Shi Yuqi wins men's singles title at the World Badminton Championships in Paris on Aug 31. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

Shi Yuqi, a badminton player from Nantong, Jiangsu province, recently scored a career-high 112,047 points, which is the highest men's singles score in the past 31 months, according to the latest Badminton World Federation rankings.

Though Shi lost the men's singles final to Jonatan Christie of Indonesia at the 2025 Denmark Open, his points once again surpassed 110,000 within five weeks, breaking his personal best set on Sept 2.

Shi withdrew from the French Open to recover from the injuries sustained during the Denmark Open.

Before the end of this season, the only international competition he needs to attend is the BWF World Tour Finals. His next focus is China's National Games in November, where he aims to add another title after winning gold and silver in his past two appearances.

With five international singles competition championships, the 2025 season marks Shi's best performance since turning professional in 2016. Rather than aiding China's badminton team in securing a fourth consecutive Sudirman Cup title, he won his first men's singles gold medal at the World Badminton Championships and also secured four open tournament titles.

Shi has topped the world rankings for 34 of the last 42 weeks, and his most recent score has brought him within striking distance of Victor Axelsen's 2023 record of 114,156 points.