# Michelle Li

Michelle Li (born November 3, 1991) is a Canadian badminton player. Li is the 2014 Commonwealth Games champion and the first Canadian to win an individual gold medal in women's singles badminton at the Commonwealth Games. She has won gold in both singles and doubles at the Pan American Games and won the singles and team event titles from the Pan American Badminton Championships. As a competitor for Ontario, Li also won singles, doubles, and mixed team titles at the 2011 Canada Winter Games.

## Early life and education

Michelle Li was born in Hong Kong to Chi Keung Li and Agnes Kwong; together with her brother Mark, they moved to Canada in 1997. An active child, she started playing badminton at age 11 with her mom at the local community center. A friend introduced her to her current club, where she began lessons and competing locally in small tournaments. She started competing internationally when she was around 17 years old. Li graduated from Richmond Hill High School and is an undergraduate student at Rotman Commerce at the University of Toronto.

## Career
### 2010–2012

One of Li's early notable performances came at the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax, Nova Scotia. There she won gold in the women's singles event and followed that performance with a gold in the doubles event with Alexandra Bruce. Due to this success, she was named the flag bearer for Team Ontario at the closing ceremonies for the games.
Later that year, Li was the gold medal winner in the women's doubles event alongside Bruce at the 2011 Pan American Games. Li would then go on the next day to win the women's singles competition, completing a second games double gold appearance that year, this time in Guadalajara.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Bruce and Li finished last in the round-robin portion of the women's doubles tournament, losing all three of their matches. However, the top two teams in the group were disqualified for attempting to intentionally lose matches so they would have an easier match-up in the quarterfinals. The duo was advanced to their quarterfinals, where they defeated Australia's Leanne Choo and Renuga Veeran. Bruce and Li finished in fourth place, the best Canadian finish in badminton at the Olympic Games. In the singles event, Li was knocked out by Wang Yihan.

### 2013–2014

In 2013, Li entered the finals of the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold, defeating Hong Kong top player Yip Pui Yin in the semi-finals, making her the first Pan-American athlete to ever enter into a singles final of a Grand Prix Gold event since that series began in 2007. In 2014, she also entered into the quarter-finals of the All England Open Badminton Championships Super Series Premier, beating Tai Tzu-ying in the first round, making her, in 35 years, the first Canadian player to enter at least the quarter-finals of this prestigious tournament. Later in 2014, Li won the Canada Open Grand Prix, making her the first home player to win this title ever since it became a Grand Prix event.
Li won the gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, defeating Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland in the final. She thus became the first Canadian woman to win a singles gold in Commonwealth badminton. She also won the singles gold medal at the 2014 Pan Am Badminton Championships in her home city, Markham, later that year.

### 2015–2016

At the 2015 Pan American Games, Li successfully defended her title, defeating fellow Canadian Rachel Honderich in the final.
In 2016, she qualified to represent Canada at the 2016 Summer Olympics but was defeated by P. V. Sindhu (21-19, 15-21, 17-21) and ranked 2nd in the group stage of women's singles.
Michelle also had several operations in 2016 to fix nagging injuries sustained earlier in her career. She took a year off in 2017 to heal from the operations and to focus on a comeback for 2018. After deeming herself fully fit, she entered the stage relatively quietly in 2018 until she made a landmark win against the 3rd seed Ratchanok Intanon in round 16 of the All England Open. She had not defeated Intanon previously. Michelle's progress was clear as she moved quickly around the court, playing much lighter on her feet than in previous years.

### 2017–2021

During the 2018 Thomas Uber Cup, Li again played well. She defeated India's Saina Nehwal, who she had not previously beaten, by 21–15, 16–21, and 16–21. Li spearheaded Canada to their first-ever Uber Cup quarterfinal, and she defeated Sung Ji-hyun (21–14, 21–15). Canada eventually lost 3–1 to South Korea. Li also won her first Macau Open title by defeating the Olympic gold medalist, Li Xuerui (21-15, 21-18) in the quarterfinals in the same year.
In the 2019 Japan Open, Li played and defeated the No. 1 seed, Tai Tzu-ying (21–15, 15–21, 22–20), to reach the semis. She also reached another semi-finals in the 2019 Korea Open after defeating the No. 4 seed, Nozomi Okuhara (21-23, 21-16, 21-19). In the same year, she successfully defended her title again at the 2019 Pan American Games.
She qualified to represent Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics but was defeated by Nozomi Okuhara (9–21, 7–21) in the round of 16.

### 2022

In 2022, Li won a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games after defeating Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland in the semi-finals and losing to P. V. Sindhu in the final. In the same year, Li also made a breakthrough in the 2022 BWF World Championships by defeating the eighth seed, Ratchanok Intanon, again in the round of 16. Though she eventually lost to the Olympic gold medalist and Chinese player Chen Yufei, it marked her first time getting into the quarterfinals of the BWF World Championships since 2011.

