Poon Lok Yan
Character Introduction
Isis Poon Lok Yan (born August 22, 1991) is a former Hong Kong badminton player. She was awarded the “Most Promising Athlete” at the 2007 Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards. After retiring from professional sports, she became a coach and moved to coach at a club in Sydney, Australia, in 2022.
Poon began playing badminton with her father from a young age and started attending training classes in the third grade. She embarked on her badminton career and joined the Hong Kong national badminton team in 2008.
In November 2009, Poon, together with her partner Tse Ying Suet, won a bronze medal in women’s doubles at the World Junior Badminton Championships in Malaysia, which was the best result in the history of the Hong Kong team. In December of the same year, she represented Hong Kong at the East Asian Games, winning a bronze medal in the women’s team event.
In November 2010, Poon represented Hong Kong at the Guangzhou Asian Games, competing in both the women’s doubles and team events with Tse Ying Suet.
In September 2012, Poon and Tse Ying Suet competed in the women’s doubles event at the Japan Super Series, advancing to the final after defeating three Japanese pairs in the knockout rounds. They won the title by defeating Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito in the final, becoming Hong Kong’s first women’s doubles champions in a Super Series event and the first homegrown players to do so.
In August 2013, Poon competed in the World Badminton Championships in Guangzhou, China, where she and Tse, as the 12th seeds, reached the round of 16 before losing to China’s second-seeded pair Ma Jin and Tang Jinhua in straight sets (9-21, 16-21).
During the 2015 Denmark Open Premier Super Series, Poon and Tse faced Japanese duo Naoko Fukuman and Kurumi Yonao in the round of 16. They played a rally that lasted 4 minutes and 31 seconds, with more than 250 exchanges, setting a world record for the longest rally in badminton history. Poon recalled feeling numb during the last two minutes and completely exhausted afterward.
In November 2015, Poon and Tse reached the women’s doubles final at the Macau Grand Prix Gold but withdrew due to injury.
Following her injury, Poon struggled to recover to her previous form. In late 2017, her coach informed her that she and Tse would be split as a pair due to Tse’s success in mixed doubles. Afterward, Poon focused on training new players and gradually retired from competitive play.
She officially retired in March 2020 and transitioned into coaching.
In March 2022, Poon began coaching at a badminton club in Sydney, Australia.
World Ranking – Women’s Doubles 236, Week 36, 2024
Olympic Points – Women’s Doubles 386, 2130 points
Finals Ranking – Women’s Doubles 150, 2220 points
Equipment Used
ARCSABER 11
Major Achievement
- 2017 Malaysia Badminton Masters Women’s Doubles Runner-up
- 2015 Macau Open Badminton Grand Prix Gold Women’s Doubles Runner-up
- 2015 Bitburger Open Badminton Grand Prix Gold Women’s Doubles Runner-up
- 2015 Canada Open Badminton Women’s Doubles Semifinalist
- 2015 Osaka International Badminton Mixed Doubles Semifinalist
- 2014 Vietnam International Challenge Mixed Doubles Runner-up
- 2012 Japan Open Super Series Women’s Doubles Champion
- 2011 Japan Open Super Series Women’s Doubles Semifinalist
- 2011 Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold Women’s Doubles Semifinalist
- 2011 India Open Super Series Women’s Doubles Semifinalist
- 2011 Australian Open Grand Prix Gold Women’s Doubles Semifinalist
- 2009 East Asian Games Women’s Team Bronze Medalist
- 2009 World Junior Badminton Championships Women’s Doubles Bronze Medalist
- 2009 New Zealand Badminton Grand Prix Women’s Doubles Runner-up
- 2008 Asian Junior Badminton Championships Mixed Team Bronze Medalist