Li Jiawei : biography
Li Jiawei ( born 9 August 1981) is a China born Singaporean table tennis player who is ranked among the top ten athletes in her sport. Spotted by Singapore talent scouts in Beijing in 1995, she moved to Singapore and commenced her international career in competitive table tennis in 1996. She became a Singapore citizen at the age of 18 years under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme.
As a singles player, Li was ranked sixth in the world as of August 2008. Her highest ranking was in December 2005, when she was third. Li is also a key player for women’s team and doubles, and mixed doubles events. She finished in fourth place in singles at both the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. On 15 August, the Singapore women’s team composed of Li and her teammates Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu defeated South Korea 3–2 in the semifinals. However in the finals on 17 August, the team lost to China and obtained a silver medal, marking the first time that Singapore had won an Olympic medal since the nation’s independence in 1965. The medal came 48 years after Tan Howe Liang won the country’s first medal, a silver in weightlifting at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Li ended 2008 on a high, winning gold in the women’s team event with Feng and Wang at the ITTF Pro Tour ERKE German Open in Berlin in November, and in the doubles with Sun Beibei at the ITTF Volkswagen Pro Tour Grand Finals in Macau in December 2008.
Li won the women’s team bronze medal with Feng and Wang at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She announced her retirement from competitive sports on 27 December 2012.
Personal life
Li first met Singaporean badminton player and fellow Olympian Ronald Susilo in 2002 at a sports meet. They began dating after participating together in the Athens Olympics, and the "golden sports couple",. as they were dubbed by the media, announced their engagement in September 2004. About two years later there were rumours that they were breaking up, but these were denied by them at the time. On 15 January 2008, when queried by a journalist, Susilo confirmed that he and Li had broken up amicably the previous week. Following a report in The Sunday Times that Susilo was contemplating legal action against her to recover money he claimed to have spent in buying their condominium apartment and car, Li disagreed that Susilo had a share in the apartment and implied he was trying to affect her mood and thus her chances of winning a medal at the Beijing Olympics. Susilo declined to discuss the matter with the press, saying it was a private matter between Li and himself; he wished her all the best for the Olympics.. See also . In October 2008 it was announced that Li and Susilo had settled their property dispute amicably. The terms of the settlement were confidential.; .
On 26 September 2008, Li registered a marriage in Beijing with Li Chao,; . a businessman based in that city; they were introduced by a mutual friend in March 2008. Sources quoted by The Straits Times said Li had long wanted her children to bear her surname.. See also . A lavish wedding banquet was held at the Beijing Hotel on 25 April 2009.; . In November 2008 Li said she wished to have two to three children before turning 35, though this would not affect her table tennis career. On 13 October 2009, she and her husband had their first child, a boy weighing . Her husband confirmed that they were "hoping for at least three kids, the more the merrier", and it was reported that Li would try for more children following the 2012 Summer Olympics. Li started training again in February 2010 and competed in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.. See also ; .
