Kate Foo Kune

Kate Foo Kune
Personal information
Birth name	Kate Jessica Kim Lee Foo Kune
Country	Mauritius
Born	(1993-03-29) 29 March 1993 Moka, Mauritius
Height	1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Handedness	Left
Women's Singles, Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles
Highest ranking	63 (WS) 21 Apr 2016 69 (WD) 5 Apr 2012 145 (XD) 10 May 2012
Current ranking	65 (WS) 155 (WD) 457 (XD) (4 Aug 2016)
Medal record Women's Badminton Representing  Mauritius African Games 2015 Brazzaville Women's singles 2015 Brazzaville Women's doubles Africa Team Championships 2016 Rose Hill Women's team 2012 Addis Ababa Women's team 2008 Rose Hill Women's team
BWF profile

Kate Foo Kune (born 29 March 1993) is a female badminton player from Mauritius.^[1] She began playing badminton in Mauritius at age six. Her first major tournament participation was 2013 BWF World Championships in China, where she lost in the first round of women's singles to Sarah Walker of England.^[2] Foo Kune represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.^[3][4] She was the flagbearer for Mauritius during the Parade of Nations.

Kate Foo Kune is the second child of Jacques and Cathy Foo Kune and her sister Karen Foo Kune also is a badminton player. She initially paired with her sister and was trained in England, Malaysia and Mauritius. As a junior player, she won the Under-15 and Under-19 African tournaments. She was awarded the Sportswoman of the year in 2015 in Mauritius. In doubles, she partnered with Yeldy Marie Louison, while in mixed doubles, she partnered with Georges Julien Paul. Her career best ranking remains 63 as of 2016 and her best performance remains the gold at 2015 African games.

Personal life

Kate Foo Kune is the second child of Jacques and Cathy Foo Kune (née Ng), who were a leading mixed doubles badminton players.^[5] Both Jacques and Cathy were badminton players and have won several championships, such as 1985 Indian Ocean Games. The pair was married in 1990 and had two children. Her sister, Karen Foo Kune, also plays badminton like their parents, and competed at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.^[6] Kune pursued her Bachelor's degree in Sports Management while at France.^[7] The sisters were paired and played the mixed doubles in 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. She is termed the "princess of badminton" in Mauritius.^[8]

Professional life

Kune started playing badminton at the age of six and turned professional by twelve. She first participated in a junior competition at the age of 12 in 2005. She had her international debut Thomas and Uber Cup Qualification for Africa in 2010 held at Uganda. She was awarded the Sportswoman of the year in 2015 in Mauritius. In doubles, she partnered with Yeldy Marie Louison, while in mixed doubles, she partnered with Georges Julien Paul.^[3] During the early part of her career, she paired with her sister Karen Foo Kune. During her first outing in African Badminton Cup of Nations, she finished second, but a few weeks later, she went on to win the Mauritius International Series. During the early part of her career, she trained in England, Malaysia and Mauritius. She went on to win the Under-15 and Under-19 African tournaments.^[6]

As of 2016, she lived in Paris, France,^[9] and joined Issy-Les-Moulineaux Badminton Club. Prior to residing in France, Foo Kune has also trained for four months in Malaysia and Leeds, England.^[6] Foo Kune was part of the Mauritius badminton squad which won the title at the 2016 Africa Continental Team Badminton Championships^[10] in February 2016, which also confirms the participation of Mauritius in 2016 Uber Cup. In June 2016, Foo Kune won the 2016 European Badminton Club Championships with her club despite losing in the final to Beatriz Corrales.^[11] She was the flagbearer for Mauritius during the Parade of Nations.^[12] She won her first match against Wendy Chen Hsuan-Yu of Australia, but was defeated by Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand and failed to qualify for the next round.^[9]

Achievements

BWF International Challenge/Series

Women's Singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2016	Norwegian International	Yap Rui Chen	13-21, 8-21	02 ! Runner-up
2016	Uganda International	Telma Santos	10-21, 12-21	02 ! Runner-up
2015	Zambia International	Aghaei Hajiagha Soraya	15–21, 1–0 Retired	01 ! Winner
2015	Nigeria International	Grace Gabriel	21-14, 11-21, 12-21	02 ! Runner-up
2014	Zambia International	Grace Gabriel	21-16, 21-17	01 ! Winner
2014	Morocco International	Lianne Tan	11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 8-11	02 ! Runner-up
2013	Mauritius International	Grace Gabriel	21-18, 16-21, 24-22	01 ! Winner

Women's Doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	Zambia International	Grace Gabriel	Michelle Butler-Emmett Elme de Villiers	17-21, 21-19, 17-21	02 ! Runner-up
2014	Mauritius International	Yeldy Louison	Annika Horbach Maria Mata Masinipeni	12-21, 12-21	02 ! Runner-up

Mixed Doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	Zambia International	Georges Julien Paul	Ali Ahmed El-Khateeb Doha Hany	21–18, 21–14	01 ! Winner
2014	Hatzor International	Florent Riancho	Gennadiy Natarov Yuliya Kazarinova	6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 10-11	02 ! Runner-up

     BWF International Challenge tournament

     BWF International Series tournament

     BWF Future Series tournament

References

External links

• Africa Badminton