Anna Rice Biography 10/11/08

Discussion in 'Professional Players' started by jamesd20, Nov 10, 2008.

  1. jamesd20

    jamesd20 Moderator

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    With a little help from the player herself her is a Biography of Anna Rice Pan Americas' top WS Player.


    Anna Rice Bio

    Anna Rice is North America’s top singles player. At 28 years old, she is currently ranked number 29th in the World. Born and raised in North Vancouver, Canada, Anna moved to Denmark in 2000 to play in the Danish Club League and to train at the International Badminton Academy under coach Michael Kjeldsen.

    Some of Anna’s career highlights include reaching the top 16 at the recent Beijing Olympics as well as at the 2007 French Super Series, 2008 China Open, 2008 All-England and the recent 2008 Denmark Super Series where she lost respectably to Runner up Zhou Mi. She pulled out of the French Open Super series with a niggle as a precaution to allow her to enter the final super series events of 2008 in China & HK.

    Rice also has reached the quarterfinals at the 2007 Philippine Grand Prix and won the Pan American Championships earlier that same year. To date she has beaten 3 players ranked in the top 10, but has yet to reach the last 8 in a Super Series, a goal she hopes to reach this season.

    Rice’s success on the court comes from her stable playing style and her fighting spirit, along with her strong tactical reading of the game.

    Anna’s favorite tournament is the Hong Kong Open, as she enjoys playing in this more intimate venue at the heart of such a bustling city. Coming from Vancouver, Anna is a self-proclaimed ‘sushi-addict’, and her all time favorite sushi restaurant is on the 12th Floor of Times Square in downtown Hong Kong.

    The recent Olympic Games was one of the highlights of Rice’s career so far. “Having several friends and all my family there to support me and share in my performance was really special, a once-in-a-lifetime moment”, Rice tells Badminton Central. “The atmosphere in Beijing was so unique and it was definitely an emotional experience that I’ll never forget”.

    Since the Olympics, Anna has returned to Denmark where she is back to full-time training for the 2008/2009 tournament season. She recently retired from the French Super Series in Paris last week as she hurt her knee and di not want to risk it with the next leg of the super series tour coming up in China and Hong Kong later this month.

    Anna is known on the badminton circuit for her strong opinions and willingness to speak her mind. Rice has also shown her commitment to helping the sport of badminton grow in North America. When back in Canada, she does as many exhibitions and school promotional events as possible to help develop the sport.

    Last June Anna started her own website, where she discusses issues relevant to badminton such as match fixing, tournament reviews, as well as her first hand experience of the 2008 Olympic Games. Anna also provides a forum where young players can ask her advice about badminton training on and off the court. [/I]


    To read her blog, ask her advice or to see some nice action photos, check out www.ANNARICE.org
     
    #1 jamesd20, Nov 10, 2008
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2008
  2. RedShuttle

    RedShuttle Regular Member

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    Anna Rice is spending 10 weeks in Uganda as an Athelete Ambassador for Right to Play. You can check out her blogs on her own site as above and on CBC website at http://www.cbc.ca/sports/blogs/2009/04/destination_uganda_a_new_adven.html

    She also announced on her website of her engagement and intention to stay in the game at least through 2009/2010.

    All the best to her and other players who do good!
     
  3. cooler

    cooler Regular Member

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    Uganda: Badminton Expands to Kyangwale
    James Bakama
    11 May 2009

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Kampala — NORTH America's top female badminton player believes Uganda has the talent to take on the world's best in the racket sport.

    "I have seen some great talents here. If properly trained, they can shine on the international scene," said Anna Rice who also handed over 40 rackets, 40 shuttlecocks and three nets to children in Nakivale and Kyangwale settlement camps.

    The equipment was a World Badminton Players Federation donation. It includes a racket used by 1997 world champion Peter Rasmussen of Denmark.

    Rice and Canadian Bobby Milroy with Guatemala's Pedro Yang also conducted clinics in Nakivale and Kyangwale.

    Rice is on a ten-week fellowship to Uganda courtesy of pharmaceutical company Johnson and Johnson and an international Non Governmental Organisation, Right To Play, where she is also an athlete ambassador.

    Milroy and Yang are here courtesy of the badminton players' world body and United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

    Rice made history in Beijing when she became the first North American to get to the last 16 stage.
     
  4. vpsingh

    vpsingh Regular Member

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    Saina's 'friend, guide' ends career with loss against her!

    (Taken from a report by Press Trust of India)
    An emotionally overwhelmed Anna Rice could not stop the tears from flowing when she ended her career with a loss against the Indian ace at Delhi 2010.
    A good friend of Saina, the 30-year-old Canadian shuttler recalled the days when she played with her, helping the Indian in little ways to become a better player. Anna, who went down 7-21 10-21 to the top seeded crowd favourite in the quarterfinals of women's singles last night, said she still loves the game but it was time to quit.
    "It is very emotional for me but the feeling is yet to settle in," Anna said, tears welling up in her eyes.
    "I wanted to play for some time more, I mean I love the game but I guess I can't keep up with these young girls anymore," she added.
    Anna and Saina became friends in 2006. Saina had started taking her first steps to the stardom she enjoys now but Anna had already become an Olympian at that time. The world number 31 Canadian said she has seen her friend grow.
    "She is a player who has matured beyond her age. I started going for international tours at 18-19 but look at her, she was on her own when she was just 15 years old," Rice said. I remember she used to complain that she is losing in three games and I used to tell her that it is a process," she added.

    Anna said Saina's success has raised the profile of the sport. "Saina's growing stature is good for the sport in India. As I see it, the gender equality when it comes to sport is not the same in India. Saina's success will increase the profile of the sport as a whole in India and that is good for Badminton also," Anna said.

    Saina also acknowledged Anna's contribution to her career.
    "We have been friends for quite sometime. We had a lot of fun together. When I had started playing the qualifying rounds, we became friends," she recalled.
    "It was very important to know about the court and know about doubles. She helped me at that time. We used to practice together and play at international level. It helped improve my reflexes and drives.
    "She even used to sit behind me, guiding me and giving me advice about the weaknesses of my opponents. I didn't have a coach at that time and I didn't know anybody," Saina said.

    Asked about what she plans to do next, Anna said she would concentrate on coaching young Canadian shuttlers.

    "I am associated with a coaching job in a non-profit organisation called 'Choose Again' in Vancouver. I will concentrate on coaching. I will also spend a lot of time with my family, let's see how the next phase pans out," she said.
    Anna has been playing professional Badminton for more than a decade.

    She won the 2009 US Open Champion and represented Canada at the International level for over 12 years, including the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, as well as several World Championships.

    At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Anna became the first female singles player from a Pan-American country to achieve top-16 finish.

    She won the Canadian National Championships in 2004, 2005, 2008, and 2009.

    Good Luck Anna :)
     

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