Susi Susanti

Lucia Francisca "Susi" Susanti Haditono (Chinese: 王蓮香; pinyin: Wáng Liánxiāng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ông Liân-hiang; born 11 February 1971) is an Indonesian retired badminton player.^[1] Relatively small of stature, she combined quick and graceful movement with elegant shotmaking technique, and is regarded by many as one of the greatest women's singles players of all time.^[2] She was the inaugural Olympic women's badminton champion and the first Indonesian Olympic gold medalist.

Susi Susanti
Susanti carrying a torch fire during the 2018 Asian Games Torch Relay Concert in Jakarta, Indonesia
Personal information
Full name	Lucia Francisca Susanti Haditono
Birth name	Ong Lien Hiang 王蓮香
Country	Indonesia
Born	(1971-02-11) 11 February 1971 (age 54) Tasikmalaya, West Java, Indonesia
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Spouse	Alan Budikusuma ​ (m. 1997)​
Retired	1998
Handedness	Right
Coach	Liang Qiuxia
Women's singles
Highest ranking	1
Medal record Women's badminton Representing  Indonesia Olympic Games 1992 Barcelona Women's singles 1996 Atlanta Women's singles World Championships 1993 Birmingham Women's singles 1991 Copenhagen Women's singles 1995 Lausanne Women's singles World Cup 1989 Guangzhou Women's singles 1993 New Delhi Women's singles 1994 Ho Chi Minh Women's singles 1996 Jakarta Women's singles 1997 Yogyakarta Women's singles 1990 Bandung-Jakarta Women's singles 1995 Jakarta Women's singles 1991 Macau Women's singles Sudirman Cup 1989 Jakarta Mixed team 1991 Copenhagen Mixed team 1993 Birmingham Mixed team 1995 Lausanne Mixed team 1997 Glasgow Mixed team Uber Cup 1994 Jakarta Women's team 1996 Hong Kong Women's team 1998 Hong Kong Women's team 1990 Nagoya-Tokyo Women's team 1992 Kuala Lumpur Women's team Asian Games 1990 Beijing Women's team 1994 Hiroshima Women's team 1990 Beijing Women's singles 1994 Hiroshima Women's singles SEA Games 1987 Jakarta Women's team 1989 Kuala Lumpur Women's singles 1989 Kuala Lumpur Women's team 1991 Manila Women's singles 1991 Manila Women's team 1995 Chiang Mai Women's singles 1995 Chiang Mai Women's team 1997 Jakarta Women's team 1987 Jakarta Women's singles
BWF profile

Career

Susanti won the women's singles gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain and the bronze medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, United States. She retired from the world badminton circuit not long after her marriage, in February 1997, to Alan Budikusuma, who had also won a badminton singles gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Susanti was the most dominant women's singles player in the first half of the 1990s, winning the All England Open in 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994, the World Badminton Grand Prix Finals five consecutive times from 1990 to 1994 as well as in 1996, and the IBF World Championships in 1993. She is the only female player to hold the Olympic, World Championship, and All-England singles titles simultaneously. She won the Japan Open three times and the Indonesian Open six times. She also won numerous Badminton Grand Prix series events and five Badminton World Cups. She led the Indonesian team to victory over perennial champion China in the 1994 and 1996 Uber Cup (women's world team) competitions. All of this came during a relatively strong period in women's international badminton. Her chief competitors early in her prime years were the Chinese players Tang Jiuhong and Huang Hua, and, later, China's Ye Zhaoying and the Korean Bang Soo-hyun.

Susanti was inducted into the International Badminton Federation (IBF, currently BWF) Hall of Fame in May 2004, and received the Herbert Scheele Trophy in 2002. She lit the flame at the 2018 Asian Games opening ceremony.

Playing style

Susanti was an extremely durable defensive player who liked to instigate long rallies to wear down her opponent's stamina and invite errors. That style was in contrast to most of the top female players of her time such as Bang Soo-hyun, Tang Jiuhong, Huang Hua, and Ye Zhaoying, who employed a more aggressive style.