### 2023-2024

In the 2023 BWF World Championships, Li retired from the competition owing to aggravating knee injury. This resulted in her absence from the remaining competitions of the BWF circuit and missing the 2023 Pan American Games in the same year. She made her comeback by entering the semi-finals in the 2024 German Open after beating the fourth seed, Pornpawee Chochuwong (21-19, 21-18).
She qualified to represent Canada at the 2024 Summer Olympics but was defeated by Akane Yamaguchi (24-22, 17-21, 12-21) and ranked 2nd in the group stage of women's singles.

## Achievements
### Commonwealth Games

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2014 | Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland | Kirsty Gilmour | 21–14, 21–7 | Gold |
| 2022 | National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England | P. V. Sindhu | 15–21, 13–21 | Silver |

### Pan American Games

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2011 | Multipurpose Gymnasium, Guadalajara, Mexico | Joycelyn Ko | 21–12, 21–13 | Gold |
| 2015 | Atos Markham Pan Am Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Rachel Honderich | 21–15, 21–9 | Gold |
| 2019 | Polideportivo 3, Lima, Peru | Rachel Honderich | 21–11, 21–19 | Gold |
Women's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2011 | Multipurpose Gymnasium, Guadalajara, Mexico | Alex Bruce | Iris Wang Rena Wang | 21–15, 21–15 | Gold |
| 2015 | Atos Markham Pan Am Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Rachel Honderich | Eva Lee Paula Lynn Obañana | 11–21, 8–21 | Bronze |

### Pan Am Championships

Women's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2010 | Clube Curitibano, Curitiba, Brazil | Cee Nantana Ketpura | 21–17, 17–21, 19–21 | Silver |
| 2013 | Palacio de los Deportes Virgilio Travieso Soto, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | Jamie Subandhi | 21–8, 21–6 | Gold |
| 2014 | Markham Pan Am Centre, Markham, Canada | Rachel Honderich | 21–13, 21–16 | Gold |
| 2018 | Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium, Guatemala City, Guatemala | Rachel Honderich | 21–15, 21–16 | Gold |
| 2019 | Gimnasio Olímpico, Aguascalientes, Mexico | Brittney Tam | 21–15, 24–22 | Gold |
| 2022 | Palacio de los Deportes Carlos "El Famoso" Hernández, San Salvador, El Salvador | Beiwen Zhang | 21–18, 16–21, 25–23 | Gold |
| 2023 | G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sport, Kingston, Jamaica | Beiwen Zhang | 21–19, 21–9 | Gold |
| 2024 | Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium, Guatemala City, Guatemala | Beiwen Zhang | 18–21, 21–18, 17–21 | Silver |
Women's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2010 | Clube Curitibano, Curitiba, Brazil | Alex Bruce | Grace Gao Joycelyn Ko | 21–16, 21–23, 12–21 | Silver |
| 2013 | Palacio de los Deportes Virgilio Travieso Soto, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | Grace Gao | Eva Lee Paula Lynn Obañana | 21–16, 11–21, 6–21 | Bronze |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2008 | Club de Regatas, Lima, Peru | Adrian Liu | Toby Ng Valerie Loker | 14–21, 15–21 | Bronze |

### Commonwealth Youth Games

Girls' doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2008 | Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India | Alexandra Bruce | P. C. Thulasi N. Sikki Reddy | 18–21, 8–21 | Silver |

### BWF World Tour (3 titles, 1 runner-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the BWF World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2018 | Macau Open | Super 300 | Han Yue | 23–25, 21–17, 21–15 | Winner |
| 2019 | Chinese Taipei Open | Super 300 | Sung Ji-hyun | 11–21, 9–21 | Runner-up |
| 2019 | Macau Open | Super 300 | Han Yue | 21–18, 21–8 | Winner |
| 2022 | Canada Open | Super 100 | Sung Shuo-yun | 21–16, 21–15 | Winner |

### BWF Grand Prix (3 titles, 3 runners-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.
Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2013 | Macau Open | P. V. Sindhu | 15–21, 12–21 | Runner-up |
| 2014 | Canada Open | Pai Yu-po | 21–16, 23–21 | Winner |
| 2015 | Canada Open | Kaori Imabeppu | 21–17, 25–23 | Winner |
| 2016 | Canada Open | Beiwen Zhang | Walkover | Winner |
| 2017 | U.S. Open | Aya Ohori | 11–21, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2017 | Dutch Open | Beiwen Zhang | 16–21, 14–21 | Runner-up |
    BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
    BWF Grand Prix tournament

