CHINA MASTERS 2010 – Hwang Hye Youn is back!

Korea’s former top women’s singles shuttler Hwang Hye Youn is back on the national team and headed for the China Masters.

By Don Hearn, Badzine Correspondent.  Photo: Badmintonphoto

It has been nearly a year since Hwang Hye Youn of Korea was sidelined with a foot injury that took her off the national team and in a cast for months.   Hwang had spent most of the previous four years as the top women’s singles player in Korea and she was ranked 16th in the world when the disaster struck during the Korean National Sports Festival last October.

Consistency and luck have never been on her side.  She lost her status as the top Korean to Jun Jae Youn in early 2008 – despite an early season win over Zhang Ning and a semi-final appearance at the All England – and was unable to clamber high enough to represent her country at the Beijing Olympics.

2010 was no exception as she was still recovering from her injury while her former teammates were winning Korea’s first ever Uber Cup.  In fact, Hwang’s accomplishments have been greatly oveshadowed by the promising success seen by Bae Seung Hee, Bae Youn Joo, and Sung Ji Hyun this year.

Hwang did have a tentative return to international competition when she travelled to Melbourne in July with her pro team, Samsung Electromechanics, and reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open Grand Prix.  Unlike her Samsung teammate Seo Yoon Hee, who won in Melbourne but said she had no intention of returning to the national team, Hwang is headed back to the big stage and she will be in action in Changzhou later this month as part of the national team.

However, while Hwang joins seven other Koreans in the women’s singles draw in Changzhou, China has an entire battalion of talented players intent on keeping the title at home.  A day before Bae Seung Hee and Kim Moon Hi take on Wangs Shixian and Xin respectively, Hwang Hye Youn, even in qualifying at her 2010 Super Series debut, must take on Badminton Asia Championship runner-up Liu Xin.