Susanti's matches against top-tier opponents were characteristically slow-paced and long, especially in the era of 15 points system when a player could only earn a point when she or he held the serve. Susanti relied on deep clears to the back line, limiting the chance of a fast-paced exchange, mixed with tight drop shots, forcing her opponent to cover the entire court. Susanti frequently covered her backhand side with overhead forehands, by relying on her quickness and back-arching suppleness. Relatively short, she often stretched her legs very wide to take low shots at the corners or away from her position. Developed from training, this leg-stretching, almost balletic maneuver became a signature pose which sometimes ended with a full leg split. In the later years of her career, Susanti incorporated more smashing into her repertoire, enough to throw off opponents expecting only a game of attrition.

Personal life

She is married to Alan Budikusuma (Chinese: 魏仁芳), a men's badminton Olympic gold medalist (also in 1992) and one of the top men's players in the history of the sport, a former Chinese Indonesian badminton player who excelled at the world level from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s.^[3] Together they have three children, Laurencia Averina, born 1999, Albertus Edward, born 2000, Sebastianus Fredrick, born 2003. When the eldest daughter was born, Indonesia was rocked by a series of civil outbreaks and violence. Susanti decided to name her daughter Laurencia Averina Wiratama, which means “peace”, hoping that she would bring about peace in the nation.^[4]

In popular culture

A biopic in Indonesian based on Susanti's life story, entitled Susi Susanti: Love All directed by Sim F with Laura Basuki playing the titular role and Dion Wiyoko as Alan Budikusuma was released on 24 October 2019.^[5][6][7]

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Category	Result	Ref.
Government of Indonesia Awards	1992	Tanda Kehormatan Bintang Jasa Utama	Honored	[8]
International Badminton Federation Awards	2002	Herbert Scheele Trophy	Honored	[9]
	2004	Badminton Hall of Fame	Honored	[10]
RCTI Indonesian Sports Entertainment Awards	2024	Most Popular Legendary Athlete	Nominated	[11]
CNN Indonesia Awards, West Java		Most Influential Figures in the Development of Indonesian Badminton	Won	[12]

Achievements

Olympic Games

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1992	Pavelló de la Mar Bella, Barcelona, Spain	Bang Soo-hyun	5–11, 11–5, 11–3	Gold
1996	GSU Sports Arena, Atlanta, United States	Kim Ji-hyun	11–4, 11–1	Bronze

World Championships

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1991	Brøndby Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark	Tang Jiuhong	4–11, 1–11	Bronze
1993	National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, England	Bang Soo-hyun	7–11, 11–9, 11–3	Gold
1995	Malley Sports Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland	Ye Zhaoying	11–5, 8–11, 2–11	Bronze

World Cup

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1989	Guangzhou Gymnasium, Guangzhou, China	Han Aiping	11–5, 11–4	Gold
1990	Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia	Sarwendah Kusumawardhani	5–11, 11–1, 11–12	Silver
1991	Macau Forum, Macau	Huang Hua	3–11, 2–11	Bronze
1993	Indira Gandhi Arena, New Delhi, India	Lim Xiaoqing	11–7, 11–5	Gold
1994	Phan Đình Phùng Indoor Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	Bang Soo-hyun	12–9, 11–6	Gold
1995	Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia	Ye Zhaoying	9–12, 11–2, 9–12	Silver
1996	Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia	Wang Chen	11–7, 11–4	Gold
1997	Among Rogo Sports Hall, Yogyakarta, Indonesia	Ye Zhaoying	11–8, 11–5	Gold

Asian Games

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1990	Beijing Gymnasium, Beijing, China	Tang Jiuhong	11–7, 1–11, 7–11	Bronze
1994	Tsuru Memorial Gymnasium, Hiroshima, Japan	Hisako Mizui	4–11, 5–11	Bronze

SEA Games

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1987	Kuningan Hall, Jakarta, Indonesia	Elizabeth Latief	5–11, 9–11	Silver
1989	Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Sarwendah Kusumawardhani	11–7, 11–6	Gold
1991	Camp Crame Gymnasium, Manila, Philippines	Sarwendah Kusumawardhani	5–11, 11–8, 11–2	Gold
1995	Gymnasium 3, 700th Anniversary Sport Complex, Chiang Mai, Thailand	Somharuthai Jaroensiri	11–4, 11–0	Gold

World Junior Championships

The Bimantara World Junior Championships was an international invitation badminton tournament for junior players. It was held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 1987 to 1991.

Girls' singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1987	Jakarta, Indonesia	Lee Jung-mi	11–6, 8–11, 11–6	Gold
1988	Jakarta, Indonesia	Huang Ying	11–5, 11–2	Gold

Girls' doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1987	Jakarta, Indonesia	Lilik Sudarwati	Gil Young-ah Lee Jung-mi	9–15, 15–6, 15–5	Gold
1988	Jakarta, Indonesia	Lilik Sudarwati	Bang Soo-hyun Shon Hye-joo	14–18, 18–14, 15–4	Gold

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1987	Jakarta, Indonesia	Ardy Wiranata	Ricky Subagja Lilik Sudarwati	7–15, 15–7, 15–9	Gold

IBF World Grand Prix (39 titles, 13 runners-up)

The World Badminton Grand Prix was sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006.

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1989	All England Open	Li Lingwei	8–11, 4–11	Runner-up
1989	Chinese Taipei Open	Christine Gandrup	11–8, 3–11, 7–11	Runner-up
1989	Indonesia Open	Huang Hua	11–7, 11–0	Winner
1990	All England Open	Huang Hua	12–11, 11–1	Winner
1990	Indonesia Open	Lee Young-suk	11–1, 8–11, 4–11	Runner-up
1990	Australian Open	Anna Lao	11–1, 11–4	Winner
1990	World Grand Prix Finals	Tang Jiuhong	8–11, 11–5, 12–10	Winner
1991	Chinese Taipei Open	Somharuthai Jaroensiri	11–1, 11–2	Winner
1991	Japan Open	Huang Hua	3–11, 6–11	Runner-up
1991	All England Open	Sarwendah Kusumawardhani	0–11, 11–2, 11–6	Winner
1991	Indonesia Open	Lee Heung-soon	11–8, 11–3	Winner
1991	Denmark Open	Huang Hua	11–5, 6–11, 11–8	Winner
1991	Thailand Open	Lee Heung-soon	11–7, 11–4	Winner
1991	Swedish Open	Pernille Nedergaard	11–2, 11–3	Winner
1991	World Grand Prix Finals	Lee Heung-soon	9–11, 11–8, 11–1	Winner
1992	Denmark Open	Lim Xiaoqing	11–3, 11–3	Winner
1992	Japan Open	Ye Zhaoying	11–2, 11–0	Winner
1992	German Open	Sarwendah Kusumawardhani	11–7, 10–12, 11–8	Winner
1992	Hong Kong Open	Bang Soo-hyun	11–5, 6–11, 7–11	Runner-up
1992	Thailand Open	Bang Soo-hyun	11–7, 11–4	Winner
1992	World Grand Prix Finals	Sarwendah Kusumawardhani	9–11, 11–3, 11–4	Winner
1993	All England Open	Bang Soo-hyun	4–11, 11–4, 11–1	Winner
1993	Malaysia Open	Lim Xiaoqing	11–6, 11–2	Winner
1993	Indonesia Open	Ye Zhaoying	9–11, 11–12	Runner-up
1993	Thailand Open	Somharuthai Jaroensiri	12–10, 11–2	Winner
1993	Korea Open	Bang Soo-hyun	9–12, 5–11	Runner-up
1993	German Open	Ye Zhaoying	11–6, 11–8	Winner
1993	Dutch Open	Camilla Martin	11–7, 11–1	Winner
1993	World Grand Prix Finals	Ye Zhaoying	11–3, 12–9	Winner
1994	Chinese Taipei Open	Kim Ji-hyun	11–2, 11–5	Winner
1994	All England Open	Ye Zhaoying	11–5, 11–9	Winner
1994	Japan Open	Ye Zhaoying	11–6, 10–12, 11–8	Winner
1994	Malaysia Open	Ye Zhaoying	11–3, 11–8	Winner
1994	Thailand Open	Lim Xiaoqing	11–5, 12–10	Winner
1994	Indonesia Open	Bang Soo-hyun	2–11, 11–0, 11–7	Winner
1994	World Grand Prix Finals	Ye Zhaoying	4–11, 12–10, 11–4	Winner
1995	Japan Open	Bang Soo-hyun	11–7, 12–11	Winner
1995	Malaysia Open	Bang Soo-hyun	11–1, 11–6	Winner
1995	Indonesia Open	Bang Soo-hyun	11–1, 12–11	Winner
1995	Korea Open	Bang Soo-hyun	3–11, 11–7, 11–9	Winner
1996	Japan Open	Ye Zhaoying	7–11, 8–11	Runner-up
1996	Indonesia Open	Wang Chen	11–8, 11–8	Winner
1996	Chinese Taipei Open	Ye Zhaoying	11–5, 11–2	Winner
1996	World Grand Prix Finals	Ye Zhaoying	11–4, 11–1	Winner
1997	Malaysia Open	Ye Zhaoying	11–5, 11–7	Winner
1997	Indonesia Open	Meiluawati	11–4, 11–5	Winner
1997	Vietnam Open	Xu Huaiwen	11–4, 11–1	Winner
1997	World Grand Prix Finals	Ye Zhaoying	4–11, 4–11	Runner-up
1998	Singapore Open	Ye Zhaoying	5–11, 6–11, 2–11	Runner-up

