Being old . The most impressionable and exciting player by far for me, will always be Zhao Jianhua. His 1990 demolition of Joko Suprianto in the All England Final is my most watched badminton game by a country mile.
Mine... when I was a young kids: Rashid Sidek Soon Kit / Kim Hock Ricky / Rexy and then.. Lee Chong Wei Lin Dan Lee Yong Dae / Jung Jae Sung Ahsan / Setiawan Cai yun / Fu Hai Feng
As a kid it was Zhao Jian Hua and perhaps the greatest doubles pairing of all time Park Joo Bong and Kim Moon Soo that inspired me the most. They were the players I tried to emulate, I remember I was inadvertently also picking up on their mannerisms! I also quite like the Sidek brothers as it was just such a nice story - Rashid Sidek in particular - I liked his doubles service action which I tried to copy. In more recent times it was Kim Dong Moon and Lee Yong Dae. These are the guys who through watching hundreds if not thousands of hours of their play had taught me a lot about doubles tactics and skills. I have huge admiration for these guys.
Park or Rexi for pure flair and ability Present day players, well it has to be Misaki Matsutomo simply for the incredible floating and smooth court movement
For me it's Lee Chong Wei, not because he is an amazing player (which he is), but because he is always second to Lin Dan and yet he never gave up or became discouraged. I find that really admirable.
LCW too because I discovered the sport late last year (at 32) and to see him still being one of the greatest athlete in the sport after his thirties with so much motivation and fight in him made me feel like I could at least try to take this sport seriously even at my age. True inspiration. Hoping to see him play (or not) at Tokyo 2020.
Taufik Hidayat and Tai Tzu Ying. Both of them are skilled yet seen as inconsistent. I am far from being at a level of achievement that could warrant any sort of comparison, but I too am afflicted with the "inconsistency" issue in my life in general. TH managed to win OG and WCG in his peak so he does not suffer to much criticism, but I still remember the interview after TTY's loss against PVS at the WC in basel where she was on the brink of tears from the journalist hammering her about not being able to win a major tournament. It is also interesting that usually, when she tries shots and misses, she is being "flamboyant", "lethargic" or "too cute" but when she pulls them off, it's "amazing". From early childhood, I was seen as having great potential but I haven't managed the rise to the level I know I can. So, I guess I empathize with the struggle. I guess the inspiration is not only about badminton, but also life in general.
I got inspired from LCW the most. Due to LD vs LCW I started watching badminton. I liked LD but liked LCW more and supported him because he was mostly the underdog against LD. He has taught me a lot that even if you're not meant to achieve that thing, give your level best every time. Give your all and rest leave it to the God. He deserves all the respect coz he never gave up even after losing countless heartbreaking finals and also took the pressure of millions of Malaysians on his back. Even at mid 30s, he trained like it was normal for him . An amazing athlete and a role model to many. Second player would be LYD. His defence was like a wall. Him defending smashes of FHF was a sight to behold. Loved his game with JJS. He also couldn't win MD major gold. That made me support him even more. Really loved it when LYD and KGJ won Malaysia Masters this year. Third player would be SN. As she motivated and made other Indians dream that they could also be world beaters.