Medals
Event | Medal | Date | Competition |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | |||
Women’s team | Gold | 1997 | Commonwealth ChampionshipsGlasgow, Scotland, UK |
Women’s singles | Bronze | 1997 | Commonwealth ChampionshipsGlasgow, Scotland, UK |
Women’s doubles | Gold | 1997 | Commonwealth ChampionshipsGlasgow, Scotland, UK |
Mixed doubles | Gold | 1997 | Commonwealth ChampionshipsGlasgow, Scotland, UK |
1998 | |||
Women’s team | Gold | 1998 | 1998 Southeast Asian ChampionshipsBangkok, Thailand |
Women’s singles | Gold | 1998 | 1998 Southeast Asian ChampionshipsBangkok, Thailand |
Mixed doubles | Gold | 1998 | 1998 Southeast Asian ChampionshipsBangkok, Thailand |
1999 | |||
Women’s singles | Bronze | 1999 | ITTF Pro Tour French OpenLievin, France |
Women’s doubles | Bronze | 1999 | ITTF Pro Tour Czech Republic OpenPrague, Czech Republic |
Women’s team | Gold | 7–15 August 1999 | 20th Southeast Asian (SEA) GamesBandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam |
Women’s singles | Gold | 7–15 August 1999 | 20th SEA GamesBandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam |
Women’s doubles(with Jing Junhong) | Gold | 7–15 August 1999 | 20th SEA GamesBandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam |
Mixed doubles(with Duan Yongjun) | Bronze | 7–15 August 1999 | 20th SEA GamesBandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam |
2000 | |||
Women’s doubles | Silver | 2000 | ITTF Pro Tour Swedish OpenUmeå, Sweden |
Women’s doubles | Bronze | 2000 | ITTF Pro Tour Danish OpenFarum, Denmark |
Women’s doubles | Bronze | 2000 | ITTF Pro Tour Polish OpenWarsaw, Poland |
Women’s doubles | Bronze | 2000 | ITTF Pro Tour Brazil OpenRio de Janeiro, Brazil |
Women’s doubles | Bronze | 2000 | ITTF Pro Tour US OpenFort Lauderdale, Florida, USA |
Women’s team | Gold | 2000 | Commonwealth ChampionshipsSingapore |
Women’s singles | Gold | 2000 | Commonwealth ChampionshipsSingapore |
Women’s doubles | Gold | 2000 | Commonwealth ChampionshipsSingapore |
Mixed doubles | Gold | 2000 | Commonwealth ChampionshipsSingapore |
Women’s team | Gold | 2000 | South East Asian ChampionshipsKuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Women’s singles | Gold | 2000 | South East Asian ChampionshipsKuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Women’s doubles | Gold | 2000 | South East Asian ChampionshipsKuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Mixed doubles | Gold | 2000 | South East Asian ChampionshipsKuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
2001 | |||
Women’s doubles | Bronze | 2001 | ITTF Pro Tour Danish OpenFarum, Denmark |
Women’s doubles | Silver | 2000 | ITTF Pro Tour China OpenHainan, China |
Women’s team | Gold | 2001 | Commonwealth Championships |
Women’s singles | Gold | 2001 | Commonwealth Championships |
Women’s doubles | Gold | 2001 | Commonwealth Championships |
Mixed doubles.(with Duan Yongjun) | Gold | 2001 | Commonwealth Championships |
Women’s team | Gold | 8–17 September 2001 | 21st SEA GamesKuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Women’s singles | Gold | 8–17 September 2001 | 21st SEA GamesKuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Women’s doubles(with Jing Junhong) | Gold | 8–17 September 2001 | 21st SEA GamesKuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Mixed doubles(with Duan Yongjun) | Bronze | 8–17 September 2001 | 21st SEA GamesKuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
