Ra Kyung-min (; born 25 November 1976) is a

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

player from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. Ra was a dominating mixed doubles team with her partner

Kim Dong-moon Kim Dong-moon (Hangul: 김동문, Hanja: 金東文; born 22 September 1975) is a retired South Korean badminton player who won major titles between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s (decade), and widely regarded as one of finest men's doubles and m ...

from the late 1990s to early 2000s, resulting in a 70–match winning streak and 14 consecutive titles in international tournaments.

Career

Ra made her debut at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

in Atlanta 1996. She played in the women's singles and mixed doubles event. In the singles, she was defeated by

Huang Chia-chi Huang Chia-chi (; born 26 January 1979) is a Taiwanese badminton player who competed for the Chinese Taipei at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. Huang later represented Australia in the international tournament, and competed at the 2010 Comm ...

of Chinese Taipei in the first round with the score of 6–11, 7–11. In the mixed doubles, she competed with her senior

Park Joo-bong Park Joo-bong (Hangul: 박주봉; Hanja: 朴柱奉; born 5 December 1964) is a former badminton player from South Korea who excelled from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s. Career Park is one of the most successful players ever in the Wor ...

, reaching in to the final round and settled for the silver medal after beaten by their compatriot

and

Gil Young-ah Gil Young-ah (born April 11, 1970 in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do) is a former female badminton player from South Korea. At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, she won the bronze medal in the women's doubles together with Shim Eun-jung. Four years ...

in rubber games, 15–13, 4–15, and 12–15. Ra made her second appearance at the Olympic Games in

Sydney 2000 The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. Competed as the third seed in the women's doubles with Chung Jae-hee, they lost in the semi final match against

Huang Nanyan Huang Nanyan (, born April 11, 1977, in Guangxi) is a badminton player from the People's Republic of China. Career A women's doubles specialist, Huang won a number of top tier titles in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The first of these came at ...

and Yang Wei of China, and again lost to another Chinese pair in the bronze medal match

Gao Ling Gao Ling (; born 14 March 1979) is a Chinese former badminton player. Career Noted for her consistency, anticipation, forecourt prowess, and sporting smile, Gao is one of the most successful doubles players in the history of women's badminton. ...

and Qin Yiyuan. In the mixed doubles, she competed as second seed with

, reaching in to the quarter final round, defeated by Zhang Jun and Gao Ling. Ra competed for Korea in 2004 Summer Olympics in women's doubles with partner

Lee Kyung-won Lee Kyung-won (Hangul: 이경원, Hanja: 李敬元; ; born 21 January 1980 in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do) is a badminton player from South Korea. Lee was the women's doubles gold medallist at the 2002 Asian Games. She competed at the Olympic Games ...

. They had a bye in the first round and defeated Pernille Harder and Mette Schjoldager of Denmark in the second. In the quarterfinals, Ra and Lee beat

Mia Audina Mia Audina Tjiptawan (born 22 August 1979) is a former Indonesian badminton player who represented Indonesia and later the Netherlands in international competitions. A badminton prodigy, Audina first played Uber Cup (the women's world team champi ...

and Lotte Bruil of the Netherlands 15–5, 15–2. They lost the semifinal to Yang Wei and

Zhang Jiewen Zhang Jiewen (; born 4 January 1981) is a Chinese former badminton player. Career One of China's most successful women's doubles specialists, Zhang has won some thirty international titles, the vast majority of them in partnership with Yang ...

of China 6–15, 4–15, but won the bronze medal match against Wei Yili and

Zhao Tingting Zhao Tingting (; born 28 November 1982) is a Chinese badminton player from Nantong, Jiangsu. Career A doubles specialist, Zhao has often been a "utility player" on China's national team, winning international tournaments with a variety of compa ...

, also of China, 10–15, 15–9, 15–7. She also competed in mixed doubles with partner

. They had a bye in the first round and defeated

Chris Bruil Christiaan "Chris" Gerrit Herman Bruil (born 20 December 1970 in Doetinchem, Gelderland) is a male badminton player from the Netherlands. Bruil competed in badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in mixed doubles with partner Lotte Bruil-Jonathan ...

and Lotte Bruil of the Netherlands in the second. In the quarterfinals, Ra and Kim lost to Jonas Rasmussen and Rikke Olsen of Denmark 14–17, 8–15. Ra was inducted into the Badminton Hall of Fame in 2009.

Record

Ra Kyung-min holds the world record for shortest badminton international match that last for just six minutes defeating Julia Mann of England in women's singles during the 1996 Uber Cup with 11–2, 11–1.

Personal life

She married her mixed doubles partner Kim on 25 December 2005, and they went to Canada to study. There they had a son named Kim Han-wool in July 2007, and a daughter named Kim Han-bi in 2008. She retired when she got pregnant in February 2007, and made a comeback in September 2009.

Achievements

Olympic Games

''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

World Championships

''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

Asian Games

''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

Asian Championships

''Women's singles'' ''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

Asian Cup

''Mixed doubles''

IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006. ''Women's singles'' ''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

IBF International

''Women's singles'' ''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ra, Kyung-min 1976 births Living people Badminton players from Seoul Sportspeople from Gangwon Province, South Korea South Korean female badminton players Badminton players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic badminton players of South Korea Olympic silver medalists for South Korea Olympic bronze medalists for South Korea Olympic medalists in badminton Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 1994 Asian Games Badminton players at the 1998 Asian Games Badminton players at the 2002 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Asian Games silver medalists for South Korea Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Asian Games medalists in badminton Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Korea National Sport University alumni World No. 1 badminton players South Korean Buddhists