Valeria Sorokina

Valeria Mihailovna Sorokina (Russian: Валерия Михайловна Сорокина; born 29 March 1984) is a Russian badminton player. She specialized in both the women's and mixed doubles, achieving her career-high ranking of world number 4 in women's doubles in early 2011. Her most significant career milestone occurred at the 2012 London Olympics, where she and her longtime partner, Nina Vislova, captured the bronze medal in the women's doubles. The duo became the only Russian Olympic medalist in badminton.

Sorokina was a dominant force in European badminton for over a decade. Her journey began with a stellar performance at the 2003 European Junior Championships, where she won the gold medal in girls' doubles and two bronze medals in mixed doubles and the team event. This excellence translated to the senior level, where she secured the gold medal at the 2010 European Championships and earned multiple bronze medals in the same competition in 2008 and 2012. Throughout her career, she also claimed several titles on the BWF Grand Prix circuit, including multiple wins at the Russian Open and the Dutch Open alongside partners such as Nina Vislova and Aleksandr Nikolaenko; as well amassed a remarkable total of nine titles at the Russian National Championships. Her contributions to the sport have solidified her legacy as one of Russia's most successful and was awarded the second class of the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland".