Wang Tzu-wei is a Taiwanese badminton player who plays for Chinese Taipei. Also known as ‘The Gentle Badminton Prince’, the shuttler made an impact when he reached the semi-final of the World Tour Finals in 2019. He is now focussing his attention on his Olympic dream ready for the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021.

Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Tzu-wei began playing badminton when he was just seven years old, and his talent shone through from an early age. A silver medallist as a junior at the World Junior Championships in Bangkok in 2013, he won his first international title at the New Zealand Open Tournament in 2014. Three years later he competed at the 2017 Summer Universiade, winning gold in both the men’s singles and the mixed team events. 2017 also saw Tzu-wei reach the No.10 spot in the world rankings, thanks to his improving skills that he attributed to new Chinese Taipei team coach Luan Jin.

2019 started more slowly for Tzu-wei, but he sealed his place in the final qualifying tournament at the Gwangju Korea Masters, reaching the Race to Guangzhou top eight after racking up points from 23 World Tour tournaments. Against expectations, Tzu-wei rose to the occasion claiming a semi-final place against the world’s best player Kento Momota, eventually losing out to the World Champion but not before troubling him with his big, precise smashes. Tzu-wei is now building on the positive experience of the World Tour Finals as he begins his journey towards the Tokyo Olympic Games.