national team went on to win the 2023 Sudirman Cup.
Liu competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics, but failed to make it into the knockout tournament. Some fans and commentators have attributed Liu pair's absence from the knockout tournament to his group being ridiculously stacked compared to the other groups. In addition, Kim Astrup, whose pair was in the same group as Liu's, remarked that making it into the quarter-finals from their group deserved a medal on its own due to how loaded their group was.
On 19 August 2024, Liu announced his retirement from international badminton.
Personal life
His sister, Liu Jing, is a swimmer.
Liu is often jokingly called Hendra Setiawan's 'eldest son' by fans, due to his public admiration towards the elder shuttler and his closeness with Setiawan's family. Liu himself has acknowledged the joke in an Instagram post with Setiawan's family during the Indonesia Masters in Jakarta.
Liu's father is the coach of the Beijing Municipal women's Badminton team. His mother has also coached the Beijing badminton team.
On 2 August 2024, Liu proposed to his girlfriend, fellow Chinese badminton player and 2020 Olympic silver medalist Huang Yaqiong, right after she received her gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Adidas Arena, Paris, which she accepted.
Achievements
Olympic Games
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Tokyo, Japan | Li Junhui | Lee Yang Wang Chi-lin |
18–21, 12–21 | Silver |
BWF World Championships
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park, Nanjing, China |
Li Junhui | Takeshi Kamura Keigo Sonoda |
21–12, 21–19 | Gold | |
| 2019 | St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland |
Li Junhui | Takuro Hoki Yugo Kobayashi |
19–21, 13–21 | Bronze | . |
Asian Games
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, Indonesia |
Li Junhui | Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto |
14–21, 21–19, 13–21 | Bronze |
Asian Championships
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Gimcheon Indoor Stadium, Gimcheon, South Korea |
Li Junhui | Shin Baek-cheol Yoo Yeon-seong |
20–22, 17–21 | Silver | |
| 2016 | Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China |
Li Junhui | Lee Yong-dae Yoo Yeon-seong |
14–21, 26–28 | Silver | |
| 2017 | Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China |
Li Junhui | Huang Kaixiang Wang Yilyu |
21–14, 21–12 | Gold | |
| 2018 | Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China |
Li Junhui | Takeshi Kamura Keigo Sonoda |
11–21, 21–10, 21–13 | Gold |
BWF World Junior Championships
Boys' doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Chiba Port Arena, Chiba, Japan |
Wang Yilyu | Lee Chun Hei Ng Ka Long |
10–21, 11–21 | Bronze | |
| 2013 | Hua Mark Indoor Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand |
Li Junhui | Huang Kaixiang Zheng Siwei |
14–21, 21–13, 22–20 | Gold |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Chiba Port Arena, Chiba, Japan |
Chen Qingchen | Edi Subaktiar Melati Daeva Oktavianti |
21–14, 18–21, 11–21 | Bronze | |
| 2013 | Hua Mark Indoor Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand |
Huang Dongping | Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo Masita Mahmudin |
21–6, 17–21, 19–21 | Bronze |
Asian Junior Championships
Boys' doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Likas Indoor Stadium, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia |
Li Junhui | Huang Kaixiang Zheng Siwei |
21–15, 21–14 | Gold |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Gimcheon Indoor Stadium, Gimcheon, South Korea |
Chen Qingchen | Choi Sol-gyu Chae Yoo-jung |
17–21, 19–21 | Bronze | |
| 2013 | Likas Indoor Stadium, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia |
Huang Dongping | Choi Sol-gyu Chae Yoo-jung |
11–21, 21–19, 13–21 | Silver |
BWF World Tour (7 titles, 7 runners-up)
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017, and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Indonesia Masters | Super 500 | Li Junhui | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo |
21–11, 10–21, 16–21 | Runner-up |
| 2018 | Japan Open | Super 750 | Li Junhui | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo |
11–21, 13–21 | Runner-up |
| 2018 | BWF World Tour Finals | World Tour Finals | Li Junhui | Hiroyuki Endo Yuta Watanabe |
21–15, 21–11 | Winner |
| 2019 | Malaysia Open | Super 750 | Li Junhui | Takeshi Kamura Keigo Sonoda |
21–12, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2019 | Thailand Open | Super 500 | Li Junhui | Satwiksairaj Rankireddy Chirag Shetty |
19–21, 21–18, 18–21 | Runner-up |
| 2019 | Macau Open | Super 300 | Li Junhui | Huang Kaixiang Liu Cheng |
21–8, 18–21, 22–20 | Winner |
| 2020 | Malaysia Masters | Super 500 | Li Junhui | Kim Gi-jung Lee Yong-dae |
14–21, 16–21 | Runner-up |
| 2022 | German Open | Super 300 | Ou Xuanyi | Goh Sze Fei Nur Izzuddin |
21–23, 21–16, 14–21 | Runner-up |
| 2022 | Korea Masters | Super 300 | Ou Xuanyi | Kim Gi-jung Kim Sa-rang |
14–21, 16–21 | Runner-up |
| 2022 | Indonesia Open | Super 1000 | Ou Xuanyi | Choi Sol-gyu Kim Won-ho |
21–17, 23–21 | Winner |
| 2022 | Australian Open | Super 300 | Ou Xuanyi | Ong Yew Sin Teo Ee Yi |
21–16, 22–20 | Winner |
| 2022 | BWF World Tour Finals | World Tour Finals | Ou Xuanyi | Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan |
21–17, 19–21, 21–12 | Winner |
| 2023 | Hylo Open | Super 300 | Ou Xuanyi | Lee Yang Wang Chi-lin |
24–22, 21–13 | Winner |
| 2023 | Japan Masters | Super 500 | Ou Xuanyi | He Jiting Ren Xiangyu |
14–21, 21–15, 15–21 | Runner-up |
BWF Superseries (2 titles, 3 runners-up)
The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006, and implemented in 2007, was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011. Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Japan Open | Li Junhui | Kim Gi-jung Ko Sung-hyun |
21–12, 21–12 | Winner |
| 2016 | Korea Open | Li Junhui | Lee Yong-dae Yoo Yeon-seong |
21–15, 20–22, 18–21 | Runner-up |
| 2017 | All England Open | Li Junhui | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo |
19–21, 14–21 | Runner-up |
| 2017 | Singapore Open | Li Junhui | Mathias Boe Carsten Mogensen |
13–21, 14–21 | Runner-up |
| 2017 | Indonesia Open | Li Junhui | Mathias Boe Carsten Mogensen |
21–19, 19–21, 21–18 | Winner |
- BWF Superseries Finals tournament
- BWF Superseries Premier tournament
- BWF Superseries tournament
BWF Grand Prix (7 titles, 2 runners-up)
The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | New Zealand Open | Li Junhui | Angga Pratama Rian Agung Saputro |
6–21, 20–22 | Runner-up |
| 2014 | India Grand Prix Gold | Li Junhui | Huang Kaixiang Zheng Siwei |
21–17, 19–21, 22–20 | Winner |
| 2014 | Chinese Taipei Open | Li Junhui | Andrei Adistia Hendra Aprida Gunawan |
14–21, 21–16, 16–21 | Runner-up |
| 2015 | China Masters | Li Junhui | Wang Yilyu Zhang Wen |
21–15, 19–21, 21–12 | Winner |
| 2015 | U.S. Open | Li Junhui | Manu Attri B. Sumeeth Reddy |
21–12, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2015 | Canada Open | Li Junhui | Huang Kaixiang Wang Sijie |
17–21, 21–12, 21–18 | Winner |
| 2015 | Vietnam Open | Li Junhui | Huang Kaixiang Wang Sijie |
21–8, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2016 | Chinese Taipei Open | Li Junhui | Chen Hung-ling Wang Chi-lin |
21–17, 17–21, 24–22 | Winner |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Chinese Taipei Open | Yu Xiaohan | Alfian Eko Prasetya Annisa Saufika |
21–16, 21–18 | Winner |
- BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
- BWF Grand Prix tournament
BWF International Challenge/Series (3 runners-up)
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | China International | Li Junhui | Wang Yilyu Zhang Wen |
10–21, 20–22 | Runner-up |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | China International | Yu Xiaohan | Zheng Siwei Chen Qingchen |
21–15, 12–21, 13–21 | Runner-up | |
| 2015 | Osaka International | Huang Dongping | Kim Duck-young Eom Hye-won |
17–21, 21–16, 17–21 | Runner-up |
- BWF International Challenge tournament
- BWF International Series tournament
Note
- ^ See also: Number one ranked players timeline.
References
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External links
- Liu Yuchen at BWF.TournamentSoftware.com (archived)
- Liu Yuchen at BWFBadminton.com
- Liu Yuchen at Olympedia (archive)
- Liu Yuchen at Olympics.com