Disclosure: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. See our Privacy Policy for more information.
Men’s doubles is explosive and fast. Partnerships need the perfect balance of teamwork, speed, and raw power to be the very best. Now the question is, what age do men’s doubles players perform at their peak? In this post, we’ve gathered data in the top professional tournaments from 2000 to 2021 to determine what the prime age is for men’s doubles. Here are the results.
Statistically, the prime age for men’s doubles players is around 26 years old. Results indicate that men’s doubles players still perform very well up to age 34. Overall, players players from the ages of 23 to 34 have a good chance of winning a major title. Results drop off for ages less than 23 and higher than 34.
| Prime Age for Men’s Singles | Link |
| Prime Age for Women’s Singles | Link |
| Prime Age for Men’s Doubles | Link |
| Prime Age for Women’s Doubles | Link |
| Prime Age for Mixed Doubles | Link |
To get these results, we collected the ages of all the men’s doubles badminton players that won gold medals at the Yonex All England, World Championships, and Olympic Games from 2000 to 2021. The ages that were used to calculate the results represent the ages at which the players won the tournaments. You can see all of the data visualized and organized in tables below.
As shown above, the most common men’s doubles gold medalist age is 26 years old. However, the average and median ages are 27.4 and 26.5 years old respectively. The spread of the results are quite interesting since there are several spikes in medals as we go higher from the average of 26.5 years. Generally, we would expect a gradual decline from the peak like we see on the left of 26. However, we see spikes at 29 and 34, which seem a bit strange.
What might help explain these spikes is the fact that men’s doubles pairings come with 2 players. Having to work with another player requires a lot of teamwork and partners who have played longer with each other are probably more in sync with each other. Furthermore, having 2 players on a court make it so each player has to cover a smaller portion of the court. While doubles is usually faster paced, it does mean that doubles players do not need to travel as much and have more “breaks” when their partner is the one hitting the shuttle. This might help explain why there are more older players who have won gold medals than what we see in men’s singles.
Here’s all of the major statistics summarized:
| Average | 27.4 |
| Median | 26.5 |
| Minimum | 19.5 |
| Maximum | 36 |
| Count | 82 |
| Standard Deviation | 3.8 |
Join our mailing list on our About Page for exclusives, offers, and the latest news from BadmintonBites! By joining, you’ll get 25% off anything from our shop!
All England Results
| Year | Winner | Age |
| 2000 | Ha Tae-kwon | 25 |
| 2000 | Kim Dong-moon | 24.5 |
| 2001 | Tony Gunawan | 26 |
| 2001 | Halim Haryanto | 24.5 |
| 2002 | Ha Tae-kwon | 27 |
| 2002 | Kim Dong-moon | 26.5 |
| 2003 | Candra Wijaya | 27.5 |
| 2003 | Sigit Budiarto | 27.5 |
| 2004 | Jens Eriksen | 34 |
| 2004 | Martin Lundgaard Hansen | 31.5 |
| 2005 | Cai Yun | 25 |
| 2005 | Fu Haifeng | 22 |
| 2006 | Jens Eriksen | 36 |
| 2006 | Martin Lundgaard Hansen | 33.5 |
| 2007 | Koo Kien Keat | 21.5 |
| 2007 | Tan Boon Heong | 19.5 |
| 2008 | Jung Jae-sung | 25.5 |
| 2008 | Lee Yong-dae | 19.5 |
| 2009 | Cai Yun | 29 |
| 2009 | Fu Haifeng | 26 |
| 2010 | Lars Paaske | 34 |