### BWF International Challenge/Series (22 titles, 10 runners-up)

Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2010 | Peru International | Manami Ebuchi | 18–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2010 | Canadian International | Hitomi Oka | 21–15, 12–21, 21–23 | Runner-up |
| 2011 | Dutch International | Susan Egelstaff | 18–21, 21–13, 15–21 | Runner-up |
| 2011 | Guatemala International | Jeanine Cicognini | 21–15, 21–13 | Winner |
| 2011 | Brazil International | Kana Ito | 21–15, 21–15 | Winner |
| 2011 | Puerto Rico International | Anne Hald Jensen | 21–13, 29–27 | Winner |
| 2011 | Canadian International | Lianne Tan | 21–14, 21–11 | Winner |
| 2012 | Finnish Open | Yao Jie | 20–22, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2012 | Peru International | Ai Goto | 21–23, 21–14, 21–15 | Winner |
| 2012 | Tahiti International | Nicole Grether | 21–8, 21–13 | Winner |
| 2013 | Maldives International | Hana Ramadhini | 21–8, 21–13 | Winner |
| 2013 | Canadian International | Christin Tsai | 21–14, 21–19 | Winner |
| 2013 | Brazil International | Lohaynny Vicente | 16–21, 21-15, 21-8 | Winner |
| 2014 | Peru International | Beiwen Zhang | 25–27, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2014 | Belgian International | Karin Schnaase | 11–6, 11–2, 11–6 | Winner |
| 2014 | Czech International | Marija Ulitina | 21–14, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2017 | Peru International | Disha Gupta | 21–10, 21–10 | Winner |
| 2022 | Canadian International | Natsuki Nidaira | 21–11, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2024 | Canadian International | Juliana Viana Vieira | 18–21, 21–14, 17–21 | Runner-up |
Women's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2011 | Banuinvest International | Alex Bruce | Sonia Olariu Florentina Petre | 21–15, 21–14 | Winner |
| 2011 | Peru International | Alex Bruce | Iris Wang Rena Wang | 11–21, 21–15, 21–8 | Winner |
| 2011 | Brazil International | Alex Bruce | Eva Lee Paula Lynn Obañana | 14–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2011 | Puerto Rico International | Alex Bruce | Grace Gao Joycelyn Ko | 24–22, 15–21, 21–11 | Winner |
| 2011 | Canadian International | Alex Bruce | Nicole Grether Charmaine Reid | 21–10, 13–21, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2012 | Finnish Open | Alex Bruce | Chow Mei Kuan Lee Meng Yean | 21–19, 12–21, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2012 | Peru International | Alex Bruce | Nicole Grether Charmaine Reid | 21–18, 21–18 | Winner |
| 2012 | Tahiti International | Alex Bruce | Eva Lee Paula Lynn Obañana | 13–21, 12–21 | Runner-up |
| 2013 | Peru International | Grace Gao | Joycelyn Ko Christin Tsai | 21–15, 21–18 | Winner |
| 2014 | Czech International | Rachel Honderich | Irina Khlebko Elena Komendrovskaja | 21–12, 21–17 | Winner |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2013 | Brazil International | Yang Chih-hsun | Phillip Chew Jamie Subandhi | 13–21, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2013 | USA International | Toby Ng | Halim Haryanto Jing Yu Hong | 21–16, 21–15 | Winner |
| 2014 | Peru International | Derrick Ng | Christian Yahya Christianto Eva Lee | 16–21, 18–21 | Runner-up |
    BWF International Challenge tournament
    BWF International Series tournament

## Performance timeline
### Key

| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | G | S | B | NH | N/A | DNQ |

