Zarinah Abdullah

Zarinah Abdullah (born 12 July 1971) is a retired badminton player notable for being the first female professional badminton player in Singapore.^[1] She was considered Singapore's top badminton player in the 1990s^[2] and represented the country in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.^[3]

Zarinah Abdullah
Personal information
Country	Singapore
Born	(1971-07-12) 12 July 1971 (age 54) Singapore
Height	1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Handedness	Right
Women's singles
Highest ranking	7 (19 July 1993)
Medal record Women's badminton Representing  Singapore Southeast Asian Games 1989 Kuala Lumpur Women's team 1993 Singapore Women's singles 1995 Chiang Mai Women's team
BWF profile

Career

Zarinah started playing badminton at the age of 12. While studying at Outram Institute, she competed in the national championships. As of February 1990, she was Singapore's national women's champion for two years. She subsequently quit her pre-university studies to become a full-time badminton player.^[3]

Zarinah participated in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics in the women's singles event.^[3] She achieved her highest world ranking of seven in July 1993^[4] and her highest World Grand Prix ranking of three in January 1994.^[5][6]

Awards

Zarinah received the 1993 and 1994 Meritorious Award from the Singapore National Olympic Committee.^[7]

Achievements

Southeast Asian Games

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1993	Singapore Badminton Hall, Singapore	Yuliani Santosa	2–11, 3–11	Bronze

IBF International

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1993	Brunei Open	Silvia Anggraeni	11–5, 10–12, 8–11	Runner-up
1995	New Zealand International	Song Yang	4–11, 11–8, 5–11	Runner-up
1997	Malaysia International	Ellen Angelina	9–11, 7–11	Runner-up