Bang Soo-hyun

Bang Soo-hyun (; born 13 September 1972) is a former badminton player from South Korea who was one of the world's leading women's singles players of the 1990s. She was a contemporary and rival of Indonesia's Susi Susanti and China's Ye Zhaoying. Noted for a style that combined impressive power and movement, she retired from competition after her victory in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, shortly before her 24th birthday. She was elected to the World Badminton Hall of Fame in 2019.

Career

Summer Olympics Barcelona 1992 Bang competed in badminton at the 1992 Summer Olympics in women's singles. She had a bye in the first round, defeated Catrine Bengtsson of Sweden in the second and Hisuko Mizui of Japan in the third. In quarterfinals Bang Soo-hyun edged Sarwendah Kusumawardhani of Indonesia 11–2, 3–11, 12–11 to advance to the semifinals. There, she beat the reigning world champion Tang Jiuhong of China 11–3, 11–2. In the final, she lost to Indonesia's Susi Susanti 11–5, 5–11, 3–11 to finish with the silver medal.

Atlanta 1996 Bang also competed in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She won the gold medal in women's singles without dropping a game in any match, defeating Susi Susanti in semifinals 11–9, 11–8, and Mia Audina in the final, 11–6, 11–7.

World Championships She won two medals in the IBF World Championships, in 1993 a silver medal as runner-up to Susanti, and in 1995 a bronze medal.

Other championships Bang won the quadrennial Asian Games in 1994, and the prestigious All England Open Badminton Championships over Ye Zhaoying in 1996, having been a runner-up in close matches in both 1992 and 1993. Her other titles included the Welsh (1989), Hong Kong (1992), South Korea (1993, 1994, 1996), Swedish (1993, 1994), and Canadian (1995) Opens.

Achievements

Olympic Games Women's singles

World Championships Women's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1993 National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, England Susi Susanti 11–7, 9–11, 3–11 Silver Silver 1995 Malley Sports Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland Han Jingna 6–11, 4–11 Bronze Bronze

World Cup Women's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1992 Guangdong Gymnasium, Guangzhou, China Huang Hua 12–10, 9–11, 9–11 Bronze Bronze 1994 Phan Đình Phùng Indoor Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Susi Susanti 9–12, 6–11 Silver Silver

Asian Games Women's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1994 Tsuru Memorial Gymnasium, Hiroshima, Japan Hisako Mizui 11–4, 11–6 Gold Gold

Asian Championships Women's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1995 Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, Beijing, China Yao Yan 11–5, 7–11, 3–11 Bronze Bronze

Asian Cup Women's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1991 Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia Tang Jiuhong 7–11, 11–6, 4–11 Silver Silver 1995 Xinxing Gymnasium, Qingdao, China Mia Audina 1–11, 11–2, 13–12 Gold Gold

IBF World Grand Prix The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006.

Women's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result 1992 Korea Open Tang Jiuhong 6–11, 3–11 Runner-up 1992 All England Open Tang Jiuhong 12–9, 10–12, 1–11 Runner-up 1992 Hong Kong Open Susi Susanti 5–11, 11–6, 11–7 Winner 1992 Thailand Open Susi Susanti 7–11, 4–11 Runner-up 1993 Japan Open Ye Zhaoying 6–11, 5–11 Runner-up 1993 Korea Open Susi Susanti 12–9, 11–5 Winner 1993 Swedish Open Lee Heung-soon 11–2, 11–6 Winner 1993 All England Open Susi Susanti 11–4, 4–11, 1–11 Runner-up 1994 Korea Open Kim Ji-hyun 11–5, 11–5 Winner 1994 Swedish Open Kim Ji-hyun 6–11, 11–5, 11–3 Winner 1994 Indonesia Open Susi Susanti 11–2, 0–11, 1–11 Runner-up 1994 Hong Kong Open Lim Xiaoqing 11–7, 11–6 Winner 1994 China Open Ye Zhaoying 11–8, 11–8 Winner 1995 Korea Open Susi Susanti 11–3, 7–11, 9–11 Runner-up 1995 Japan Open Susi Susanti 7–11, 11–12 Runner-up 1995 Malaysia Open Susi Susanti 1–11, 6–11 Runner-up 1995 Indonesia Open Susi Susanti 6–11, 7–11 Runner-up 1995 Singapore Open Lim Xiaoqing 7–11, 11–6, 8–11 Runner-up 1995 USA Open Ye Zhaoying 10–12, 11–3, 8–11 Runner-up 1995 Canada Open Ra Kyung-min 11–0, 11–7 Winner 1995 Hong Kong Open Mia Audina 5–11, 11–4, 11–5 Winner 1996 All England Open Ye Zhaoying 11–1, 11–1 Winner 1996 Korea Open Yao Yan 11–3, 11–0 Winner

Women's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 1994 China Open Jang Hye-ock Ge Fei Gu Jun 8–15, 2–15 Runner-up

IBF International Women's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result 1988 Welsh Open Julie Munday 5–11, 11–0, 11–8 Winner

Record against selected opponents Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists.

Players Matches Results Difference Won Lost Anna Lao 1 1 0 +1 Dai Yun 1 1 0 +1 Han Aiping 2 0 2 –2 Han Jingna 6 5 1 +4 Huang Hua 6 3 3 0 Tang Jiuhong 11 5 6 –1 Wang Chen 1 1 0 +1 Yao Yan 7 6 1 +5 Ye Zhaoying 17 8 9 –1 Zhang Ning 4 4 0 +4 Huang Chia-chi 3 3 0 +3

Players Matches Results Difference Won Lost Camilla Martin 2 2 0 +2 Helen Troke 1 1 0 +1 Mia Audina 6 6 0 +6 Sarwendah Kusumawardhani 6 4 2 +2 Susi Susanti 25 6 19 –13 Yasuko Mizui 4 4 0 +4 Kim Ji-hyun 5 5 0 +5 Lee Heung-soon 1 1 0 +1 Lim Xiaoqing 5 4 1 +3 Somharuthai Jaroensiri 2 2 0 +2