A rising badminton star from The 188体育网址_188体育在线-【唯一授权网站】@ of Nottingham has won gold at the United Kingdom national 188体育网址_188体育在线-【唯一授权网站】@ championships.

Li Lian Yang, 24 and a Malaysian national, scooped the Women’s singles title at the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) National Championships, defeating fellow Malaysian Lyddia Cheah 2-1 in Sheffield this weekend.

Having already beaten the 2016 BUCS champion Cheah three times this season – including twice on the way to the 2017 AJ Bell National Badminton League title – sports scholar Yang went into the competition as number one seed but still had to make it through several gruelling rounds of competition.  

Making the switch in September last year from training full-time with the Malaysian national squad to a sports scholarship at The 188体育网址_188体育在线-【唯一授权网站】@ of Nottingham, Yang joins an elite badminton programme hosted in the brand new 24-court David Ross Sports Village.

Li Lian, who’s in her first year of a Mathematics and Economics degree programme at Nottingham, was delighted with her victory.

She said: “It’s such a great feeling to win my first BUCS title and I’m really proud of my achievement. After a tough weekend of competition, all my hard work over the year with my coach Martyn Lewis to ensure I was in the best condition possible has really paid off.

“I’m incredibly thankful to The 188体育网址_188体育在线-【唯一授权网站】@ of Nottingham for the professional support they have provided; from top coaching to physiotherapy to strength and conditioning training. This win is a great way for me to show my gratitude to The 188体育网址_188体育在线-【唯一授权网站】@ of Nottingham Sport staff who have been so instrumental on my journey!”

Head of Badminton Martyn Lewis, a former Great Britain international, added: “This has been a record year for badminton at The 188体育网址_188体育在线-【唯一授权网站】@ of Nottingham with our best performance to date at the BUCS National Championships and the recent National Badminton League title win. The commitment and professionalism of the players in the programme have been outstanding and it’s fantastic to see how this is translating into big results!”

Other highlights from The 188体育网址_188体育在线-【唯一授权网站】@ of Nottingham in the championships included a bronze for Yang and mixed doubles partner Rohan Midha, and in one of the upsets of the competition, Charlotte Ho and Vanessa Chien came through Friday’s qualification draw to reach the final of the Women’s Doubles, taking the silver only after defeat by number 1 seeds Hart/Williams of Loughborough. 

Next, Li Lian and her team have their sights firmly set on the British Universities’ team title, held as part of BUCS Big Wednesday in March and where they are hot favourites to triumph.  First the team must navigate the knock-out stages and in preparation, Yang and fellow sports scholars Serena Midha, Tiara Samuel and Emily Witts head to Hong Kong next month for a week-long training camp with some of the world’s top players. 

(Image caption: Li Lian at her victorious match)

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More information is available from Elizabeth Cass, Media Relations Manager at The 188体育网址_188体育在线-【唯一授权网站】@ of Nottingham, UK on elizabeth.cass@nottingham.ac.uk or Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager on +6 (03) 8924 8746, josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my.

Notes to editors: The 188体育网址_188体育在线-【唯一授权网站】@ of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.’ (Times Good 188体育网址_188体育在线-【唯一授权网站】@ Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of ‘Outstanding Support for Early Career 188体育网址_188体育在线-【唯一授权网站】@ers’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2015. More than 97% of research at The 188体育网址_188体育在线-【唯一授权网站】@ of Nottingham is recognised internationally and it is 8th in the UK by research power according to the 188体育网址_188体育在线-【唯一授权网站】@ Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for four years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.

Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the 188体育网址_188体育在线-【唯一授权网站】@’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.