Renuga Vithi Veeran (born 20 June 1986) is a Malaysian-born Australian badminton player. She has represented both Malaysia and Australia internationally as a badminton player. As part of the Australian Olympic Team,[1] she paired with Leanne Choo and reached the quarter-finals in the women's doubles competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Renuga Veeran
Personal information
Full nameRenuga Vithi Veeran
CountryMalaysia
Australia
Born (1986-06-20) 20 June 1986 (age 38)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
HandednessRight
Women's singles & doubles
Highest ranking77 (WS 17 June 2010)
26 (WD 22 September 2011)
40 (XD 5 August 2010)
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  Australia
Oceania Championships
Gold medal – first place 2012 Ballarat Women's doubles
Silver medal – second place 2018 Hamilton Women's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Ballarat Women's doubles
Oceania Mixed Team Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Ballarat Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2012 Ballarat Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2010 Invercargill Mixed team
Oceania Women's Team Championships
Gold medal – first place 2012 Ballarat Women's team
Gold medal – first place 2010 Invercargill Women's team
BWF profile

Personal

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Veeran, nicknamed Nunu and Nuges, was born on 20 June 1986 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[2][3] Her mother, father and brother (Raj Veeran) all played badminton, representing Malaysia in international competitions.[3]

Veeran is an ethnic Tamilian, and speaks Tamil fluently. She gave an interview in Tamil language to the Australian Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Tamil Radio a week after returning from the London Olympics. Veeran stated in the interview that she was warmly received by the Prime Minister of Australia on her return to Sydney from the games.

Veeran is 165 centimetres (65 in) tall and weighs 61 kilograms (134 lb).[3] She is right handed.[2]

Veeran attended primary school at Sekolah Rendah Kepong in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[3] She moved to Australia when she was sixteen years old.[2][3] She attended Leichhardt High School in the Sydney suburbs for high school.[3] She earned a Bachelor of Business in Applied Economics and International Trade from Victoria University, attending from 2007 to 2009. As of 2012, she lived in Melbourne, Victoria.[2][3]

Badminton

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Veeran started playing badminton when she was six years old.[2] She represents Badminton Australia on the club level,[3] and is coached by Ricky Yu, who became her coach in 2008.[3] She trains in Melbourne.[3] Her highest world ranking in the women's doubles was 26th in December 2011.[2] Her highest mixed doubles world ranking was 40th.[2] Her world doubles ranking as of January 2012 was 30th.[2] She has held numerous top rankings in the Australasia region, including being the top-ranked female player in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles simultaneously.[3] The year she moved to Australia, she became the number one ranked badminton player in the country when she was sixteen years old.[2][3]

Malaysian national team

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Veeran represented Malaysia as a member of their junior national team on the World Juniors level.[2][3]

Australian national team

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As of 2012, Veeran has been a member of the Australian national team for six years.[3] As a member of the national team, she is based at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.[4] She has represented Australia as a member of the national team at several different competitions including the 2010 Uber Cup, the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2011 Sudirman Cup.[2] Her women's doubles team which included London bound teammate Leanne Choo finished fifth at the Commonwealth Games.[3] She also competed in the mixed doubles event and team event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games with her brother Raj, finished 17th in the individual event and fifth in the mixed team event.[3]

Veeran finished 17th in the doubles competition at the 2012 Thomas & Uber Cup held in Wuhan, China.[3] At the Thomas Cup, Veeran and Choo lost to South Koreans Kim Min-Jung and Ha Jung-Eun with set scores of 21–15 and 21–10.[5] She finished 5th in the doubles competition at the 2012 Air Tahiti Nui International Challenge held in Punaauia, French Polynesia.[3] She finished 17th in the doubles competition at the 2012 Yonex Australian Open Grand Prix Gold held in Sydney, Australia.[3] She finished 1st in the doubles competition at the 2012 Oceania Championships, and also in the doubles competition at the 2012 Oceania Team Championships, both held in Ballarat, Australia.[3] She finished 1st in the doubles competition at the 2012 Uber Cup Preliminaries – Oceania held in Ballarat, Australia. She finished 2nd in the doubles competition at the 2012 Thomas Cup Preliminaries – Oceania held in Ballarat, Australia.[3]

Veeran was in Australia's badminton team for the 2012 Summer Olympics,[6][7][8] making her Olympic debut as a 26-year-old.[3] Going into the Olympics, as a doubles team, Veeran and Choo were ranked 35th in the world.[3] During the qualifying process, their ranking peaked at 26th.[3]

Achievements

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Oceania Championships

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Women's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2018 Eastlink Badminton Stadium,
Hamilton, New Zealand
  Leanne Choo   Setyana Mapasa
  Gronya Somerville
14–21, 20–22   Silver
2014 Ken Kay Badminton Stadium,
Ballarat, Australia
  Tang Hetian   Jacinta Joe
  Louisa Ma
Walkover   Bronze
2012 Ken Kay Badminton Stadium,
Ballarat, Australia
  Leanne Choo   Ann-Louise Slee
  Eugenia Tanaka
21–16, 21–13   Gold

BWF Grand Prix

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The BWF Grand Prix has two level such as Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It is a series of badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007.

