In its partnership with digital sports consultancy Seven League, the BWF has worked closely with a number of badminton's top players to build a following on social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter.

It is not just for the benefit of the players, however, with the two parties aiming to attract new followers of the sport and build a closer interaction between fans and athletes.

The partnership started in late 2019 as Seven League started courses for badminton players, with five taking part in a workshop in October.

They were Kim Astrup, the winner of the 2020 Barcelona Masters, Danish compatriot Mia Blichfeldt, who is ranked 18th in the women's singles, Thailand's Sapsiree Taerattanachai, who is ranked second in mixed doubles and is a star on Instagram, India's Commonwealth Games gold medallist Ahswini Ponnappa and Beiwen Zhang, the highest ranked US women's player.

Techniques taught in the workshops included jumping on social trends and attracting sponsors.

Ponnappa had stopped posting on Twitter due to troll accounts sending her abuse, but has returned to the platform after embracing the block and report buttons for those who send hate.

Last month, the five players moved onto the next phase where they will receive advanced interview and media training ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Ponnappa praised the course. 

"I loved being a part of it, the team helped me get out of my shell and understand the importance of social media and interacting with fans," she said.

"I loved the creative ideas that they shared, I have definitely enjoyed posting and being more open about sharing things."

The BWF has commissioned a second group with players from Taiwan, Canada, Australia and India, who will receive lessons individually through video calls.