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1987	Indonesia Open	Verawaty Fadjrin	Rosiana Tendean Ivana Lie	4–15, 16–17	Runner-up
1990	Australian Open	Lisa Campbell	Rhonda Cator Anna Lao	8–15, 2–15	Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1990	Australian Open	Ardy Wiranata	He Tim Anna Lao	11–15, 12–15	Runner-up

  IBF Grand Prix tournament

  IBF Grand Prix Finals tournament

IBF Junior International (2 titles)

Girls' singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
1987	Duinwijck Junior	Lilik Sudarwati	11–2, 11–3	Winner	[13]

Girls' doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
1987	Duinwijck Junior	Lilik Sudarwati	Tina Antonsen Siw Hemmingsen	5–11, 15–11, 15–6	Winner	[13]

Invitational tournament

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1988	Asian Invitational Championships	Tang Jiuhong	1–11, 4–11	Bronze

Record against selected opponents

Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists.

Players Matches Results Difference Won Lost Anna Lao 1 1 0 +1 Dai Yun 3 3 0 +3 Gong Ruina 2 1 1 0 Gong Zhichao 7 4 3 +1 Han Aiping 3 2 1 +1 Han Jingna 5 5 0 +5 Huang Hua 13 9 4 +5 Li Lingwei 2 0 2 –2 Tang Jiuhong 13 7 6 +1 Wang Chen 4 3 1 +2 Xu Huaiwen 1 1 0 +1 Yao Yan 5 5 0 +5 Ye Zhaoying 34 23 11 +12 Zhang Ning 6 5 1 +4

Players Matches Results Difference Won Lost Huang Chia-chi 1 1 0 +1 Camilla Martin 15 15 0 +15 Mette Sørensen 2 2 0 +2 Helen Troke 2 2 0 +2 Yasuko Mizui 1 1 0 +1 Mia Audina 1 1 0 +1 Sarwendah Kusumawardhani 6 5 1 +4 Bang Soo-hyun 25 19 6 +13 Kim Ji-hyun 8 7 1 +6 Lee Heung-soon 4 4 0 +4 Lee Young-suk 6 3 3 0 Lim Xiaoqing 9 8 1 +7 Somharuthai Jaroensiri 12 12 0 +12