# Bang Soo-hyun

Bang Soo-hyun (Korean: 방수현; Hanja: 方銖賢; born 13 September 1972) is a former badminton player from South Korea who was one of the world's leading women's singles players of the 1990s. She was a contemporary and rival of Indonesia's Susi Susanti and China's Ye Zhaoying. Noted for a style that combined impressive power and movement, she retired from competition after her victory in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, shortly before her 24th birthday. She was elected to the World Badminton Hall of Fame in 2019.

## Career
### Summer Olympics
#### Barcelona 1992

Bang competed in badminton at the 1992 Summer Olympics in women's singles. She had a bye in the first round, defeated Catrine Bengtsson of Sweden in the second and Hisuko Mizui of Japan in the third. In quarterfinals Bang Soo-hyun edged Sarwendah Kusumawardhani of Indonesia 11–2, 3–11, 12–11 to advance to the semifinals. There, she beat the reigning world champion Tang Jiuhong of China 11–3, 11–2. In the final, she lost to Indonesia's Susi Susanti 11–5, 5–11, 3–11 to finish with the silver medal.

#### Atlanta 1996

Bang also competed in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She won the gold medal in women's singles without dropping a game in any match, defeating Susi Susanti in semifinals 11–9, 11–8, and Mia Audina in the final, 11–6, 11–7.

### World Championships

She won two medals in the IBF World Championships, in 1993 a silver medal as runner-up to Susanti, and in 1995 a bronze medal.

### Other championships

Bang won the quadrennial Asian Games in 1994, and the prestigious All England Open Badminton Championships over Ye Zhaoying in 1996, having been a runner-up in close matches in both 1992 and 1993. Her other titles included the Welsh (1989), Hong Kong (1992), South Korea (1993, 1994, 1996), Swedish (1993, 1994), and Canadian (1995) Opens.

## Achievements
### Olympic Games

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1992 | Pavelló de la Mar Bella, Barcelona, Spain | Susi Susanti | 11–5, 5–11, 3–11 | Silver |
| 1996 | GSU Sports Arena, Atlanta, United States | Mia Audina | 11–6, 11–7 | Gold |

### World Championships

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1993 | National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, England | Susi Susanti | 11–7, 9–11, 3–11 | Silver |
| 1995 | Malley Sports Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland | Han Jingna | 6–11, 4–11 | Bronze |

### World Cup

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1992 | Guangdong Gymnasium, Guangzhou, China | Huang Hua | 12–10, 9–11, 9–11 | Bronze |
| 1994 | Phan Đình Phùng Indoor Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Susi Susanti | 9–12, 6–11 | Silver |

### Asian Games

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1994 | Tsuru Memorial Gymnasium, Hiroshima, Japan | Hisako Mizui | 11–4, 11–6 | Gold |

### Asian Championships

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1995 | Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, Beijing, China | Yao Yan | 11–5, 7–11, 3–11 | Bronze |

### Asian Cup

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1991 | Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia | Tang Jiuhong | 7–11, 11–6, 4–11 | Silver |
| 1995 | Xinxing Gymnasium, Qingdao, China | Mia Audina | 1–11, 11–2, 13–12 | Gold |

### IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006.
Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1992 | Korea Open | Tang Jiuhong | 6–11, 3–11 | Runner-up |
| 1992 | All England Open | Tang Jiuhong | 12–9, 10–12, 1–11 | Runner-up |
| 1992 | Hong Kong Open | Susi Susanti | 5–11, 11–6, 11–7 | Winner |
| 1992 | Thailand Open | Susi Susanti | 7–11, 4–11 | Runner-up |
| 1993 | Japan Open | Ye Zhaoying | 6–11, 5–11 | Runner-up |
| 1993 | Korea Open | Susi Susanti | 12–9, 11–5 | Winner |
| 1993 | Swedish Open | Lee Heung-soon | 11–2, 11–6 | Winner |
| 1993 | All England Open | Susi Susanti | 11–4, 4–11, 1–11 | Runner-up |
| 1994 | Korea Open | Kim Ji-hyun | 11–5, 11–5 | Winner |
| 1994 | Swedish Open | Kim Ji-hyun | 6–11, 11–5, 11–3 | Winner |
| 1994 | Indonesia Open | Susi Susanti | 11–2, 0–11, 1–11 | Runner-up |
| 1994 | Hong Kong Open | Lim Xiaoqing | 11–7, 11–6 | Winner |
| 1994 | China Open | Ye Zhaoying | 11–8, 11–8 | Winner |
| 1995 | Korea Open | Susi Susanti | 11–3, 7–11, 9–11 | Runner-up |
| 1995 | Japan Open | Susi Susanti | 7–11, 11–12 | Runner-up |
| 1995 | Malaysia Open | Susi Susanti | 1–11, 6–11 | Runner-up |
| 1995 | Indonesia Open | Susi Susanti | 6–11, 7–11 | Runner-up |
| 1995 | Singapore Open | Lim Xiaoqing | 7–11, 11–6, 8–11 | Runner-up |
| 1995 | USA Open | Ye Zhaoying | 10–12, 11–3, 8–11 | Runner-up |
| 1995 | Canada Open | Ra Kyung-min | 11–0, 11–7 | Winner |
| 1995 | Hong Kong Open | Mia Audina | 5–11, 11–4, 11–5 | Winner |
| 1996 | All England Open | Ye Zhaoying | 11–1, 11–1 | Winner |
| 1996 | Korea Open | Yao Yan | 11–3, 11–0 | Winner |
Women's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1994 | China Open | Jang Hye-ock | Ge Fei Gu Jun | 8–15, 2–15 | Runner-up |

### IBF International

Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1988 | Welsh Open | Julie Munday | 5–11, 11–0, 11–8 | Winner |

## Record against selected opponents

Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists.
| Players | Matches | Results | Results | Difference |
| Players | Matches | Won | Lost | Difference |
| Anna Lao | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Dai Yun | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Han Aiping | 2 | 0 | 2 | –2 |
| Han Jingna | 6 | 5 | 1 | +4 |
| Huang Hua | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Tang Jiuhong | 11 | 5 | 6 | –1 |
| Wang Chen | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Yao Yan | 7 | 6 | 1 | +5 |
| Ye Zhaoying | 17 | 8 | 9 | –1 |
| Zhang Ning | 4 | 4 | 0 | +4 |
| Huang Chia-chi | 3 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
| Players | Matches | Results | Results | Difference |
| Players | Matches | Won | Lost | Difference |
| Camilla Martin | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| Helen Troke | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Mia Audina | 6 | 6 | 0 | +6 |
| Sarwendah Kusumawardhani | 6 | 4 | 2 | +2 |
| Susi Susanti | 25 | 6 | 19 | –13 |
| Yasuko Mizui | 4 | 4 | 0 | +4 |
| Kim Ji-hyun | 5 | 5 | 0 | +5 |
| Lee Heung-soon | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Lim Xiaoqing | 5 | 4 | 1 | +3 |
| Somharuthai Jaroensiri | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |