Yuan Wemyss

Yuan Wemyss ; also known as Rita Yuan Gao, Yuan Gao and Rita Pickering ; born 14 January 1976 is a retired Scottish badminton player who won Scottish National Championships for 13 times.[1]

Yuan Wemyss
Personal information
Country	Scotland
Born	14 January 1976 Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
Residence	Stirling, Scotland
Height	178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Retired	in 2006
Handedness	Right
Coach	Dan Travers
Event	Women's singles & doubles
Medal record Women's badminton Representing  Scotland Commonwealth Games 2002 Manchester Mixed team
BWF profile

Career

Wemyss was a bright sport prospect who formerly played at the regional level in China but never made it up to the national squad due to very tough competition. She temporarily left the sport in 1999 and began pursuing her another interest in learning English at the Carlisle College. In Carlisle she met Ian Palethorpe, a man whom she married few years after they met in a badminton club. Ian realised the great potential of Wemyss and contacted Scottish National badminton coach Dan Travers who in turn began supporting her for playing further Badminton and represent the Scotland at international stage. She there got her nickname Rita, then after dubbed as Rita Yuan Gao.[2] However she later divorced and reverted to her original name Yuan Gao.[3]

As of 2012, Yuan Gao moved to Zurich, Switzerland for part-time study of a Master of Philosophy in Sports Studies at the University of Stirling with a coaching role at Swiss Badminton. She also served as a Woman's ambassador in Badminton World Federation. In 2013, she competed in World Senior Championships also.[4] Currently she is acting as Performance and Development Coach of Badminton Scotland.[5][6]

Family

Wemyss comes from Wuhan, a big industrial city in Central China located alongside Yangtze river. Her father was a football coach and her brother was a professional player of Hubei Province. Her mother was a former Army administrator.

Achievements

IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006.

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2001	Dutch Open	Sandra Watt	Erica van den Heuvel Nicole van Hooren	4–15, 7–15	Runner-up

IBF International

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2006	Portugal International	Anna Rice	21–9^r	Winner
2005	Miami International	Anna Rice	11–3, 11–5	Winner
2005	Peru International	Anna Rice	2–11, 11–1, 11–5	Winner
2005	Finnish International	Susan Hughes	8–11, 9–11	Runner-up
2005	Portugal International	Jeanine Cicognini	7–11, 11–3, 11–8	Winner
2004	Scottish International	Jill Pittard	11–4, 3–11, 13–10	Winner
2004	Iceland International	Susan Hughes	7–11, 2–11	Runner-up
2004	Norwegian International	Petra Overzier	1–11, 6–11	Runner-up
2000	Irish International	Elizabeth Cann	9–11, 11–2, 11–5	Winner
2000	New Zealand International	Rhona Robertson	3–11, 9–11	Runner-up

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2005	Portugal International	Petya Nedelcheva	Kathrin Piotrowski Sandra Marinello	15–8, 11–15, 2–15	Runner-up
2004	Welsh International	Petya Nedelcheva	Katie Litherland Julie Pike	17–14, 15–0	Winner
2004	Norwegian International	Michelle Douglas	Liza Parker Suzanne Rayappan	0–15, 15–13, 8–15	Runner-up
2002	Iceland International	Kirsteen McEwan	Katrin Atladóttir Drifa Hardardóttir	11–3, 11–4	Winner
2002	Scottish International	Kirsteen McEwan	Nicole Grether Juliane Schenk	Walkover	Winner
2002	Slovak International	Kirsteen McEwan	Natalia Gorodnicheva Elena Sukhareva	11–5, 11–5	Winner
2001	Scottish International	Sandra Watt	Kirsteen McEwan Susan Hughes	7–4, 7–0, 6–8, 7–0	Winner

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2004	Iceland International	Graeme Smith	Hayley Connor Peter Jeffrey	7–15, 15–7, 13–15	Runner-up

References

1. "Profile:Rita YUAN GAO". bwfbadminton.com. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
2. Lee, Veronica (21 July 2002). "Shuttle diplomacy". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
3. Lowe, Douglas (18 November 2006). "Chance to see a special player still setting a perfect example". The Herald. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
4. "World badminton ambassadorial call-up for Scottish student". www.stir.ac.uk. University of Stirling. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
5. "Scotland's team for U17 European Championships". www.badmintoneurope.com. Badminton Scotland. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
6. "Disability Badminton". Retrieved 19 September 2020.