According to Japanese badminton player, age 27 Chiharu Shida, she is “very scared” of the unwelcome attention and has ordered Chinese fans to “stop stalking” her
The involvement of Chiharu Shida with the local culture has contributed to her popularity in China, where she won bronze in the women’s doubles competition at the Olympics in Paris.
Who is Chiharu Shida, Japanese badminton player, bio, age, height, boyfriend, doubles partner, ranking and net worth
Fans and the media have dubbed the 27-year-old “Badminton Goddess” as she competes at the Asia Championships in the city of Ningbo in eastern China. In an Instagram post on Tuesday, she attacked certain fans, saying they were going too far with their fandom.
27-year-old Chiharu Shida was born on 29 April 1997 in Akita, Japan and is 5ft 4in tall. While details about her relationship status aren’t officially known, she is believed to be single and unmarried with her net worth between $1-2 million.
She reached a career high as world number 2 in the BWF World rankings on 8 November 2022 with her current partner Nami Matsuyama and is currently ranked third in the world in women’s doubles.
WORLD RANKING. 3. WOMEN’S DOUBLES. WORLD TOUR RANKING. 33. WOMEN’S DOUBLES. CAREER WINS 271 WD + XD. AGE 27
Chiharu Shida career
Chiharu Shida and her partner made it to the finals of the Spain Masters and Swiss Open in 2019 and won two titles at the U.S. Open and Korea Masters. Shida was a member of the Japan squad at the 2020 Asia Women’s Team Championships, where Japan defeated South Korea in the final to win the gold medal.
Shida and Matsuyama advanced to the Swiss Open women’s doubles semifinals at the beginning of the 2018 season. Since 2020, many BWF World Tour tournaments have been postponed or cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shida and Matsuyama, who began the 2022 season ranked seventh in the world, defeated Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu in the final to win the All-England Open title.
Neither Shida nor her partner Matsuyama took home a single title during the first half of the 2024 season. Only in the French and Singapore Opens, where they lost to Chen and Jia, and in the All England Open, when they lost to Baek and Lee in a close rubber match, did they make it to the finals. Shida defeated Japanese newcomers Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto in 2025 to win her second All England Open title with Matsuyama.
The 27-year-old has garnered international notice in recent weeks for reasons other than her athletic ability; she has openly addressed the intrusive fan culture that surrounds many female athletes.
Chiharu Shida described the persistent stalking as upsetting and terrifying in an Instagram post, urging her Chinese fans to stop following her and encroaching on her personal space.
“Thank you to everyone for your continued support, but I would like to request something from all my fans,” she wrote. “We have been stalked every time we compete in China, it has already been going on for a year and a half. Recently, we’ve been feeling very uncomfortable and very scared.”