Kuala Lumpur: One of the most beautiful female players in badminton, the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Woon Khe Wei has announced Wednesday that she is retiring from professional badminton after a 15-year career with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
29-year-old Woon Khe Wei has tendered her resignation letter to BAM and was looking forward to start new chapter in her career.
The Selangor born player said that her recurring knee injuries were a major factor in forcing her into retirement.
“This is the most difficult decision of my life but the effect of repetitive knee injury makes me feel like this is the best time to retire from the sport,” said Woon.
“Throughout my career with the Malaysia national team, there were a lot of fun out there with my teammates, and the sweetest moments was winning the Commonwealth Games and the SEA Games gold as well as advancing to the Rio 2016 Olympic quarter-finals.”
“However, when it comes to retirement due to injury problems, it’s definitely a bittersweet feeling. I’m hoping to play again at the Olympics but given the injuries, it’s difficult and this decision has to be made.”
Woon Khe Wei and her women’s doubles partner, Vivian Hoo, were considered as one of the most successful women’s doubles pair from Malaysia. They have won the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow, Scotland and the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar. The pair also won several other international titles including 2011 Indonesia Masters and the 2-17 New Zealand Open.
While Woon was sidelined due to her injury since May, Vivian Hoo has been paired with Yap Cheng Wen and they have won the Macau Open title last month.
The former World No. 9 Woon Khe Wei believed Vivian Hoo/Yap Cheng Wen have huge potential to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics together with another Malaysian women’s doubles pair, Chow Mei Kuan/Lee Meng Yean who just claimed the Syed Modi International Badminton championships in India two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Vivian Hoo also posted on her Instagram page to wish Woon Khe Wei all the best in her new future endeavors.
