PV Sindhu: Queen Bee

The leading lady of Indian badminton continued to build on her great achievements last year and featured in some breathtaking matches

She avenged her defeat in Rio Olympics gold medal match by defeating Carolina Marin in the Final of India Open

She reached the Final of the World Championship and played in one of the greatest matches in the history of the sport against Japan's Nozomi Okuhara which lasted for nearly an hour and 50 minutes and featured a 73-shot rally. She lost the match by a very slim margin

But vengeance was hers once again as she defeated Okuhara in the Final of the Korea Open Super Series in another marathon match

She ended the year on a high by reaching the Final of the Dubai Super Series Finals and once again succumbed in the title match to a Japanesh - this time Akane Yamaguchi - in a match and went well into the second hour

Her ranking at the end of the year is 3rd

Saina: Still Fighting

Saina Nehwal returned from injury this year and showed that she still has a lot to offer to the world of badminton

She reached the semifinal of the World Championship to win bronze

She also became national champion by beating PV Sindhu in the Final of the event

Though unable to capture any Super Series titles in the year, she is at No 10 in the BWF rankings

B Sai Praneeth: Chipping in

Though not as successful as his peers, Praneeth too added to the kitty of Indian badminton's trophies by winning the Singapore Open Super SeriesDefeated his compatriot Kidambi Srikanth in the FinalEnds the year at No 16 in the rankings

HS Prannoy: Giant Killer

While Kidambi Srikanth was on a roll this year, HS Prannoy didn't do badly eitherThough he didn't win any Super Series titles in 2017, he tamed Srikanth in the Final of the National Championship He also scored victories over Olympic gold and silver medallists Chen long and lee Chong Wei respectively Ends the year ranked No 10Prannoy was also the costliest buy in the latest auctions for the Premier Badminton leagueNew entrants Ahmedabad Smash Masters picked up Prannoy for `62 lakhs