| 2010 | Jonas Rasmussen | 32.5 |
| 2011 | Mathias Boe | 30.5 |
| 2011 | Carsten Mogensen | 27.5 |
| 2012 | Jung Jae-sung | 29.5 |
| 2012 | Lee Yong-dae | 23.5 |
| 2013 | Liu Xiaolong | 25 |
| 2013 | Qiu Zihan | 22 |
| 2014 | Mohammad Ahsan | 26.5 |
| 2014 | Hendra Setiawan | 29.5 |
| 2015 | Mathias Beo | 34.5 |
| 2015 | Carsten Mogensen | 31.5 |
| 2016 | Vladimir Ivanov | 28.5 |
| 2016 | Ivan Sozonov | 26.5 |
| 2017 | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon | 26 |
| 2017 | Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo | 21.5 |
| 2018 | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon | 27 |
| 2018 | Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo | 22.5 |
| 2019 | Mohammad Ahsan | 31.5 |
| 2019 | Hendra Setiawan | 34.5 |
| 2020 | Hiroyuki Endo | 33 |
| 2020 | Yuta Watanabe | 23 |
| 2021 | Hiroyuki Endo | 34 |
| 2021 | Yuta Watanabe | 24 |
| 2000 | Ha Tae-kwon, Kim Dong-moon | 25, 24.5 |
| 2001 | Tony Gunawan, Halim Haryanto | 26, 24.5 |
| 2002 | Ha Tae-kwon, Kim Dong-moon | 27, 26.5 |
| 2003 | Candra Wijaya, Sigit Budiarto | 27.5, 27.5 |
| 2004 | Jens Eriksen, Martin Lundgaard Hansen | 34, 31.5 |
| 2005 | Cai Yun, Fu Haifeng | 25, 22 |
| 2006 | Jens Eriksen, Martin Lundgaard Hansen | 36, 33.5 |
| 2007 | Koo Kien Keat, Tan Boon Heong | 21.5, 19.5 |
| 2008 | Jung Jae-sung, Lee Yong-dae | 25.5, 19.5 |
| 2009 | Cai Yun, Fu Haifeng | 29, 26 |
| 2010 | Lars Paaske, Jonas Rasmussen | 34, 32.5 |
| 2011 | Mathias Boe, Carsten Mogensen | 30.5, 27.5 |
| 2012 | Jung Jae-sung, Lee Yong-dae | 29.5, 23.5 |
| 2013 | Liu Xiaolong, Qiu Zihan | 25, 22 |
| 2014 | Mohammad Ahsan, Hendra Setiawan | 26.5, 29.5 |
| 2015 | Mathias Beo, Carsten Mogensen | 34.5, 31.5 |
| 2016 | Vladimir Ivanov, Ivan Sozonov | 28.5, 26.5 |
| 2017 | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo | 26, 21.5 |
| 2018 | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo | 27, 22.5 |
| 2019 | Mohammad Ahsan, Hendra Setiawan | 31.5, 34.5 |
| 2020 | Hiroyuki Endo, Yuta Watanabe | 33, 23 |
| 2021 | Hiroyuki Endo, Yuta Watanabe | 34, 24 |
| Year | Winner | Age |
| 2000 | Ha Tae-kwon Kim Dong-moon | 25 24.5 |
| 2001 | Tony Gunawan Halim Haryanto | 26 24.5 |
| 2002 | Ha Tae-kwon Kim Dong-moon | 27 26.5 |
| 2003 | Candra Wijaya Sigit Budiarto | 27.5 27.5 |
| 2004 | Jens Eriksen Martin Lundgaard Hansen | 34 31.5 |
| 2005 | Cai Yun Fu Haifeng | 25 22 |
| 2006 | Jens Eriksen Martin Lundgaard Hansen | 36 33.5 |
| 2007 | Koo Kien Keat Tan Boon Heong | 21.5 19.5 |
| 2008 | Jung Jae-sung Lee Yong-dae | 25.5 19.5 |
| 2009 | Cai Yun Fu Haifeng | 29 26 |
| 2010 | Lars Paaske Jonas Rasmussen | 34 32.5 |
| 2011 | Mathias Boe Carsten Mogensen | 30.5 27.5 |
| 2012 | Jung Jae-sung Lee Yong-dae | 29.5 23.5 |
| 2013 | Liu Xiaolong Qiu Zihan | 25 22 |
| 2014 | Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan | 26.5 29.5 |
| 2015 | Mathias Beo Carsten Mogensen | 34.5 31.5 |
| 2016 | Vladimir Ivanov Ivan Sozonov | 28.5 26.5 |
| 2017 | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo | 26 21.5 |
| 2018 | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo | 27 22.5 |
| 2019 | Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan | 31.5 34.5 |
| 2020 | Hiroyuki Endo Yuta Watanabe | 33 23 |
| 2021 | Hiroyuki Endo Yuta Watanabe | 34 24 |
| Average | 27.5 |
| Median | 26.8 |
| Minimum | 19.5 |
| Maximum | 36 |
| Count | 44 |
| Standard Deviation | 4.4 |
World Championships and Olympic Games Results
Years 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 are for the Olympic Games.