2002 | |||
Women’s singles. | Silver | 23–27 January 2002 | ITTF Pro Tour Austria OpenWels, Austria |
Women’s singles. | Bronze | 5 May 2002 | ITTF Pro Tour Italian OpenCourmayeur, Italy |
Women’s team | Gold | 25 July – 4 August 2002 | XVII Commonwealth GamesManchester, England, UK |
Women’s singles. | Silver | 25 July – 4 August 2002 | XVII Commonwealth GamesManchester, England, UK |
Women’s doubles(with Jing Junhong) | Gold | 25 July – 4 August 2002 | XVII Commonwealth GamesManchester, England, UK |
Mixed doubles(with Duan Yongjun) | Gold | 25 July – 4 August 2002 | XVII Commonwealth GamesManchester, England, UK |
Women’s team | Bronze | 29 September – 14 October 2002 | 2002 Asian GamesBusan, Korea |
Women’s singles | Bronze | 29 September – 14 October 2002 | 2002 Asian GamesBusan, Korea |
2003 | |||
Women’s singles. | Bronze | 5 October 2003 | ITTF Pro Tour Malaysian OpenJohor Bahru, Malaysia |
Women’s doubles.(with Jing Junhong) | Bronze | 21 September 2003 | ITTF Pro Tour Japan OpenKobe, Japan |
Women’s doubles.(with Jing Junhong) | Silver | 7 September 2003 | ITTF Pro Tour Korea OpenJeju City, Jeju-do, South Korea |
Women’s team | Gold | 12 December 2003 | 22nd SEA GamesHanoi, Vietnam |
Women’s singles | Gold | 12 December 2003 | 22nd SEA GamesHanoi, Vietnam |
Women’s doubles(with Jing Junhong) | Gold | 5–13 December 2003 | 22nd SEA GamesHanoi, Vietnam |
Mixed doubles(with Cai Xiaoli) | Gold | 5–13 December 2003 | 22nd SEA GamesHanoi, Vietnam |
2004 | |||
Women’s singles | Bronze | 2004 | Asian CupKitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan |
Women’s team | Gold | 2004 | Commonwealth ChampionshipsKuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Women’s singles. | Bronze | 7 May 2004 | ITTF Pro Tour Egypt OpenCairo, Egypt |
Women’s doubles.(with Jing Junhong) | Bronze | 7 May 2004 | ITTF Pro Tour Egypt OpenCairo, Egypt |
Women’s singles. | Bronze | 23 May 2004 | ITTF Pro Tour Volkswagen Korea OpenPyeongchang, Gangwon-do, South Korea |
Women’s doubles.(with Jing Junhong) | Bronze | 23 May 2004 | ITTF Pro Tour Volkswagen Korea OpenPyeongchang, Gangwon-do, South Korea |
Women’s singles | Gold | 3 July 2004 | ITTF Pro Tour US OpenChicago, Illinois, USA |
Women’s doubles | Bronze | 3 July 2004 | ITTF Pro Tour US OpenChicago, Illinois, USA |
2005 | |||
Women’s singles. | Gold | 12–15 January 2005 | ITTF Pro Tour Liebherr Slovenian OpenVelenje, Slovenia |
Women’s doubles.(with Xu Yan) | Bronze | 12–15 January 2005 | ITTF Pro Tour Liebherr Slovenian OpenVelenje, Slovenia |
Women’s singles. | Silver | 12 June 2005 | ITTF Pro Tour Volkswagen Korean OpenSuncheon, Jeollanam-do, South Korea |
Women’s singles | Silver | 19 June 2005 | ITTF Pro Tour TMS Chinese Taipei OpenTaipei, Chinese Taipei |
Women’s singles | Gold | 10 July 2005 | ITTF Pro Tour Liebherr US OpenFort Lauderdale, Florida, USA |
Women’s singles | Bronze | 2005 | Asian ChampionshipsJeju-do, South Korea |
Women’s team. | Gold | 30 November 2005 | 23rd SEA GamesMalate, Manila, Philippines |
Mixed doubles.(with Yang Zi) | Silver | 2 December 2005 | 23rd SEA GamesMalate, Manila, Philippines |
Women’s doubles(with Zhang Xueling) | Gold | 3 December 2005 | 23rd SEA GamesMalate, Manila, Philippines |
Women’s singles. | Silver | 4 December 2005 | 23rd SEA GamesMalate, Manila, Philippines |
