Susi Susanti
Taufik Hidayat
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Dead even across the measured categories. Our all-time ranking places Susi Susanti at #5 and Taufik Hidayat at #7.
The case for Susi Susanti
Susi Susanti delivered Indonesia's first-ever Olympic gold medal of any kind at Barcelona 1992, winning the inaugural women's singles title on the same day her future husband Alan Budikusuma took the men's crown — a national fairy tale watched by a spellbound country. She added the 1993 World Championship and four All England titles (1990, 1991, 1993, 1994), and won the World Cup a record five times. Playing with metronomic consistency, tireless defence and an unbreakable competitive calm, she was the finest women's player of the early 1990s and the pioneer who proved the women's game could carry a nation's hopes. Her Barcelona gold remains one of the sport's most emotionally resonant moments and the foundation of Indonesia's badminton identity, and she is universally regarded as one of the greatest women ever to play the game.
The case for Taufik Hidayat
Blessed with the most beautiful backhand the sport has seen, Taufik Hidayat completed the singles set that eluded even some legends: Olympic gold at Athens 2004 and the World Championship in 2005, won at home in Jakarta before a delirious crowd. He captured the Indonesia Open a record six times and won Asian Games gold in 2006. His signature backhand smash and around-the-head attacking play were matched by a mercurial temperament that made him box-office. At his best — the 2004 to 2005 peak — he combined artistry with ruthlessness, dismantling opponents with angles and disguise rather than brute force. Though injuries and inconsistency meant he never held prolonged No. 1 dominance, at his height Taufik was the most watchable and technically gifted player of his generation, and his backhand remains a reference point for coaches and players the world over.