Huaiwen Xu

In this Chinese name, the family name is Xu.
Huaiwen Xu
徐怀雯
Personal information
CountryGermany
Born (1975-08-02) 2 August 1975
Guiyang, Guizhou, China
Height160 cm (5 ft 3 in)
HandednessRight
EventWomen's singles
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing Germany
World Championships
2005 Anaheim Women's singles
2006 Madrid Women's singles
Uber Cup
2008 Jakarta Women's team
European Championships
2006 Den Bosch Women's singles
2008 Herning Women's singles
European Women's Team Championships
2008 Almere Women's team
2006 Thessalonica Women's team

Huaiwen Xu (simplified Chinese: 徐怀雯; traditional Chinese: 徐懷雯; pinyin: Xú Huáiwén; 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.[1]

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.[2][3] 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.[1] 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 Result
1994 U.S. Open Liu Guimei 11–8, 5–11, 6–11 Runner-up
1997 Vietnam Open Susi Susanti 4–11, 1–11 Runner-up
2001 Swiss Open Pi Hongyan 2–7, 1–7, 5–7 Runner-up
2004 German Open Xie Xingfang 11–9, 6–11, 7–11 Runner-up
2005 Swiss Open Pi Hongyan 12–13, 6–11 Runner-up
2005 Thailand Open Yao Jie 6–11, 7–11 Runner-up
2005 Thessaloniki World Grand Prix Juliane Schenk 11–2, 11–5 Winner
2005 Bitburger Open Xing Aiying 11–3, 11–2 Winner
2005 Dutch Open Yao Jie 11–7, 11–2 Winner
2005 Denmark Open Pi Hongyan 11–7, 4–11, 5–11 Runner-up
2006 Swiss Open Zhu Lin 11–9, 11–4 Winner
2006 Bitburger Open Maria Kristin Yulianti 21–17, 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 Result
2001 Dutch Open Anastasia Russkikh Pernille Harder
Majken Vange 		3–7, 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 Result
2000 Le Volant d'Or de Toulouse Elena Nozdran 11–4, 8–11, 11–4 Winner
2000 BMW Open International Judith Meulendijks 11–4, 11–5 Winner
2001 BMW Open International Pi Hongyan 4–7, 7–3, 2–7, 3–7 Runner-up
2002 BMW Open International Pi Hongyan 9–11, 1–11 Runner-up
2003 Polish Open Kelly Morgan 11–5, 9–11, 11–3 Winner
2003 Finnish Open Petya Nedelcheva 11–6, 8–11, 11–5 Winner
2003 Austrian Open Petya Nedelcheva 11–7, 11–1 Winner
2003 Giraldilla International Yuki Shimada 11–4, 11–7 Winner
2003 Spanish International Petra Overzier 11–4, 11–5 Winner
2003 Scottish International Chie Umezu 11–4, 11–5 Winner
2003 Bitburger Open Pi Hongyan 11–3, 11–2 Winner
2004 Swedish International Tine Rasmussen 7–11, 11–4, 6–11 Runner-up
2004 Bitburger Open Petra Overzier 11–4, 11–2 Winner
2005 Belgian International Juliane Schenk 11–4, 11–1 Winner
2008 White Nights Juliane Schenk 21–15, 15–21, 21–19 Winner

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2000 Le Volant d'Or de Toulouse Claudia Vogelgsang Nicole Grether
Nicol Pitro 		7–15, 9–15 Runner-up
2000 BMW Open International Claudia Vogelgsang Nicole Grether
Nicol Pitro 		13–15, 15–7, 17–14 Winner

Invitation Tournament

Women's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2007 Copenhagen Masters Zhou Mi 21–11, 19–21, 15–9 ret. Winner
2008 Copenhagen Masters Tine Baun 18–21, 17–21 Runner-up

Record against selected opponents

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

References

  1. ^ a b 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.
  2. ^ "2006 European Championships winners". tournamentsoftware.com.
  3. ^ "2008 European Championships winners". tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
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