Liu Xia

Liu Xia (; Mandarin pronunciation: lʲə́u ɕáː, born 1955) is a former badminton player from China.

Liu is one of the players from China who played in the era of split between World Badminton Federation (WBF) and International Badminton Federation (IBF). The Chinese badminton team was the member of WBF due to dispute, she therefore wasn't able to participate in many of the big tournaments which were handled and sanctioned only by the IBF, but still excelled in various continental championships which included Asian Games, Asian Championships and Asian Invitational Championships. She was the gold medalist in the World Championship which rival organisation WBF conducted in 1979.

Career & Early life In 1970, when Liu Xia was a 15 years of age, she was studying at Chengdu No. 2 Middle School in Shanghai. Being a 15-year-old, it was the first time she was exposed to badminton and thereafter joined the Shanghai team. Just after an year, she got selected to the national badminton training team. Because of her extreme talent in the sport, which included broader skills, coordination of movements, flexible pace, etc. she immediately became the main force of the Chinese women's team. In 1975, Liu travelled to Japan with the Chinese youth team and became the press attention after defeating strongest of Japanese players at that time. After winning several Asian championships, Liu ushered in the pinnacle of her career: in the first World Games badminton competition held in the United States in July 1981, she teamed up with Zhang Ailing to win the women's doubles championship. Due to the organisational divide, the Chinese badminton team failed to participate in the World Championships, Olympic Games and other competitions, and she did not have a bigger stage to show her skills, but proved herself of being an elite player of that generation.

After retirement, Liu Xia returned to her hometown Shanghai and then went to Thailand as a coach in 1990. She also has her own business in Shanghai. On the one hand, she is in charge of the development department of the East Asian Sports and Cultural Center, and also opened an indoor badminton hall next to the Shanghai Stadium, which holds the "Liu Xia Cup" amateur badminton competition on annual basis.

Achievements World Games +Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1981 San Jose Civic Auditorium, California, United States Zhang Ailing Nora Perry Jane Webster 11–15, 15–4, 15–8 Gold Gold

World Championships +Women's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1979 Hangzhou, China Han Aiping 11–4, 7–11, 0–11 Bronze Bronze

+Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1979 Hangzhou, China Zhang Ailing Suleeporn Jittariyakul Sirisriro Patama 10–15, 11–15 Silver Silver

Asian Games +Women's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1978 Bangkok, Thailand Liang Qiuxia 6–11, 5–11 Silver Silver

Asian Championships +Women's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result 1976 Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad, India Liang Qiuxia 6–11, 6–11 Silver Silver

+Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1976 Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad, India Zhang Ailing Regina Masli Theresia Widiastuti 9–15, 8–15 Bronze Bronze

International tournaments +Women's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result 1981 Scandinavian Cup Zhang Ailing Nora Perry Jane Webster 12–15, 9–15 Runner-up 1981 English Masters Zhang Ailing Gillian Gilks Yoshiko Yonekura 15–10, 3–15, 15–6 Winner

Invitational tournament +Women's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result 1977 Asian Invitational Championships Liang Qiuxia 5–11, 7–11 Silver Silver 1978 Asian Invitational Championships Zhang Ailing 11–2, 11–7 Gold Gold

+Women's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result 1977 Asian Invitational Championships Liang Qiuxia Mikiko Takada Atsuko Tokuda 15–7, 15–6 Gold Gold