- Wong Mew Choo
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Wong Mew Choo 
Personal information Birth name Wong Mew Choo Born May 1, 1983
Perak,
MalaysiaHeight 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) Weight 51 kg (110 lb; 8.0 st) Country MalaysiaYears active 2003-2011 Handedness Right Coach Dato' Misbun Sidek Women Singles Highest Ranking 7 [1] (October 30, 2008) Current Ranking 60 [2] (May 22, 2011) Medal recordWomen's Badminton Competitor for MalaysiaSudirman Cup Bronze 2009 Guangzhou Team Commonwealth Games Gold 2010 Delhi Mixed Team Silver 2010 Delhi Women's singles Gold 2006 Melbourne Mixed Team Silver 2006 Melbourne Women's singles BWF Profile This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wong.Wong Mew Choo (simplified Chinese: 黄妙珠; traditional Chinese: 黃妙珠; pinyin: Huáng Miàozhū; born May 1, 1983) is a female badminton singles player from Malaysia.
She is known for her exceptional endurance and stamina, the result of training alongside male shuttlers. Without any significant attacking arsenals, she initially built her game based on fitness and defence, with the ability to run a continuous, long rally; sending everything back to tactically superior opponents until a mistake or an attacking opportunity appears. Such tactics have served her well, but put a lot of pressure on her knees and ankles. She has been known to suffer from various long term injuries in her playing career.
Recently, Mew Choo has been playing with more aggression, power and speed. She now shows more willingness to take the initiative and occasionally does unexpected things to keep opponents guessing, such as engaging them into tight net dribbles, which she did in her match against Zhang Ning in the China Open.[citation needed]
Contents
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 a semifinal finish despite 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 Super Series 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, who 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.[3]
Due to her experience and service to the national team, BJSS offer her a coaching contract to become one of the women coaches.[4]
Achievement
Year Tournament Achievement 2011 All England Super Series First round German Grand Prix Gold Semi-Finalist Victor Korea Super Series Premier Second round Proton Malaysia Super Series First round 2010 2010 Commonwealth Games Runner-Up 2010 Commonwealth Games – Mixed team Winner 2009 BWF Super Series Masters Finals Winner Malaysia Grand Prix Gold Semi-Finalist Djarum Indonesia Super Series First round Aviva Singapore Super Series First round 2008 Aviva Singapore Super Series Semi-Finalist Swiss Open Super Series Second round All England Super Series Quarter-Finalist Korea Super Series First round Proton Malaysia Super Series Semi-Finalist 2007 Hong Kong Super Series First round China Open Super Series Winner French Super Series Semi-Finalist Denmark Super Series First round Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold Quarter-Finalist Japan Super Series Second round BWF World Championships Quarter-Finalist China Masters Super Series First round Djarum Indonesia Super Series First round Singapore Super Series Second round 2007 Asian Badminton Championships Semi-Finalist Swiss Super Series First round Yonex All England Super Series Quarter-Finalist Proton Malaysia Super Series Runner-Up 2006 China Open Quarter-Finalist Japan Open First round IBF World Championships Second round Hong Kong Open Second round Korea Open Second round Thailand Open Second round Djarum Indonesia Open First round 2006 Asian Badminton Championships First round XVIII Commonwealth Games Runner-Up Yonex All England Open Second round Swiss Open Second round 2005 Denmark Open Quarter-Finalist Indonesia Open Semi-Finalist 2005 Asian Badminton Championships Quarter-Finalist XXIII Southeast Asian Games Runner-Up 2004 2004 Asian Badminton Championships Quarter-Finalist Japan Open First round Korea Open Second round Yonex All England Open Second round Swiss Open First round Syed Modi Memorials Runner-Up Thailand Open Second round 2003 XXII Southeast Asian Games Winner 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.[5]
On November, Mew Choo underwent a breast enhancement treatment. The 27-year-old, has successfully raised her cup size from an A to B. Her appearance has also become the talk of town because people have always known her for her 'pretty and innocent' image.[6]
References
- ^ BWF. Women Singles Ranking: 20 September 2007
- ^ [1]
- ^ Paul, Rajes (2011-01-24). "Misbun back, Mew Choo quits". New Straits Times. http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/43murubams/Article/art_print. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
- ^ Paul, Rajes (2011-05-13). "Teik Chai-Bin Shen out of world meet despite making the cut". The Star. http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2011/5/13/sports/8673304&sec=sports. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
- ^ Paul, Rajes (2011-08-30). "Wedding bells for Chong Wei". The Star. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/8/30/nation/9392690&sec=nation. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ Paul, Rajes (2010-11-25). "Bigger cups for Wong Mew Choo". Daily Chili. http://www.dailychilli.com/happenings/7946-bigger-cups-for-wong-mew-choo. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
External links
Categories:- 1983 births
- Living people
- Badminton players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Malaysian Hakka people
- Hakka people
- Malaysian badminton players
- Malaysian Chinese people
- Olympic badminton players of Malaysia
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Malaysia
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