Introduction
Michelle Li (born November 3, 1991) is a Canadian female badminton player from Markham, Ontario. She graduated from Richmond Hill High School. Li is the reigning Commonwealth Games champion and the first Canadian to win an individual gold medal in women's singles badminton at the Commonwealth Games. She has won gold in both singles and doubles at the Pan American Games, and won the singles and team event titles from the Pan Am Badminton Championships. As a competitor for Ontario, Li also won singles, doubles, and mixed team titles at the 2011 Canada Winter Games.
Career
One of Li's early notable performances came at the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax, Nova Scotia. There she won gold in the women's singles event and followed that performance with a gold in the doubles event with Alexandra Bruce. Due to this success she was then named the flag bearer for Team Ontario at the closing ceremonies for the games.
Later that year Li was the gold medal winner in the women's doubles event alongside Bruce at the 2011 Pan American Games. Li would then go on the next day to win the women's singles competition, completing a second games double gold appearance that year, this time in Guadalajara.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Bruce and Li finished last in the round-robin portion of the women's doubles tournament, losing all three of their matches. However, the top two teams in the group were disqualified for attempting to intentionally lose matches so they would have an easier match-up in the quarterfinals. The duo was advanced to their quarterfinals, where they defeated Australia's Leanne Choo and Renuga Veeran. Bruce and Li finished in fourth place, the best Canadian finish in badminton at the Olympic Games.
In 2013, Li entered into the finals of the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold, defeating Hong Kong top player Yip Pui Yin in the semi-finals, making her the first Pan American athlete to ever enter into a singles final of a Grand Prix Gold event since that series began in 2007. In 2014, she also entered into the quarter-finals of the All England Open Badminton Championships Super Series Premier, beating Tai Tzu-ying in the first round, making her, in 35 years, the first Canadian player to enter at the least the quarter-finals of this prestigious tournament. Later in 2014, Li won the Canada Open Grand Prix, making her the first home player to win this title ever since it became a Grand Prix event.
Li won the gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games defeating Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland in the final. She thus became the first Canadian woman to win a singles gold in Commonwealth badminton.
At the 2015 Pan American Games, Li successfully defended her title, defeating fellow Canadian Rachel Honderich in the final.
Achievements
Individual Titles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent in final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Canada Open |  Zhang Beiwen | Walkover |
| 2015 | Canada Open |  Kaori Imabeppu | 21-17, 25-23 |
| 2014 | Czech International |  Maria Ulitina | 21-14, 21-17 |
| 2014 | Belgian International |  Karin Schnaase | 11-6, 11-2, 11-6 |
| 2014 | Canada Open |  Pai Yu-po | 21-16, 23-21 |
| 2013 | Brazil International |  Lohaynny Vicente | 16-21, 21-15, 21-8 |
| 2013 | Canadian International |  Christin Tsai | 21-14, 21-19 |
| 2013 | Maldives International |  Hana Ramadhini | 21-8, 21-13 |
| 2012 | Peru International | Ai Goto | 21-23, 21-14, 21-15 |
| 2011 | Canadian International |  Lianne Tan | 21-14, 21-11 |