Kelly Morgan

Kelly Ann Aston MBE (née Morgan, born 22 May 1975) is a Welsh badminton player. She has represented Wales and Great Britain in regional and international competitions, including the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games, winning gold in the 1998 Commonwealth Games, and beat world number one Ye Zhaoying of China in the 1999 IBF World Championships.

Kelly Aston
MBE
Personal information
Birth nameKelly Ann Morgan[1]
Born (1975-05-22) 22 May 1975 (age 49)[2]
Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan, Wales
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[2]
Weight65 kg (143 lb)[2]
HandednessRight
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  Wales
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1998 Kuala Lumpur Women's singles
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 1998 Sofia Women's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Glasgow Women's singles

Career

Aston began playing badminton at age nine. Her brother, Ross, was initially trying for the Welsh national team, and she only made the team as a result of accompanying him to the trials.[3]

In 1999, Aston was voted Welsh Woman of the Year;[3] she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2002 Birthday Honours for "services to the community, especially through Sport, in South Wales."[1][4][5]

Aston won 13 consecutive Women's Singles titles at the Welsh National Badminton Championships between 1992 and 2004, as well as six Women's Doubles and 4 Mixed Doubles titles. In 1998, she received a gold medal representing Wales at the Commonwealth Games, won silver at the 1998 European Badminton Championships, and bronze at the 2000 European Badminton Championships. She also represented Great Britain at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games.[citation needed]

Personal life

Aston was born in Pontypridd and attended Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School.[2][6] She married her husband, Dylan Aston, in 2002, and has two children, Ethan and Ella.[3][7] As of December 2015 is a teacher at the GEMS Wellington Academy-Al Khail in Dubai.[7][8] She has also been heavily involved in charity work, particularly relating to Down Syndrome, and was the patron of the Down's Syndrome Association of Wales.[4][3]

Achievements

Commonwealth Games

Women’s singles

YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
1998Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Aparna Popat13–10, 11–5 Gold

European Championships

Women's singles

YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
2000Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena, Glasgow, Scotland Camilla Martin11–4, 6–11, 1–11 Bronze
1998Winter Sports Palace, Sofia, Bulgaria Camilla Martin2–11, 4–11 Silver

IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix has been sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation since 1983.

Women's singles

YearTournamentOpponentScoreResult
1997Dutch Open Judith Meulendijks9–11, 11–6, 8–11 Runner-up
2003US Open Lee Eun-woo13–10, 7–11, 11–5 Winner

Women's doubles

YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult
1996Polish Open Joanne Muggeridge Christine Gandrup
Marina Andrievskaya
10–15, 8–15 Runner-up
1997Dutch Open Pernille Harder Erica van den Heuvel
Monique Hoogland
15–9, 15–9 Winner

IBF International

Women's singles

YearTournamentOpponentScoreResult
2003Irish International Tine Rasmussen9–11, 5–11 Runner-up
2003Southern PanAm Classic Kanako Yonekura2–11, 3–11 Runner-up
2003Brazil International Miho Tanaka8–11, 2–11 Runner-up
2003Peru International Dolores Marco11–9, 11–5 Winner
2003Croatian International Pi Hongyan11–6, 5–11, 4–11 Runner-up
2003Polish International Xu Huaiwen5–11, 11–9, 3–11 Runner-up
2002Mexico International Sandra Jimeno11–1, 11–2 Winner
2001Scottish International Christina Sørensen8–6, 7–2, 5–7, ?, ? Runner-up
1997French International Karolina Ericsson12–9, 11–3 Winner
1996Welsh International Karolina Ericsson11–4, 11–4 Winner
1996Norwegian International Marina Andrievskaya–,– Winner
1996Finnish International Joanne Muggeridge10–12, 5–11 Runner-up

Women's doubles

YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult
1996Welsh International Sarah Hardaker Brenda Conjin
Nicole van Hooren
15–6, 10–15, 4–15 Runner-up
1996Finnish International Joanne Muggeridge Nichola Beck
Joanne Davies
15–3, 15–10 Winner
1995Portugal International Sarah Hore Mette Hansen
Majken Vange
6–15, 17–14, 12–15 Runner-up
1994Hungarian International Anne Søndergaard Sarah Hardaker
Rebecca Pantaney
8–15, 11–15 Runner-up

Mixed doubles

YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult
2004Welsh International Matthew Hughes Chris Langridge
Caroline Westley
17–14, 8–15, 15–7 Winner

References