Women’s singles. | Silver | 11 December 2005 | ITTF Pro Tour Grand FinalsFuzhou, People’s Republic of China |
2006 | |||
Women’s singles. | Bronze | 22 January 2006 | ITTF Pro Tour Liebherr Slovenian OpenVelenje, Slovenia |
Women’s doubles.(with Zhang Xueling) | Bronze | 22 January 2006 | ITTF Pro Tour Liebherr Slovenian OpenVelenje, Slovenia |
Women’s doubles.(with Zhang Xueling) | Bronze | 27 January 2006 | ITTF Pro Tour Liebherr Croatian OpenZagreb, Croatia |
Women’s team.(with Zhang Xueling, Sharon Tan, Xu Yan and Zena Sim) | Gold | 20 March 2006 | 18th Commonwealth GamesMelbourne, Victoria, Australia |
Mixed doubles.(with Cai Xiaoli) | Silver | 24 March 2006 | 18th Commonwealth GamesMelbourne, Victoria, Australia |
Women’s doubles.(with Zhang Xueling) | Gold | 25 March 2006 | 18th Commonwealth GamesMelbourne, Victoria, Australia |
Women’s singles. | Silver | 26 March 2006 | 18th Commonwealth GamesMelbourne, Victoria, Australia |
Women’s singles | Silver | 5 March 2006 | Asian CupKobe, Japan |
Women’s singles. | Bronze | 1 October 2006 | ITTF Sinkiang Women’s World CupÜrümqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China |
Women’s singles. | Gold | 1–5 November 2006 | ITTF Pro Tour Eurosib Russian OpenSaint Petersburg, Russia |
Women’s doubles.(with Sun Beibei) | Gold | 5 November 2006 | ITTF Pro Tour Eurosib Russian OpenSaint Petersburg, Russia |
Women’s singles | Silver | 12 November 2006 | ITTF Pro Tour Liebherr German OpenBayreuth, Bavaria, Germany |
Women’s doubles.(with Sun Beibei) | Gold | 12 November 2006 | ITTF Pro Tour Liebherr German OpenBayreuth, Bavaria, Germany |
Women’s team(with Sun Beibei, Tan Paey Fern, Tan Yanzhen and Zhang Xueling) | Silver | 1–15 December 2006 | 15th Asian GamesDoha, Qatar |
Women’s singles | Bronze | 1–15 December 2006 | 15th Asian GamesDoha, Qatar |
Mixed doubles(with Yang Zi) | Bronze | 1–15 December 2006 | 15th Asian GamesDoha, Qatar |
Women’s singles. | Bronze | 17 December 2006 | ITTF Pro Tour Grand FinalsHong Kong |
Women’s doubles.(with Sun Beibei) | Bronze | 17 December 2006 | ITTF Pro Tour Grand FinalsHong Kong |
Women’s singles. | Bronze | 21 December 2006 | Tournament of Champions Changsha, People’s Republic of China |
2007 | |||
Women’s singles | Gold | 26 August 2007 | ITTF Pro Tour Chinese Taipei OpenTaipei, Chinese Taipei |
Women’s doubles.(with Sun Beibei) | Silver | 26 August 2007 | ITTF Pro Tour Chinese Taipei OpenTaipei, Chinese Taipei |
Women’s team.(with Sun Beibei, Wang Yuegu, Tan Paey Fern and Yu Mengyu) | Silver | 19 September 2007 | 18th China Mobile Asian Table Tennis ChampionshipsYangzhou, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China |
Women’s doubles.(with Wang Yuegu) | Silver | 4 November 2007 | ITTF Pro Tour Liebherr French OpenToulouse, France |
Women’s singles. | Bronze | 4 November 2007 | ITTF Pro Tour Liebherr French OpenToulouse, France |
Women’s team(with Sun Beibei, Tan Paey Fern, Wang Yuegu and Yu Mengyu) | Gold | 5 December 2007 | 24th SEA GamesNakhon Ratchasima (Korat), Thailand |
Mixed doubles(with Yang Zi) | Gold | 8 December 2007 | 24th SEA GamesNakhon Ratchasima (Korat), Thailand |
Women’s doubles(with Wang Yuegu) | Silver | 9 December 2007 | 24th SEA GamesNakhon Ratchasima (Korat), Thailand |
2008 | |||
Women’s team.(with Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu, Sun Beibei and Yu Mengyu) | Silver | 1 March 2008 | Evergrande Real Estate World Team Table Tennis ChampionshipsGuangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China |
