Li Xuerui announces retirement from badminton at the age of 28

After a long struggle with injuries, Chinese badminton great Li Xuerui has announced her retirement from the sport earlier this evening. At her peak, the shuttler was regarded as one of the greatest players in the game. However, since her unfortunate Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in the semi-finals of the Rio 2016 Olympics, things have never been the same for Xuerui. Here is a short recap of Li Xuerui's short-lived career.

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Chinese great Li Xuerui hangs up her boots at the age of 28

China's Li Xuerui announced her arrival in top-tier badminton at the tender age of 19 when she defeated Saina Nehwal and Liu Xin en route to winning the Badminton Asia Championships in 2010. She enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom since that victory and was soon a favourite at top BWF tournaments across the globe. Over the course of her career, Li Xuerui has won a total of 14 Superseries titles. But post the disastrous ACL tear in Rio, the Chinese shuttler could never get back to her peak. After a gap of one year, Xuerui made her successful comeback and went on to win a hat-trick of titles, including the US Open and the Canada Open. Her final tournament was the last month's Korea Open where she was forced to retire from her first-round match against Japan’s Sayaka Takahashi.

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