Huaiwen Xu (; born 2 August 1975) is a German badminton player. Born in Guiyang, Guizhou, China, she decided to play for Germany because the Chinese thought that she was too short to play professional world badminton.Said by David Mercer/Gillian Clark on August 13, 2008 in match against Xie Xingfang in the quarterfinals of the women's singles shown on the BBC.
Career Xu was among the most successful of a number of Chinese-born female players who emigrated from their badminton-rich homeland, in part, for a better opportunity to play in the world's biggest events. Beginning in 2003 when she won a spate of middle tier open tournaments in Europe, Xu went on to become one of the more consistent performers on the international circuit. She was a women's singles bronze medalist twice at the BWF World Championships (2005 and 2006) and won European Championships in 2006 and 2008 over Mia Audina and Tine Rasmussen respectively in the finals. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics Xu was eliminated in a close quarterfinal match by China's Xie Xingfang, the world's number one ranked player.
Among Xu's more than twenty national and international singles titles are the Scottish (2003), Polish (2003), Dutch (2005), and Swiss (2006) Opens, the Copenhagen Masters (2007), and five consecutive (2004–2008) German National Championships. Notably, she earned all of these titles after turning 27, an age at which world level singles players often feel that their best years are behind them.
Xu retired from playing on the international circuit in 2009 and worked as a coach for two years at the Bellevue Badminton Club near Seattle, teaching the Junior National team of young badminton players hoping to succeed in professional badminton. In 2010, she was appointed as an International Olympic Committee athlete role model for the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. From 2011 to 2012, she served the Dutch Badminton Association as their National Coach.
Personal life Xu speaks fluent Chinese, German and English. She is married to Matthew Curtain, the CEO of British Weightlifting. The couple lives in the United Kingdom and has a daughter.
Achievements
World Championships Women's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 2005 Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, United States Zhang Ning 7–11, 9–11 Bronze 2006 Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid, Madrid, Spain Xie Xingfang 12–21, 10–21 Bronze
European Championships Women's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 2006 Maaspoort Sports and Events, Den Bosch, Netherlands Mia Audina 15–21, 21–9, 21–16 Gold 2008 Messecenter Herning, Herning, Denmark Tine Rasmussen 12–21, 21–12, 21–17 Gold
BWF Grand Prix The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017. The World Badminton Grand Prix was sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006.
Women's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result1994U.S. Open Liu Guimei11–8, 5–11, 6–11 Runner-up1997Vietnam Open Susi Susanti4–11, 1–11 Runner-up 2001 Swiss Open Pi Hongyan 2–7, 1–7, 5–7 Runner-up2004German Open Xie Xingfang11–9, 6–11, 7–11 Runner-up2005Swiss Open Pi Hongyan12–13, 6–11 Runner-up 2005 Thailand Open Yao Jie 6–11, 7–11 Runner-up2005Thessaloniki World Grand Prix Juliane Schenk11–2, 11–5 Winner2005Bitburger Open Xing Aiying11–3, 11–2 Winner2005Dutch Open Yao Jie11–7, 11–2 Winner 2005 Denmark Open Pi Hongyan 11–7, 4–11, 5–11 Runner-up2006Swiss Open Zhu Lin11–9, 11–4 Winner2006Bitburger Open Maria Kristin Yulianti21–17, 21–17 Winner 2007 German Open Xie Xingfang 21–19, 12–21, 19–21 Runner-up 2007 Russian Open Wang Yihan 17–21, 21–16, 19–21 Runner-up
Women's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result2001Dutch Open Anastasia Russkikh Pernille Harder Majken Vange3–7, 7–2, 7–0, 4–7, 7–5 Winner
Mixed doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 1994 U.S. Open Zheng Yushen Jens Eriksen Rikke Olsen 3–15, 4–15 Runner-up BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament BWF & IBF Grand Prix tournament
International Challenge/Series Women's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result2000Le Volant d'Or de Toulouse Elena Nozdran11–4, 8–11, 11–4 Winner2000BMW Open International Judith Meulendijks11–4, 11–5 Winner2001BMW Open International Pi Hongyan4–7, 7–3, 2–7, 3–7 Runner-up2002BMW Open International Pi Hongyan9–11, 1–11 Runner-up2003Polish Open Kelly Morgan11–5, 9–11, 11–3 Winner2003Finnish Open Petya Nedelcheva11–6, 8–11, 11–5 Winner2003Austrian Open Petya Nedelcheva11–7, 11–1 Winner2003Giraldilla International Yuki Shimada11–4, 11–7 Winner2003Spanish International Petra Overzier11–4, 11–5 Winner2003Scottish International Chie Umezu11–4, 11–5 Winner2003Bitburger Open Pi Hongyan11–3, 11–2 Winner 2004 Swedish International Tine Rasmussen 7–11, 11–4, 6–11 Runner-up2004Bitburger Open Petra Overzier11–4, 11–2 Winner2005Belgian International Juliane Schenk11–4, 11–1 Winner2008White Nights Juliane Schenk21–15, 15–21, 21–19 Winner
Women's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result2000Le Volant d'Or de Toulouse Claudia Vogelgsang Nicole Grether Nicol Pitro7–15, 9–15 Runner-up2000BMW Open International Claudia Vogelgsang Nicole Grether Nicol Pitro13–15, 15–7, 17–14 Winner
Invitation Tournament Women's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result2007Copenhagen Masters Zhou Mi21–11, 19–21, 15–9 ret. Winner2008Copenhagen Masters Tine Baun18–21, 17–21 Runner-up
Record against selected opponents Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists.
Players Matches Results Difference Won Lost Huang Chia-chi 1 1 0 +1 Petya Nedelcheva 9 9 0 +9 Gong Ruina 2 0 2 –2 Lu Lan 7 2 5 –3 Wang Lin 7 5 2 +3 Wang Yihan 4 1 3 –2 Xie Xingfang 9 0 9 –9 Ye Zhaoying 2 0 2 –2 Zhang Ning 3 0 3 –3 Zhu Lin 7 2 5 –3 Cheng Shao-chieh 4 4 0 +4 Camilla Martin 1 0 1 –1 Tine Baun 11 7 4 +3
Players Matches Results Difference Won Lost Tracey Hallam 1 1 0 +1 Pi Hongyan 20 8 12 –4 Juliane Schenk 7 6 1 +5 Petra Overzier 4 4 0 +4 / Zhou Mi 7 3 4 –1 / Wang Chen 4 1 3 –2 Yip Pui Yin 2 1 1 0 Saina Nehwal 1 0 1 –1 Maria Kristin Yulianti 3 3 0 +3 Susi Susanti 1 0 1 –1 Wong Mew Choo 3 2 1 +1 / Mia Audina 8 3 5 –2 Porntip Buranaprasertsuk 1 1 0 +1
References
External links