Kelly Morgan

Kelly Ann Aston MBE (née Morgan, born 22 May 1975) is a Welsh badminton player. She has represented Wales and Great Britain in regional and international competitions, including the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games, winning gold in the 1998 Commonwealth Games,and beat world number one Ye Zhaoying of China in the 1999 IBF World Championships.

For the English boxer and javelin thrower, see Kelly Morgan (athlete).

Kelly Aston
MBE

Personal information
Birth name	Kelly Ann Morgan[1]
Born	(1975-05-22) 22 May 1975[2] Pontypridd, Wales
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[2]
Weight	65 kg (143 lb)[2]
Sport
Sport	Badminton
Medal record Badminton Representing  Wales Commonwealth Games 1998 Kuala Lumpur Women's singles European Badminton Championships 1998 Sofia Women's singles 2000 Glasgow Women's singles

Career

Aston began playing badminton at age nine. Her brother, Ross, was initially trying for the Welsh national team, and she only made the team as a result of accompanying him to the trials.[3]

In 1999, Aston was voted Welsh Woman of the Year,[3] and in 2002 she was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Jubilee Birthday Honours List for "services to the community, especially through Sport, in South Wales".[1][4]

Aston won 13 consecutive Women's Singles titles at the Welsh National Badminton Championships between 1992 and 2004, as well as six Women's Doubles and 4 Mixed Doubles titles. In 1998, she received a gold medal representing Wales at the Commonwealth Games, won silver at the 1998 European Badminton Championships, and bronze at the 2000 European Badminton Championships. She also represented Great Britain at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games.

Personal life

Aston was born in Pontypridd and attended Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School.[2][5] She married her husband, Dylan Aston, in 2002, and has two children, Ethan and Ellen.[3][6] As of December 2015 is a teacher at the GEMS Wellington Academy-Al Khail in Dubai.[6][7] She has also been heavily involved in charity work, particularly relating to Down Syndrome, and was the patron of the Down's Syndrome Association of Wales.[4][3]

Achievements

Commonwealth Games

Women’s singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1998	Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Aparna Popat	13–10, 11–5	Gold

European Championships

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2000	Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena, Glasgow, Scotland	Camilla Martin	11–4, 6–11, 1–11	Bronze
1998	Winter Sports Palace, Sofia, Bulgaria	Camilla Martin	2–11, 4–11	Silver

IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix has been sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation since 1983.

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1997	Dutch Open	Judith Meulendijks	9–11, 11–6, 8–11	Runner-up
2003	US Open	Lee Eun-woo	13–10, 7–11, 11–5	Winner

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1996	Polish Open	Joanne Muggeridge	Christine Gandrup Marina Andrievskaya	10–15, 8–15	Runner-up
1997	Dutch Open	Pernille Harder	Erica van den Heuvel Monique Hoogland	15–9, 15–9	Winner

IBF International

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2003	Irish International	Tine Rasmussen	9–11, 5–11	Runner-up
2003	Southern PanAm Classic	Kanako Yonekura	2–11, 3–11	Runner-up
2003	Brazil International	Miho Tanaka	8–11, 2–11	Runner-up
2003	Peru International	Dolores Marco	11–9, 11–5	Winner
2003	Croatian International	Pi Hongyan	11–6, 5–11, 4–11	Runner-up
2003	Polish International	Xu Huaiwen	5–11, 11–9, 3–11	Runner-up
2002	Mexico International	Sandra Jimeno	11–1, 11–2	Winner
2001	Scottish International	Christina Sørensen	8–6, 7–2, 5–7, ?, ?	Runner-up
1997	French International	Karolina Ericsson	12–9, 11–3	Winner
1996	Welsh International	Karolina Ericsson	11–4, 11–4	Winner
1996	Norwegian International	Marina Andrievskaya	–,–	Winner
1996	Finnish International	Joanne Muggeridge	10–12, 5–11	Runner-up

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1996	Welsh International	Sarah Hardaker	Brenda Conjin Nicole van Hooren	15–6, 10–15, 4–15	Runner-up
1996	Finnish International	Joanne Muggeridge	Nichola Beck Joanne Davies	15–3, 15–10	Winner
1995	Portugal International	Sarah Hore	Mette Hansen Majken Vange	6–15, 17–14, 12–15	Runner-up
1994	Hungarian International	Anne Søndergaard	Sarah Hardaker Rebecca Pantaney	8–15, 11–15	Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2004	Welsh International	Matthew Hughes	Chris Langridge Caroline Westley	17–14, 8–15, 15–7	Winner

References

1. "MBEs: I – M". BBC News. 14 June 2002. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
2. "Kelly Morgan". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
3. Harris, Nick (28 July 2002). "Badminton: Morgan the Racket seeks action replay of greatest moment". The Independent. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
4. "Badminton star Morgan honoured". BBC Sport. 14 June 2002. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
5. "Golden swimmer with a will to win". BBC News. 14 September 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
6. Matthew, Monl (14 October 2014). "Commonwealth gold medallist Kelly in Dubai". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
7. "Meet our Faculty". GEMS Wellington Academy-Al Kahail. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015.

External links

Kelly Morgan at BWF.tournamentsoftware.com