Leanne Choo


Leanne Choo is a badminton player from Australia. She is the reigning Oceania Champion in women's and mixed doubles. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics, alongside former women's doubles partner, Renuga Veeran. Choo was competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Personal

Leanne Choo, nicknamed Choo, was born in Adelaide, South Australia. She attended Glen Osmond Primary School and graduated from Glenunga International High School. In 2010, she enrolled at the University of Adelaide to pursue a degree in architecture and is now pursuing a degree in Neuroscience.
Choo is a member of the Sturt Badminton Club, the largest badminton club in South Australia.

Career

Early career - 2012

Choo started playing badminton when she was eight years old. She rose to prominence as a junior, becoming the first South Australian to win a triple crown at a national event. Due to her ongoing success, she was made a member of the Australian National Team. As a member of the national team, she is based at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, in Melbourne, Victoria.
Choo has represented Australia multiple times including at the 2006, 2007 and 2009 BWF World Junior Championships. She continued representing Australia at a junior level at the 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney and the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India. Her senior debut was at the 2010 Uber Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She also competed at the 2012 edition in Wuhan, China. Choo has also represented Australia at the World Mixed Team Championships, the Sudirman Cup in 2011 and 2015.
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, Choo began her partnership with Renuga Veeran. The pair almost staged an upset in the quarterfinals against the number one seeds from Singapore, Yao Lei and Shinta Mulia Sari. This was the first international tournament in which Choo and Veeran competed. The duo officially formed their partnership soon afterwards.
Choo and Veeran competed at the 2011 BWF World Championships in London where they reached the second round. The pair demolished Steffi Annys and Severine Corvilain of Germany 21-6, 21-9 in the first round before losing to 10th seeds, and eventual bronze medalists of the 2012 Summer Olympics, Valeria Sorokina and Nina Vislova of Russia in three games.

2012 Summer Olympics

Choo was part of Australia's badminton team contingent at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, her Olympic debut as a 21-year-old. At the end of the Olympic qualifying period, Choo and Veeran were ranked 35th in the world. During the qualifying process, their ranking peaked at 26. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Choo and Veeran performed well in their round robin matches, thrashing their South African opponents and staying in contention with their Korean and Indonesian opponents, ranked world number three end eight respectively at the time. Unfortunately, they placed third in their pool and could not advance to the quarterfinals.
However, four pairs, including Meiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii of Indonesia, and Ha Jung Eun and Kim Min Jung of Korea, were disqualified from the competition. The pairings were disqualified for "not using one's best efforts to win a match" and "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport" as they were intentionally trying to lose matches in order to secure an easier quarterfinal draw.
Choo and Veeran advanced to the quarterfinals, where they were defeated by Alex Bruce and Michelle Li of Canada. They were awarded a 5th placing, the best result in Australia's history of Olympic badminton.
Results from 2012 Summer Olympics
RoundDateOpponentScoreResult
Group C
Pool Match 1		28/07/2012Meiliana Jauhari
Greysia Polii		21-0 21-0
Win
Group C
Pool Match 2		29/07/2012Michelle Claire Edwards
Annari Viljoen		21-9 21-7Win
Group C
Pool Match 2		30/07/2012Ha Jung Eun
Kim Min Jung		21-0 21-0
Win
Quarterfinals1/08/2012Alex Bruce
Michelle Li		9-21 21-18 18-21Loss

2014 - present

In April 2014, Choo formed her partnership with Robin Middleton in mixed doubles. In June 2016, the pair qualified for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.

Achievements

Oceania Championships

Women's singles
YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
2010 Stadium Southland,
Invercargill, New Zealand		 Chia Chi Huang7–21, 8–21 Bronze

Women's doubles
YearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult
2018Eastlink Badminton Stadium,
Hamilton, New Zealand		 Renuga Veeran Setyana Mapasa
Gronya Somerville		14–21, 20–22 Silver
2015X-TRM North Harbour Badminton Centre,
North Harbour, New Zealand		 Gronya Somerville Talia Saunders
Jennifer Tam		21–14, 21–11 Gold
2012Ken Kay Badminton Stadium,
Victoria, Australia		 Renuga Veeran Ann-Louise Slee
Eugenia Tanaka		21–16, 21–13 Gold
2010Stadium Southland,
Invercargill, New Zealand		 Kate Wilson-Smith Leisha Cooper
Ann-Louise Slee		22–20, 21–11 Gold

Mixed doubles
YearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult
2018Eastlink Badminton Stadium,
Hamilton, New Zealand		 Matthew Chau Sawan Serasinghe
Setyana Mapasa		19–21, 18–21 Silver
2016Punaauia University Hall,
Papeete, Tahiti		 Robin Middleton Anthony Joe
Joy Lai		21–11, 21–9 Gold
2015X-TRM North Harbour Badminton Centre,
North Harbour, New Zealand		 Robin Middleton Oliver Leydon-Davis
Danielle Tahuri		21–12, 21–14 Gold
2012Ken Kay Badminton Stadium,
Victoria, Australia		 Glenn Warfe Raymond Tam
Eugenia Tanaka		17–21, 19–21 Silver
2010 Stadium Southland,
Invercargill, New Zealand		 Chad Whitehead Henry Tam
Donna Haliday		17–21, 24–22, 14–21 Bronze

BWF International Challenge/Series

Women's doubles
YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult
2018North Harbour International Renuga Veeran Sally Fu
Susannah Leydon-Davis		21–6, 21–12 Winner
2017Yonex / K&D Graphics International Renuga Veeran Rachel Honderich
Kristen Tsai		12–21, 15–21 Runner-up
2017Jamaica International Rachel Honderich Mikaylia Haldane
Katherine Wynter		21–2, 21–8 Winner
2014Auckland International Gronya Somerville Chang Ching-hui
Chang Hsin-tien		11–6, 8–11, 10–11, 9–11 Runner-up
2014Victorian International Renuga Veeran Keshya Nurvita Hanadia
Devi Tika Permatasari		13–21, 11–21 Runner-up
2011Altona International Renuga Veeran Amanda Brown
Stephanie Cheng		22–20, 21–11 Winner
2010Altona International Kate Wilson-Smith He Tian Tang
Renuga Veeran		15–21, 15–21 Runner-up
2010Tahiti International Kate Wilson-Smith Nicole Grether
Charmaine Reid		21–12, 19–21, 21–12 Winner

Mixed doubles
YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult
2015Sydney International Robin Middleton Phillip Chew
Jamie Subandhi		21–8, 21–17 Winner
2015Maribyrnong International Robin Middleton Sawan Serasinghe
Setyana Mapasa		17–21, 21–19, 21–19 Winner
2015Sri Lanka International Robin Middleton Arun Vishnu
Aparna Balan		21–15, 17–21, 13–21 Runner-up
2011Brazil International Glenn Warfe Halim Ho
Eva Lee		11–21, 15–21 Runner-up
2011Altona International Glenn Warfe Kevin Dennerly-Minturn
Stephanie Cheng		22–20, 21–11 Winner
2010Tahiti International Glenn Warfe Ross Smith
Kate Wilson-Smith		14–21, 21–13, 18–21 Runner-up