Xu Huaiwen


Xu Huaiwen 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.

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 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, Polish, Dutch, and Swiss Opens, the Copenhagen Masters, and five consecutive 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 Director of Sport of the Commonwealth Games Federation. The couple has a daughter.

Achievements

World Championships

Women's singles
YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
2006Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid,
Madrid, Spain		 Xie Xingfang12–21, 10–21 Bronze
2005Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, United States Zhang Ning7–11, 9–11 Bronze

European Championships

Women's singles
YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
2008Messecenter Herning, Herning, Denmark Tine Rasmussen12–21, 21–12, 21–17 Gold
2006Maaspoort Sports and Events, Den Bosch, Netherlands Mia Audina Tjiptawan15–21, 21–9, 21–16 Gold

World Grand Prix

Women's singles
YearTournamentOpponentScoreResult
2006Bitburger Open Maria Kristin Yulianti21–17, 21–17 Winner
2006Swiss Open Zhu Lin11–9, 11–4 Winner
2005Dutch Open Yao Jie11–7, 11–2 Winner
2005Bitburger Open Xing Aiying11–3, 11–2 Winner
2005Thessaloniki World Grand Prix Juliane Schenk11–2, 11–5 Winner
2005Swiss Open Pi Hongyan12–13, 6–11 Runner-up
2004German Open Xie Xingfang11–9, 6–11, 7–11 Runner-up
1997Vietnam Open Susi Susanti4–11, 1–11 Runner-up
1994US Open Liu Guimei11–8, 5–11, 6–11 Runner-up

International Challenge/Series

Women's singles
YearTournamentOpponentScoreResult
2008White Nights Juliane Schenk21–15, 15–21, 21–19 Winner
2005Belgian International Juliane Schenk11–4, 11–1 Winner
2004Bitburger Open Petra Overzier11–4, 11–2 Winner
2003Bitburger Open Pi Hongyan11–3, 11–2 Winner
2003Scottish International Chie Umezu11–4, 11–5 Winner
2003Spanish International Petra Overzier11–4, 11–5 Winner
2003Giraldilla International Yuki Shimada11–4, 11–7 Winner
2003Austrian Open Petya Nedelcheva11–7, 11–1 Winner
2003Finnish Open Petya Nedelcheva11–6, 8–11, 11–5 Winner
2003Polish Open Kelly Morgan11–5, 9–11, 11–3 Winner
2002BMW Open International Pi Hongyan9–11, 1–11 Runner-up
2001BMW Open International Pi Hongyan4–7, 7–3, 2–7, 3–7 Runner-up
2000BMW Open International Judith Meulendijks11–4, 11–5 Winner
2000Le Volant d'Or de Toulouse Elena Nozdran11–4, 8–11, 11–4 Winner

Record against selected opponents

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