Isabelle Li

{{short description|Singaporean table tennis player (born 1994)}}

{{Infobox table tennis player

| name = Isabelle Li

| image = Isabelle Li at the 3rd Commonwealth Youth Games-2008, in Pune on October 16, 2008 (cropped).jpg

| alt = Li with gold medal at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games medal ceremony

| caption = Li at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games

| full_name = Li Siyun Isabelle

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1994|08|28}}

| birth_place = Singapore

| playingstyle = Right-hand shakehand grip

| show-medals = y

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry |{{SIN}}}}

}}

Isabelle Li Siyun (born 28 August 1994) is a Singaporean table tennis player who was part of the team that won the women's team event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She won a gold medal at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, a silver medal in the women's singles event at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, and multiple medals in Southeast Asian Games events.

Personal life

Li went to Chongfu Primary School and Singapore Sports School. She took up table tennis whilst in primary school and also performed Chinese-style dancing.{{cite news| url= https://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Sports/Story/A1Story20090629-151565.html| title= Table tennis: The younger Li| work=The Straits Times| via=AsiaOne| date=29 June 2009| access-date=4 November 2020}} In 2015, Li started studying liberal arts at Yale-NUS College, where she received a scholarship.{{cite web| url= https://www.yale-nus.edu.sg/newsroom/table-tennis-ace-scores-psc-scholarship-the-straits-times-22-july-2015-2/| title= Table tennis ace scores PSC scholarship, The Straits Times, 22 July 2015| publisher=Yale-NUS College| date=22 July 2015| access-date=4 November 2020}}

Career

File:Singapore WNT WTTC2016.jpeg.|alt=Four players standing listening to their coach.]]

Li first competed for Singapore at the age of 11, making her the country's youngest-ever table tennis player.{{cite web| url= https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singaporean-table-tennis-starlet-isabelle-li-defends-foreign-born-teammates-091226607.html| title=Singaporean table tennis starlet Isabelle Li defends foreign-born teammates| publisher=Yahoo!| date=8 August 2014| access-date=4 November 2020}} Li won the girls' singles event at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games. She competed at the 2009 Asian Youth Games in Singapore. She won a silver medal in the women's singles event at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore, losing to China's Gu Yuting in the final.{{cite news| url=https://tnp.straitstimes.com/sports/team-singapore/paddler-isabelle-comeback-trail| title= Paddler Isabelle on the comeback trail| work=tnp.sg| date=26 February 2016| access-date=4 November 2020}}{{cite web| url= https://www.youth.gov.sg/Spotted/People/2010/8/Table-Tennis-Isabelle-Li-lost-but-inspired| title= Table Tennis: Isabelle Li lost, but inspired| publisher=Youth.gov.sg| date=23 August 2010| access-date=4 November 2020}} After the final, Li received a standing ovation from the crowd of 5,000.{{cite news| url= https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/yog-helped-li-feel-rooted-to-nation| title= YOG helped Isabelle Li feel rooted to nation| work=The Straits Times| date=23 August 2020| access-date=5 November 2020}} Li won a silver medal in the women's individual event at the 2011 Southeast Asian Games.{{cite news| url= https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/ex-paddler-li-receives-55k-boost| title= Table tennis: Ex-paddler Isabelle Li receives $55k boost| work=The Straits Times| date=29 May 2017| access-date=4 November 2020}} In 2013, Li was part of the Singapore team that won gold medals at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships and South East Asian Games, as well as winning a silver medal in the individual event at the Southeast Asian Games. Li was part of the Singapore team that won the women's team event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Li was one of two Singaporean-born athletes in the Singapore table tennis squad; many of the squad were originally from China.

Li again finished second in the women's team event at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games, beating Hong Kong's Lee Ho Ching in the quarter finals.{{cite web| url=https://www.insidethegames.biz/index.php/articles/1024784/north-korea-advance-to-table-tennis-world-team-cup-semi-finals| title= North Korea advance to table tennis World Team Cup semi-finals| publisher=Inside the Games| date=9 January 2015| access-date=4 November 2020}} She was knocked out in the group stages of the women's individual event,{{cite news| url= https://www.todayonline.com/sports/isabelle-li-could-be-out-table-tennis-womens-singles| title= Isabelle Li could be out of table tennis women's singles| work=Today| date=3 June 2015| access-date=4 November 2020}} having played with a knee injury. Due to her knee injury, Li did not compete for the rest of the 2015, and her next competitive tournament was the 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. That was her last competitive event. In 2017, Li received $55,000 from the Singapore Table Tennis Association as recognition for her achievements.