Goh Liu Ying

Goh was born on 30 May 1989 in Alor Gajah, Malacca to Goh Chak Whee and Yong Oi Lin. She has two younger brothers, Goh Qi Hao and Goh Qi Liang. Both of them study at SMK Munshi Abdullah in 5SN1. She first started training in badminton at the age of 10.[2] She enrolled into the Bukit Jalil Sports School when she was 13 years old.[2]

In 2009, Goh and Chan reached their first international tournament final at the Vietnam Open but were defeated by Flandy Limpele and Cheng Wen-hsing.[3] At the 2009 SEA Games, she won gold in women's team event and bronze in mixed doubles event.

In 2010, they came to prominence when they won the Badminton Asia Championships after defeating South Korean's Yoo Yeon-seong and Kim Min-jung in the final. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she won the gold medal in mixed team event. In the mixed doubles event, Goh and Chan lost the bronze medal match to Chayut Triyachart and Yao Lei. At the 2010 Asian Games they lost in the first round to eventual winner, Shin Baek-cheol and Lee Hyo-jung.

In 2011, they were defeated by Indonesian pair, Tontowi Ahmad and Lilyana Natsir in the final of the Malaysia Open. They won the Bitburger Open by defeating Denmark's Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl.

In 2012, they became the first Malaysian mixed doubles pair to reach the semi-finals of the All England Open but lost to Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir.[4] In the following month, they became the runner-up of Australia Open after losing to Chinese Taipei's Chen Hung-Ling and Cheng Wen-Hsing in the final. They gained their first ever Malaysia Open crown by beating Indonesian pair, Irfan Fadhilah and Weni Anggraini.[5]

Goh and Chan represented Malaysia at the 2012 Summer Olympics. They were the first ever Malaysian mixed doubles pair to qualify for the Olympic Games. They lost all three group matches and failed to progress to quarter-finals in their Olympics debut. In the same year, Goh and Chan won their first Super Series tournament at the Japan Open by beating Muhammad Rijal and Lilyana Natsir.[6] In November 2012, they reached the final of China Open but were defeated by top seed, Xu Chen and Ma Jin in straight sets. They were ranked 3rd in the world at their career high at the end of 2012.

In 2014, Goh decided to undergo knee surgery to fix her aggravating right knee.[7] While she was recovering, Goh enrolled into a modelling academy and did some modelling for the sports of badminton.[8] After a total of 11-month hiatus due to recovery, Goh resumed her partnership with Chan in 2015.[9]

They won three titles in 2015, the Polish Open, Russian Open and the Mexico Open.[10][11] At the 2015 SEA Games, they won silver after losing to Indonesia's Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto in a very tightly contested mixed doubles final.[12] Goh also won silver in women's team event.

In 2016, they became the runner-up of the inaugural edition of Thailand Masters after losing to unseeded Chinese pair, Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen in the final.[13] In March, they clinched their first title of the year by winning the New Zealand Open.[14] In April, they were defeated by Indonesian pair, Tontowi Ahmad and Lilyana Natsir in the final of the Malaysia Open.[15]

Goh and Chan qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics. They won their first two group stage matches but lost the third to Indonesian pair, Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir. They finished as group runner-up and progressed to the quarter-finals round. In the quarter-finals, they beat Group B winner, Robert Mateusiak and Nadieżda Zięba of Poland. In the semi-finals, they beat China's Xu Chen and Ma Jin in straight games to reach the final.[16]

In the final, they had to settle for silver medal after they were beaten by Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir for the second time in the tournament.[17] Despite the fact that Goh and Chan lost in the final, they made history as the first Malaysian mixed doubles pair to claim an Olympic medal.

In March 2017, Goh and Chan become the first Malaysian mixed doubles pair to reach the All England Open final since 1955. In the final, Goh and Chan were defeated by 5th seed Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong in 3 sets after a few controversial fault calls by the umpire against them.[18] In April, Chan and Goh had to withdraw from the semi-final of India Open due to Goh's illness.[19] They later suffered a first round loss to Edi Subaktiar and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja in the Malaysia Open.[20]

In May 2017, Goh announced that she had an aggravating injury in her right shoulder and thus, she went to Halle in Germany for surgery.[21] She spent weeks to undergo her rehabilitation in Halle before returning to Malaysia in early July when she released her autobiography entitled I am Goh Liu Ying.[22] In November 2017, Goh partnered with Chen Tang Jie to win the India International Series.[23]

In January 2018, Goh resumed her partnership with Chan and they won the Thailand Masters.[24] At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, she won the silver medal in mixed team event and the bronze medal in mixed doubles event.[25]

In December 2018, she announced her resignation from Badminton Association of Malaysia with her current partner Chan Peng Soon.[26] She also participated in Purple League 18/19 with Tang Chun Man in mixed doubles.[27] Chan and Goh had grabbed their first title in 2019 Thailand Masters after their resignation from BAM.[28]

In July 2021, Goh with her partner Chan competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics,[29] but was eliminated in the group stage.[29][30]

On 6 December 2021, Goh partner Chan announced in his Instagram post that Chan-Goh have decided to split up after 13 years of playing badminton together. BWF World Tour Finals 2021 was the last games Chan-Goh played.[31] Ong Yew Sin later became Goh's new partner and the planned German Open will be their first tournament together.[32]

In November 2022, Goh announced her plans to retire after competing at the 2023 Malaysia Open.[33] Teaming up again with Chan Peng Soon, they lost 21-18, 15-21, 7-21 to the Indonesian pair of Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto and Lisa Ayu Kusumawati in the first round on 10 January 2023. Badminton Association of Malaysia organized a retirement ceremony for Goh at the Axiata Arena on 14 January 2023. An exhibition match featuring Goh, Tan Boon Heong, Koo Kean Keat, Chan Peng Soon, Cheah Liek Hou and Beiwen Zhang was held during the ceremony.[34] Following her retirement, Goh founded a badminton academy; GLY Academy in Melaka and runs a sports agency; Wellsport as well as a gown rental shop - Tuilerie - in Kuala Lumpur.[35] In July 2023, she opened a badminton hall - GLY Badminton Hall - in Krubong, Melaka with hopes to bring more resources in the sport to her birthplace.[36]

On 18 April 2023, Goh hinted that she is married to a low-profile businessman, whom she started dating when she was still competing, through a series of postings on her Facebook and Instagram profiles. [37] Goh gave birth to her first child on 31 August 2023, which coincides with Malaysia's 66th national day. [38]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Goh Liu Ying.

• Official website
• Goh Liu Ying at Badminton Association of Malaysia
• GOH Liu Ying at BWFbadminton.com
• Goh Liu Ying at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)