India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy broke a decade-old Guinness world record for the fastest shot ever in badminton with an astonishing 565 km/hour smash.
The speed greatly exceeded the previous world record of 493 km/hour which was achieved by Malaysian badminton player Tan Boon Heong, a former Asian Games doubles champion, in May 2013.
To put Satwiksairaj Rankireddy’s astonishing hit into context, the fastest speed recorded by a Formula 1 car is 397.48 km/hour while the fastest tennis serve maxes out at 263 km/hour.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy’s hit is the fastest badminton smash recorded irrespective of gender. The women’s record stands of 438 km/hour belongs to Malaysia’s Pealy Tan.
Both Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Pearly Tan’s world record attempts were conducted under controlled conditions at the Yonex Tokyo Factory in Soka, Saitama, Japan, on April 14, 2023.
The marks were later verified by official judges from the Guinness world records based on the speed measurement results from that day.
Fastest speeds in sports
Fastest badminton smash: 565 kmph (351.1 mph)
Fastest F1 car speed: 397.483 kmph (247.0 mph)
Fastest golf drive: 349.38 kmph (217.1 mph)
Fastest tennis serve: 263 kmph (163.4 mph)
Fastest ice hockey shot: 177.5 kmph (110.3 mph)
Fastest baseball pitch: 170.3 kmph (105.8 mph)
Fastest football shot: 129 kmph (80.2 mph)
Fastest table tennis smash: 116 kmph (72.1 mph)