Kate Jessica Kim Lee Foo Kune (born 29 March 1993) is a badminton player from Mauritius.[1] She began playing badminton in Mauritius at age six. Her first major tournament participation was 2013 BWF World Championships in China, where she lost in the first round of women's singles to Sarah Walker of England.[2] Foo Kune represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[3] She was the flag bearer for Mauritius during the Parade of Nations.[4]
As a junior player, she won the Under-15 and Under-19 African tournaments. In 2015, she was awarded the Sportswoman of the Year award in Mauritius. In doubles, she partnered with Yeldy Marie Louison, while in mixed doubles, she partnered with Julien Paul. Her career-best ranking remains 63 as of 2016, and her best performance remains the gold at 2015 African games.
Personal life
Kate Foo Kune is the second child of Jacques and Cathy Foo Kune (née Ng), both leading mixed doubles badminton players who several championships, such as the 1985 Indian Ocean Games.[5] The pair were married in 1990 and had two children. Her sister, Karen Foo Kune, is also a professional badminton player and competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Foo Kune pursued her bachelor's degree in sports management while in France.[6]
Foo Kune started playing badminton at the age of six and turned professional by twelve. She first participated in a junior competition at age 12 in 2005. She had her international debut Thomas and Uber Cup Qualification for Africa in 2010 held at Uganda. She was named Sportswoman of the Year in 2015 in Mauritius. In doubles, she partnered with Yeldy Marie Louison; in mixed doubles, she partnered with Julien Paul.[3] During the early part of her career, she paired with her sister Karen Foo Kune. She finished second during her first outing in the African Badminton Cup of Nations, but a few weeks later, she won the Mauritius International Series. She went on to win the Under-15 and Under-19 African tournaments.[9]
In September 2013, it was reported that she was one of the 14 players selected for the Road to Rio Program, a program that aimed to help African badminton players compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[10]
As of 2016, she lived in Paris, France,[11] and joined Issy-Les-Moulineaux Badminton Club. Before this, she trained for four months in Malaysia and Leeds, England.[9]
In June 2019, Foo Kune tested positive for doping during the 2019 African Badminton Championships and in November 2019, she was retrospectively disqualified from the championship, thus becoming the first-ever badminton player from Mauritius to be suspended for doping.[15] In December 2020, Foo Kune was banned for two years for the positive test, after a failed appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. As a result, Foo Kune cannot compete at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021.[16]
In November 2019, Badminton World Federation released a statement regarding the doping test failure of Kate Foo Kune in this championships and decided to disqualify her result.[15]
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