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2014 New Zealand Open   Tang Hetian   Shizuka Matsuo
  Mami Naito
21–13, 10–21, 21–18   Winner
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series

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Women's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2009 Victorian International   Leisha Cooper 21–15, 21–13   Winner

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2018 North Harbour International   Leanne Choo   Sally Fu
  Susannah Leydon-Davis
21–6, 21–12   Winner
2017 Yonex / K&D Graphics International   Leanne Choo   Rachel Honderich
  Kristen Tsai
12–21, 15–21   Runner-up
2014 Maribyrnong International   Tang Hetian   Chiang Mei-hui
  Setyana Mapasa
21–19, 25–23   Winner
2013 Italian International   Tang Hetian   Eefje Muskens
  Selena Piek
10–21, 8–21   Runner-up
2013 Welsh International   Tang Hetian   Keshya Nurvita Hanadia
  Devi Tika Permatasari
21–15, 21–12   Winner
2013 Victorian International   Sannatasah Saniru   Ruethaichanok Laisuan
  Narissapat Lam
15–21, 14–21   Runner-up
2013 Auckland International   Tracey Hallam   Lê Thu Huyền
  Phạm Như Thảo
21–14, 21–9   Winner
2012 Victorian International   Leanne Choo   Keshya Nurvita Hanadia
  Devi Tika Permatasari
13–21, 11–21   Runner-up
2011 Altona International   Leanne Choo   Amanda Brown
  Stephanie Cheng
21–10, 21–5   Winner
2010 Altona International   Tang Hetian   Leanne Choo
  Kate Wilson-Smith
21–15, 21–15   Winner
2009 Victorian International   Erin Carroll   Danielle Barry
  Donna Haliday
16–21, 21–19, 22–20   Winner
2004 Ballarat International   Susan Wang   Tania Luiz
  Kate Wilson-Smith
15–7, 15–12   Winner
2004 Australian International   Susan Wang   Chor Hooi Yee
  Lim Pek Siah
13–15, 15–8, 15–12   Winner
2003 Australia International   Susan Wang   Ai Hirayama
  Akiko Nakashima
4–15, 11–15   Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2014 Maribyrnong International   Ross Smith   Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif
  Rusdina Antardayu Riodingin
18–21, 11–21   Runner-up
2013 Victorian International   Ross Smith   Robin Middleton
  Tang Hetian
19–21, 21–19, 19–21   Runner-up
2013 Auckland International   Ross Smith   Raymond Tam
  Gronya Somerville
21–16, 21–12   Winner
2012 Victorian International   Ross Smith   Andika Anhar
  Keshya Nurvita Hanadia
17–21, 12–21   Runner-up
2012 Tahiti International   Ross Smith   Derrick Ng
  Alex Bruce
23–21, 21–14   Winner
2010 Altona International   Raj Veeran   Glenn Warfe
  Kate Wilson-Smith
15–21, 21–16, 21–12   Winner
2009 Scottish International   Raj Veeran   Alexandr Nikolaenko
  Valeria Sorokina
11–21, 16–21   Runner-up
2009 Victorian International   Raj Veeran   Henry Tam
  Donna Haliday
21–12, 21–15   Winner
2009 Auckland International   Glenn Warfe   Chad Whitehead
  Eugenia Tanaka
21–12, 21–15   Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

References

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  1. ^ "Renuga Veeran" london2012.olympics.com.au
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Badminton Australia: Renuga Veeran". Badminton.org.au. 20 June 1986. Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "London 2012 – Renuga Veeran". London2012.olympics.com.au. 20 June 1986. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  4. ^ "Badminton Australia: Athlete Profiles". Badminton.org.au. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  5. ^ "China defeat England 5–0 in Wuhan". 7M sport. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  6. ^ "Australian Olympic badminton team named". Nine MSN. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  7. ^ "Aussies name badminton line-up — ABC Grandstand Sport (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  8. ^ "Bendigo's Warfe named in Olympic squad – Local News – Sport – Badminton". Bendigo Advertiser. Australian Associated Press. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
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