Singles, Men

There was no favorite. Since 2000, the two World titles and four All-England titles had been split by six different players. Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat had been seeded #1 in 2000 but lost in the quarter-finals. He had managed a bronze at the 2001 Worlds, but had won no major championships in the interim. He was known as the bad boy of badminton, having been suspended from the Indonesian team several times because of his behavior, and this would occur again before the 2006 World Championships. In Athina Hidayat was unseeded but had reached the All-England semis earlier in the year. He struggled in his second round match, but then did not lose another set as he won the gold medal. The final was an easy victory for him over Korea’s Son Seung-Mo, who had been bronze medalist at the 2003 Worlds. Hidayat would also win the 2005 World Championships.