Wong Mew Choo
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| Country |
 Malaysia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
May 1, 1983 Perak, Malaysia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 51 kg (112 lb; 8.0 st) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 2003-2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handedness | Right | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Misbun Sidek | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Women's singles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 7 (October 30, 2008) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Wong Mew Choo | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 黄妙珠 | ||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 黃妙珠 | ||||||
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Wong Mew Choo (born May 1, 1983) is a former badminton singles player who played for Malaysia.
She was known for her exceptional stamina, possibly the result of training alongside male shuttlers. Without any significant attacking weapons, she initially built her game on her ability to endure long rallies, sending the shuttle continually back against more powerful players. These tactics served her well, but put a lot of pressure on her knees and ankles. She suffered from various long term injuries during her playing career.
Career
She first came to prominence in the 2003 Southeast Asian Games badminton women's singles, when she won the gold medal, along the way beating Singapore's Li Li, then the reigning Commonwealth Games Champion.
2005
Denmark Open
- She competed at the 2005 World Badminton Championships in Anaheim and reached the second round. Mew Choo managed two quarterfinal appearances, in the Denmark Open and 2005 Asian Badminton Championships.
- She managed to reach the semifinal, losing a tough encounter with Mia Audina. Later that year, she qualified again for the 2005 Southeast Asian Games women's singles badminton final, but had to settle for silver, losing to Adriyanti Firdasari of Indonesia.
2006
In the XVIII Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, she helped Malaysia clinch the gold medal in the mixed team event, taking the crucial point against England's Tracy Hallam that gave Malaysia the lead 2-1. Eventually the team won 3-1 over England for the first time in Games history. However, Hallam exacted revenge in the individual events women's singles final.
In the 2006 World Badminton Championships, she reached the third round before losing to Zhang Ning.
Her best achievement of the year was in the Korea Open semifinals, losing to eventual winner Zhu Lin. She also reached the China Open quarterfinals.
2007
- The year 2007 was Wong Mew Choo's best year. She started by reaching the finals of the Proton Malaysia Super Series, defeating big names like Pi Hongyan and Xu Huaiwen on her way. At the Yonex All England Super Series, she beat Chinese Lu Lan to become the first Malaysian women's singles player to qualify in the women's singles quarterfinal. Lu claimed revenge in the 2007 Asian Badminton Championships.
BWF World Badminton Championships
- Her biggest win was at the 2007 World Badminton Championships third round, where she shocked China's Xie Xingfang in straight sets to become the first Malaysian women's singles player to reach the quarter-finals of the 2007 World Badminton Championships in Kuala Lumpur. However, her progress was stopped by Zhu Lin, who went on to take the title.
- She was beaten in the first round of the Denmark Super Series, but quickly rebounded a week later, at the French Super Series. Wong defeated higher ranked players like Wang Chen. However, Mew Choo lost to Xie Xingfang in the semifinal.
- Mew Choo, who is unseeded and has not won any major championship since the 2003 Southeast Asian Games, delivered a brilliant performance in Guangzhou, China by beating all the top three female shuttlers from China in succession, starting with world champion Zhu Lin, two-time Olympic Champion Zhang Ning, and finally world number one Xie Xingfang in three sets in the final. She became the one of only a few non-Chinese (overseas Chinese) winners of the China Open. She also became the first Malaysian woman to lift an international title outside the country.
2008
- Mew Choo started the year by reaching the semifinal of Proton Malaysia Super Series before losing to Zhu Lin once again.
- She played in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, becoming the quarter-finalist after her defeat from Lu Lan of China.
2009
Getting injured at the beginning of this season, Wong returned in Swiss Open Super Series and India Open. But her achievements were not yet satisfactory.
She was also chosen as the Malaysia's top women's singles player to play in Sudirman Cup. In the semi-finals, her team lost 0-3 to China.
In China Open Super Series in November, Wong showed a little of her returning strength by humbling China's Wang Yihan, the world number one, in just two sets, 21-18 and 21-17. However, she could not maintain her good run as she gave up to Wang's compatriot Wang Shixian in the quarter-finals.
In December, Wong clinched her first title of the year in BWF Super Series Masters Finals - downing Juliane Schenk, 21-15, 21-7. Many top players did not play in women's singles of Super Series Finals, letting Mew Choo, who was ranked 20th in Super Series rankings at that time, to participate.
Wong led Malaysia women's team in 2009 SEA Games in Laos. She and her teammates won gold medal by beating Indonesia 3-1. However, Wong failed to reach individual final as she was downed by Thailand's Salakjit Ponsana in just two sets, 18-21 and 14-21. As a result, Wong only claimed bronze.
In 2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi, Mew Choo won silver in a closely played final with Saina Nehwal of India, ranked No 3 in the world.
2011
In April, Mew Choo has retired from competitions as injuries have taken a toll on her and also affected her performance.[1]
Due to her experience and service to the national team, BJSS offer her a coaching contract to become one of the women coaches.[2]
Achievement
Personal life
She has an elder sister, Miew Kheng who was a former Malaysian national badminton player. She also dated the Malaysian badminton star Lee Chong Wei. The duo were planning to settle down after 11 years of courtship, after the London Olympics.[3]
In year 2009, Lee and Wong announced they are no longer together during the 2009 World Championships in Hyderabad, India. However, Lee Chong Wei announced his reconciliation with Mew Choo after winning a silver medal in London Olympics 2012. [4] They got married on 9 November 2012. The wedding was participated by famous people around the world, for example, China's badminton head coach, Li Yongbo
References
- ↑ Paul, Rajes (2011-01-24). "Misbun back, Mew Choo quits". New Straits Times. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
- ↑ Paul, Rajes (2011-05-13). "Teik Chai-Bin Shen out of world meet despite making the cut". The Star. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
- ↑ Paul, Rajes (2011-08-30). "Wedding bells for Chong Wei". The Star. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ↑ "Shuttler courts question marks over marriage date". The Star. 2012-08-08. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
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