In 2010, she won a bronze medal at the Asian Junior Championships in the girls'doubles event partnered with Sonia Cheah Su Ya.[3] In 2013, she competed at the Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia.[4] In 2014, she became the runner-up at the Iran Fajr International tournament in the women's singles event after defeated by her compatriot Tee Jing Yi.[5] She also won the 2015 Bahrain International Series in the women's singles and mixed doubles event, and the 2017 Iceland International in the women's singles and doubles events.[6][7] In January 2015, Li Lian announced her retirement from the Badminton Association of Malaysia in pursuit of her further education. Li Lian subsequently graduated from the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom with a first-class honours in Mathematics and Economics.