| Year | Winner | Age |
| 2000 | Tony Gunawan | 25.5 |
| 2000 | Candra Wijaya | 24 |
| 2001 | Tony Gunawan | 26.5 |
| 2001 | Halim Haryanto | 25 |
| 2002 | N/A | |
| 2003 | Lars Paaske | 27.5 |
| 2003 | n | 29 |
| 2004 | Ha Tae-kwon | 29.5 |
| 2004 | Kim Dong-moon | 29 |
| 2005 | Howard Bach | 26.5 |
| 2005 | Tony Gunawan | 30.5 |
| 2006 | Cai Yun | 26.5 |
| 2006 | Fu Haifeng | 23 |
| 2007 | Markis Kido | 24 |
| 2007 | Hendra Setiawan | 23 |
| 2008 | Markis Kido | 25 |
| 2008 | Hendra Setiawan | 24 |
| 2009 | Cai Yun | 29.5 |
| 2009 | Fu Haifeng | 25.5 |
| 2010 | Cai Yun | 30.5 |
| 2010 | Fu Haifeng | 26.5 |
| 2011 | Cai Yun | 31.5 |
| 2011 | Fu Haifeng | 27.5 |
| 2012 | Cai Yun | 32.5 |
| 2012 | Fu Haifeng | 28.5 |
| 2013 | Mohammad Ahsan | 26 |
| 2013 | Hendra Setiawan | 29 |
| 2014 | Ko Sung-hyun | 27 |
| 2014 | Shin Baek-cheol | 25 |
| 2015 | Mohammad Ahsan | 28 |
| 2015 | Hendra Setiawan | 31 |
| 2016 | Zhang Nan | 26.5 |
| 2016 | Fu Haifeng | 32.5 |
| 2017 | Liu Cheng | 25.5 |
| 2017 | Zhang Nan | 27.5 |
| 2018 | Li Junhui | 23.5 |
| 2018 | Liu Yuchen | 24 |
| 2019 | Mohammad Ahsan | 32 |
| 2019 | Hendra Setiawan | 35 |
| 2020 | N/A | |
| 2021 | Lee Yang | 26 |
| 2021 | Wang Chi-Lin | 26 |
| Year | Winner | Age |
| 2000 | Tony Gunawan Candra Wijaya | 25.5 24 |
| 2001 | Tony Gunawan Halim Haryanto | 26.5 25 |
| 2002 | N/A | |
| 2003 | Lars Paaske Jonas Rasmussen | 27.5 26 |
| 2004 | Ha Tae-kwon Kim Dong-moon | 29.5 29 |
| 2005 | Howard Bach Tony Gunawan | 26.5 30.5 |
| 2006 | Cai Yun Fu Haifeng | 26.5 23 |
| 2007 | Markis Kido Hendra Setiawan | 24 23 |
| 2008 | Markis Kido Hendra Setiawan | 25 24 |
| 2009 | Cai Yun Fu Haifeng | 29.5 25.5 |
| 2010 | Cai Yun Fu Haifeng | 30.5 26.5 |
| 2011 | Cai Yun Fu Haifeng | 31.5 27.5 |
| 2012 | Cai Yun Fu Haifeng | 32.5 28.5 |
| 2013 | Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan | 26 29 |
| 2014 | Ko Sung-hyun Shin Baek-cheol | 27 25 |
| 2015 | Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan | 28 31 |
| 2016 | Zhang Nan Fu Haifeng | 26.5 32.5 |
| 2017 | Liu Cheng Zhang Nan | 25.5 27.5 |
| 2018 | Li Junhui Liu Yuchen | 23.5 24 |
| 2019 | Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan | 32 35 |
| 2020 | N/A | |
| 2021 | Lee Yang Wang Chi-Lin | 26 26 |
| Average | 27.4 |
| Median | 26.5 |
| Minimum | 23 |
| Maximum | 35 |
| Count | 38 |
| Standard Deviation | 3 |
Subscribe on our About Us page, see you there!
Thank you for reading! Our most popular posts are our badminton equipment posts, make sure to check them out next.
Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our email list down below for a FREE downloadable PDF and a 25% COUPON CODE for our store.
BadmintonBites is all about honest and authentic badminton content. The goal of BadmintonBites is to create real value for the badminton community, which is often plagued with subpar or downright false content on the internet.
Badminton deserves so much more and we’re here to share our experience and expertise with you. You can read more about BadmintonBites and our purpose on our About Us page.
We would love to have you with us on our badminton journey and we hope to provide you with as much value as possible.
Here’s some guides and reviews on badminton products. We update this list whenever we add new equipment content – hope you enjoy!
