Anna Oi Chan Lao (born 7 May 1962) is a former Australian

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player. She is the most successful badminton player in the history of Australian badminton. She was ranked 5th in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, where badminton had only been introduced for the first time as an Olympic sport. Lao played in the quarterfinals for women's singles and women's doubles where most participants only make it through one discipline. In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Lao was appointed as a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for her significant service to badminton, sports & to the multicultural community.

Career

Lao was ranked 2nd in China before she left to represent Australia in the Olympics, in which she was ranked 1st in Australia. She held the times of Master of Sports in China in 1985. Prior to her participation in the Olympics, she held the titles of the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

in 1988, 1989 and 1991 in women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Lao also reached the semifinals of the 1989 Malaysia Open. She was also a champion at the 1991 New Zealand Open and the

1992 French Open The 1992 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament was held from 25 May until 7 June. It was the 96th staging of the French Open, and the second Grand ...

. She was a semifinalist at the 1992 Swedish Open.

1992 Barcelona Olympics

Badminton was first introduced to the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. She placed 5th in women's singles & women's doubles.

Women's doubles

Lao played with her doubles partner Rhonda Cator. Their first game with Swiss players

Silvia Albrecht Silvia Albrecht (born 25 February 1971) is a Swiss badminton player. She competed in women's singles and women's doubles at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the c ...

& Bettina Villars were a success scoring 15–3, 15–6. Their second round was with Polish players

Bożena Bąk Bożena Bąk (born 28 January 1966) is a Polish badminton player. She competed in women's singles and women's doubles at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capi ...

& Wioletta Wilk Sosnowska where they won 15–3, 15–12. Lao and Cator entered the quarterfinals with the world champions

Lin Yanfen Lin Yanfen (; born January 4, 1971) is a Chinese female badminton player of the 1990s. Career Lin was a women's doubles specialist who paired with Yao Fen to win several top tier international tournaments. These included the Swedish (1992), Ch ...

Yao Fen Yao Fen (; born January 2, 1967) is a Chinese former international level women's badminton player. Career A doubles specialist, Yao won a number of top tier events on the world circuit in the early 1990s. Her earliest international success cam ...

where they lost 13–18, 5–15.

Women's singles

Lao played a total of 4 games and entered the quarterfinals. Her first game was with Bettina Villars, whom she played against previously in doubles and won easily in two games. Her second round was with Camilla Martin, a player from Denmark who later on received the European Championship three times. Lao won 11–6, 12–11. She later played with the European champion at the time, Elena Rybkina. Lao won in three games. After winning the third round of games, she was placed in the quarterfinals where she versed world champion

Tang Jiuhong Tang Jiuhong (; born February 14, 1969) is a former Chinese badminton star who was one of the world's leading women's singles players of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Career She won the then biennial 1991 World Championship in 1991 and was a ...

, and lost both games.

Awards and recognition

* Courvoisier Award for Excellence Sports (1993) * World Morning Cup 50-54 age Mix-Doubles Champion, Double 3rd (2012) * World Morning Cup 50-54 age Mix-Doubles Champion, Double 3rd (2013) * WCBF 20th Anniversary Individual Events 50-54 age Mix-Doubles Champion, Doubles 3rd (2013) * Award Medal (AM) as a

(2021)

Achievements

IBF International (11 titles, 2 runner-up)

''Women's singles'' ''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lao, Anna 1962 births Living people Members of the Order of Australia Australian female badminton players Badminton players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic badminton players of Australia Badminton coaches