### Individual competitions

* Senior level
| Events | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Pan Am Championships | NH | A | G | G | NH | A | QF | G | G | NH | A | G | G | S |
| World Championships | 2R | NH | 1R | 3R | 3R | NH | 2R | 2R | 3R | NH | 3R | QF | 2R | NH |
| Olympic Games | NH | RR | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | RR | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | R16 | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | RR |
| Commonwealth Games | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | G | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 4th | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | S | NH | NH |
| Tournament | BWF Superseries / Grand Prix | BWF Superseries / Grand Prix | BWF Superseries / Grand Prix | BWF Superseries / Grand Prix | BWF Superseries / Grand Prix | BWF Superseries / Grand Prix | BWF Superseries / Grand Prix | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | Best |
| Tournament | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Best |
| German Open | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | Not Held | Not Held | QF | A | SF | SF ('24) |
| All England Open | A | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | QF ('14) |
| Swiss Open | A | 1R | A | 2R | QF | Absent | Absent | Absent | 2R | NH | A | QF | 2R | A | QF ('15,'22) |
| Korea Open | A | 1R | Absent | Absent | 2R | A | 2R | 1R | SF | Not Held | Not Held | 1R | w/d | 1R | SF ('19) |
| Thailand Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Not Held | Absent | Absent | 1R | QF | A | QF | NH | QF | QF | A | QF ('18,'20 I, '20 II,'22,'23) |
| Thailand Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Not Held | Absent | Absent | 1R | QF | A | QF | NH | QF | QF | A | QF ('18,'20 I, '20 II,'22,'23) |
| Indonesia Masters | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | NH | 1R | A | QF | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | QF ('20) |
| Indonesia Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | NH | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R ('18,'19) |
| Malaysia Masters | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | NH | 2R | 1R | NH | A | 1R | QF | A | QF ('23) |
| Malaysia Open | A | 1R | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 2R | A | Not Held | Not Held | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R ('18,'23) |
| Singapore Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 2R | A | 2R | A | Not Held | Not Held | w/d | 2R | 1R | 2R ('16, '18, '23) |
| Chinese Taipei Open | Absent | Absent | 2R | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 1R | F | Not Held | Not Held | w/d | A | A | F ('19) |
| Japan Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | SF | Not held | Not held | A | w/d | 2R | SF ('19) |
| Canada Open | QF | SF | 2R | W | W | W | 1R | 2R | QF | Not Held | Not Held | W | 2R | QF | W ('14,'15,'16,'22) |
| U.S. Open | 1R | A | 1R | QF | 1R | SF | F | SF | SF | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A | A | F ('17) |
| Denmark Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | QF | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | SF | w/d | 2R | A | QF | SF ('20) |
| French Open | 1R | Absent | Absent | 1R | 1R | Absent | Absent | 1R | 1R | NH | w/d | 1R | A | 1R | 1R ('11, '14, '15, '18, '19, '22, '24) |
| Hylo Open | Absent | Absent | SF | w/d | A | 2R | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | SF | w/d | A | A | SF ('14, '21) |
| Macau Open | 2R | A | F | QF | Absent | Absent | Absent | W | W | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A | W ('18,'19) |
| Hong Kong Open | 2R | Absent | Absent | 1R | 1R | A | QF | 2R | 1R | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | w/d | A | QF ('17) |
| Australian Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | QF | 1R | 1R | 1R | QF | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A | A | QF ('15, '19) |
| China Open | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | 2R | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | w/d | A | 2R ('15,'17) |
| Japan Masters | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | A | QF | QF ('24) |
| China Masters | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | w/d | 1R | A | 2R | SF | NH | NH | NH | A | 2R | SF ('19) |
| Arctic Open | NH | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | NH | NH | NH | A | QF | QF ('24) |
| Superseries / Tour Finals | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | RR | DNQ | RR | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | RR ('18,'20) |
| Thailand Masters | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Absent | Absent | Absent | QF | A | Not Held | Not Held | A | 1R | QF ('19) |
| Year-end ranking | 24 | 35 | 24 | 14 | 15 | 34 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 24 | 22 | 8 |

## Record against selected opponents

Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 14 March 2025.
| Players | Matches | Results | Results | Difference |
| Players | Matches | Won | Lost | Difference |
| Petya Nedelcheva | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Chen Yufei | 12 | 1 | 11 | –10 |
| Han Yue | 5 | 3 | 2 | +1 |
| He Bingjiao | 9 | 0 | 9 | –9 |
| Li Xuerui | 3 | 1 | 2 | –1 |
| Wang Shixian | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Wang Xin | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Wang Yihan | 6 | 0 | 6 | –6 |
| Wang Zhiyi | 3 | 1 | 2 | –1 |
| Zhang Yiman | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Cheng Shao-chieh | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Tai Tzu-ying | 11 | 2 | 9 | –7 |
| Tine Baun | 2 | 0 | 2 | –2 |
| Tracey Hallam | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Pi Hongyan | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Juliane Schenk | 3 | 0 | 3 | –3 |
| Players | Matches | Results | Results | Difference |
| Players | Matches | Won | Lost | Difference |
| Yip Pui Yin | 5 | 3 | 2 | +1 |
| Saina Nehwal | 3 | 1 | 2 | –1 |
| P. V. Sindhu | 15 | 5 | 10 | –5 |
| Lindaweni Fanetri | 2 | 0 | 2 | –2 |
| Gregoria Mariska Tunjung | 5 | 1 | 4 | –3 |
| Minatsu Mitani | 4 | 1 | 3 | –2 |
| Aya Ohori | 4 | 1 | 3 | –2 |
| Nozomi Okuhara | 13 | 4 | 9 | –5 |
| Akane Yamaguchi | 9 | 0 | 9 | –9 |
| An Se-young | 5 | 0 | 5 | –5 |
| Bae Yeon-ju | 3 | 0 | 3 | –3 |
| Sung Ji-hyun | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Carolina Marín | 7 | 2 | 5 | –3 |
| Porntip Buranaprasertsuk | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ratchanok Intanon | 9 | 2 | 7 | –5 |