Akane has been called a badminton prodigy from a very young age. She held a racquet for the first time at the age of three and started playing seriously at the age of five. She joined the Japanese national team at the age of 15, the youngest athlete to ever join. The following year in 2013, she won the singles title at the YON

Carolina Marin is a force of nature on the court. With her fiery, never-give-up attitude, she has made amazing achievements at her young age. She made big splashes early on in her career, including winning the gold medal at the 2009 European U17 Championships.

Carolina has brought about many historic achievements for her home country, Spain. She became the first Spanish player to win a grand prix gold title at the 2013 London Grand Prix Gold. The following year, she went on to win the gold medal at the 2014 European Championships, and in the same year became the first Spanish badminton player ever to win a gold medal at the BWF World Championships. At age 21, she also became the youngest European player ever to win the gold at the tournament.