Kate Foo Kune

Kate Jessica Kim Lee Foo Kune (born 29 March 1993) is a badminton player from Mauritius. She began playing badminton in Mauritius at age six. Her first major tournament participation was 2013 BWF World Championships in China, where she lost in the first round of women's singles to Sarah Walker of England. Foo Kune represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was the flag bearer for Mauritius during the Parade of Nations. She also competed for Mauritius at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

As a junior player, she won the Under-15 and Under-19 African tournaments. In 2015, she was awarded the Sportswoman of the Year award in Mauritius. In doubles, she partnered with Yeldy Marie Louison, while in mixed doubles, she partnered with Julien Paul. Her career-best ranking remains 63 as of 2016, and her best performance remains the gold at 2015 African games.

Personal life Kate Foo Kune is the second child of Jacques and Cathy Foo Kune (née Ng), both leading mixed doubles badminton players who several championships, such as the 1985 Indian Ocean Games. The pair were married in 1990 and had two children. Her sister, Karen Foo Kune, is also a professional badminton player and competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Foo Kune pursued her bachelor's degree in sports management while in France.

The sisters were paired and played doubles in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. She has been married to Czech badminton player Milan Ludík since August 2020.

Professional life Foo Kune started playing badminton at the age of six and turned professional by twelve. She first participated in a junior competition at age 12 in 2005. She had her international debut Thomas and Uber Cup Qualification for Africa in 2010 held at Uganda. She was named Sportswoman of the Year in 2015 in Mauritius. In doubles, she partnered with Yeldy Marie Louison; in mixed doubles, she partnered with Julien Paul.

As of 2016, she lived in Paris, France,

Foo Kune was part of the Mauritius badminton squad which won the title at the 2016 Africa Continental Team Badminton Championships in February 2016, which also confirms the participation of Mauritius in 2016 Uber Cup. In June 2016, Foo Kune won the 2016 European Badminton Club Championships with her club despite losing in the final to Beatriz Corrales. She was the flagbearer for Mauritius during the Parade of Nations. She won her first match against Wendy Chen Hsuan-Yu of Australia, but was defeated by Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand and failed to qualify for the next round.

Foo Kune served a two-year competition ban from December 2020 to December 2022 for an anti-doping rule violation in relation to unintentional use of androstenedione following a test at the 2019 African Badminton Championships. Although the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Doping Hearing Panel had earlier ruled that Foo Kune was not a fault and should receive no sanction, the Court of Arbitration for Sport disagreed and imposed the ban following an appeal by BWF.

Achievements

All African Games Women's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 2015 Gymnase Étienne Mongha, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo Grace Gabriel 21–13, 21–19 Gold Gold

Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2015 Gymnase Étienne Mongha,Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo Yeldy Louison Juliette Ah-Wan Allisen Camille 20–22, 21–18, 14–21 Silver Silver

Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 2023 Borteyman Sports Complex,Accra, Ghana Julien Paul Koceila Mammeri Tanina Mammeri 13–21, 26–24, 15–21 Bronze Bronze

African Championships Women's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 2013 National Badminton Centre, Rose Hill, Mauritius Grace Gabriel 23–25, 12–21 Silver Silver 2014 Lobatse Stadium, Gaborone, Botswana Grace Gabriel 21–14, 14–21, 21–17 Gold Gold 2017 John Barrable Hall, Benoni, South Africa Hadia Hosny 16–21, 21–14, 21–8 Gold Gold 2018 Salle OMS Harcha Hacéne, Algiers, Algeria Dorcas Ajoke Adesokan 21–16, 21–19 Gold Gold 2019 Alfred Diete-Spiff Centre, Port Harcourt, Nigeria Dorcas Ajoke Adesokan 12–21, 13–21 Silver Silver 2020 Cairo Stadium Hall 2, Cairo, Egypt Dorcas Ajoke Adesokan 21–19, 21–16 Gold Gold 2024 Cairo Stadium Indoor Halls Complex, Cairo, Egypt Fadilah Mohamed Rafi walkover Gold Gold In November 2019, Badminton World Federation released a statement regarding the doping test failure of Kate Foo Kune in this championships and decided to disqualify her result.