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

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

player from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Ra was a dominating mixed doubles team with her partner Kim Dong-moon 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 (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

in Atlanta 1996. She played in the women's singles and mixed doubles event. In the singles, she was defeated by Huang Chia-chi 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, reaching in to the final round and settled for the silver medal after beaten by their compatriot Kim Dong-moon and Gil Young-ah in rubber games, 15–13, 4–15, and 12–15. Ra made her second appearance at the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000. Competed as the third seed in the women's doubles with Chung Jae-hee, they lost in the semi-final match against Huang Nanyan 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 Kim Dong-moon, reaching in to the quarter-final round, defeated by Zhang Jun and Gao Ling. Ra competed for Korea in

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

in women's doubles with partner

Lee Kyung-won Lee Kyung-won (; ; born 21 January 1980 in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province) 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 in 2000, 2004, and 2008, ...

. They had a bye in the first round and defeated Pernille Harder and

Mette Schjoldager Mette Schjoldager (born 21 April 1977) is a Danish badminton player from Viby, Roskilde Municipality, on the island of Zealand. Career Schjoldager made her debut at the Olympic Games in 2000 Sydney. Teamed-up with Ann-Lou Jørgensen, they be ...

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, also of China, 10–15, 15–9, 15–7. She also competed in mixed doubles with partner Kim Dong-moon. They had a bye in the first round and defeated Chris Bruil and Lotte Bruil of the Netherlands in the second. In the quarterfinals, Ra and Kim lost to

Jonas Rasmussen Jonas Rasmussen (born 28 October 1977 in Aarhus) is a retired badminton player from Denmark. Career With his men's doubles partner Lars Paaske he won the 2003 IBF World Championships defeating Indonesian pair Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiart ...

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 (56 titles, 9 runners-up)

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 (2 titles, 4 runners-up)

''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 for 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 South Korean badminton coaches