Women’s doubles.(with Sun Beibei) | Silver | 16 March 2008 | ITTF Pro Tour Kuwait OpenKuwait City, Kuwait |
Women’s singles . | Bronze | 29–30 March 2008 | 2008 Asian CupSapporo, Hokkaidō Prefecture, Japan |
Women’s singles. | Silver | 20 April 2008 | ITTF Pro Tour Brazil OpenBelo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
Women’s doubles.(with Sun Beibei) | Silver | 20 April 2008 | ITTF Pro Tour Brazil OpenBelo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
Women’s singles. | Gold | 27 April 2008 | ITTF Pro Tour Chile OpenSantiago, Chile |
Women’s doubles.(with Sun Beibei) | Silver | 27 April 2008 | ITTF Pro Tour Chile OpenSantiago, Chile |
Women’s team.(with Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu) | Silver | 24 May 2008 | ITTF Pro Tour Volkswagen Japan OpenYokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan |
Women’s doubles.(with Sun Beibei) | Gold | 8 June 2008 | ITTF Pro Tour TMS Singapore OpenSingapore |
Women’s team(with Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu) | Silver | 13–17 August 2008 | 2008 Summer OlympicsBeijing, People’s Republic of China |
Women’s team(with Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu) | Gold | 22 November 2008 | ITTF Pro Tour ERKE German OpenBerlin, Germany |
Women’s doubles(with Sun Beibei) | Gold | 14 December 2008 | ITTF Volkswagen Pro Tour Grand FinalsMacau |
2009 | |||
Women’s singles. | Bronze | 11 January 2009 | Tournament of Champions Changsha, People’s Republic of China |
2010 | |||
Women’s team; ; ; .(with Feng Tianwei, Sun Beibei, Wang Yuegu and Yu Mengyu) | Gold | 30 May 2010 | Liebherr World Team Table Tennis ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia |
Women’s singles. | Bronze | 15 August 2010 | ITTF Pro Tour Korean OpenIncheon, South Korea |
Women’s team.(with Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu, Sun Beibei, Yu Mengyu) | Silver | 1 October 2010 | World Team CupDubai, UAE |
Women’s team.(with Feng Tianwei, Sun Beibei, Wang Yuegu and Yu Mengyu) | Gold | 8 October 2010 | 19th Commonwealth GamesNew Delhi, India |
Women’s doubles.(with Sun Beibei) | Gold | 14 October 2010 | 19th Commonwealth GamesNew Delhi, India |
Women’s team.(with Feng Tianwei, Sun Beibei, Wang Yuegu and Yu Mengyu) | Silver | 16 November 2010 | 16th Asian GamesGuangZhou, China |
2011 | |||
Women’s doubles.(with Yu Mengyu) | Bronze | 22 January 2011 | ITTF Pro Tour Slovenian OpenVelenje, Slovenia |
Women’s singles. | Silver | 12 June 2011 | ITTF Pro Tour Brazil OpenRio de Janeiro, Brazil |
Women’s doubles.(with Wang Yuegu) | Gold | 12 June 2011 | ITTF Pro Tour Brazil OpenRio de Janeiro, Brazil |
Women’s doubles.(with Wang Yuegu) | Silver | 10 July 2011 | ITTF Pro Tour Japan OpenKobe, Japan |
Women’s team.(with Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu, Sun Beibei, Yu Mengyu) | Bronze | 5 November 2011 | World Team CupMagdeburg, Germany |
Women’s doubles.(with Wang Yuegu) | Bronze | 27 November 2011 | ITTF Pro Tour Grand FinalsLondon, England |
2012 | |||
Women’s doubles.(with Sun Beibei) | Silver | 11 February 2012 | ITTF GAC Group World Tour Qatar OpenDoha, Qatar |
Women’s team(with Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu) | Bronze | 7 August 2012 | 2012 Summer OlympicsLondon, United Kingdom |