The 2013 BWF World Championships were held in Guangzhou, China, from August 5 to August 11, 2013. The tournament featured five disciplines: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. Lin Dan won his fifth world title in men's singles, while 18-year-old Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand became the youngest-ever world champion in women's singles.
The 2013 BWF World Championships officially opened at the Tianhe Gymnasium in Guangzhou, China, with first-round matches across all five disciplines. A total of 345 players from 49 countries participated in the tournament.
Several seeded players were eliminated in the early rounds. Notably, men's singles third seed Du Pengyu of China was upset by unseeded player in the round of 16, while other top seeds advanced to the quarterfinals.
The quarterfinals concluded with Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei, and Chen Long all advancing in men's singles. In women's singles, top seed Li Xuerui and Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon progressed to the semifinals.
Lin Dan defeated Chen Long in the men's singles semifinal, while Lee Chong Wei overcame his semifinal opponent to set up a highly anticipated final between the two legends. In women's singles, Ratchanok Intanon reached the final by defeating India's P.V. Sindhu, and Li Xuerui advanced to set up the final.
Lin Dan defeated Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the men's singles final 16-21, 21-13, 20-17 after Lee retired due to cramps. This was Lin Dan's fifth world championship title, further cementing his status as one of the greatest badminton players of all time.
China's Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang won the women's doubles title, defeating their compatriots in an all-Chinese final, ensuring the host nation finished the championships with two gold medals.
Indonesia's Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan won the men's doubles title, while Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir claimed the mixed doubles crown, giving Indonesia two gold medals at the championships.
Eighteen-year-old Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand defeated Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China 22-20, 18-21, 21-14 in the women's singles final, becoming the youngest-ever badminton world champion and the first Thai player to win a world title.
