It was a nice homecoming for Wen Yu (Wendy) Zhang, who helped Canada get their first win today at the Uber Cup, the 21-year-old clinching the third point Yue Yann Jaslyn Hooi. Canada won the tie 5-0.
This being her first tournament in her country of birth, Zhang was awed by the atmosphere, and thrilled to hear people calling out her Chinese name.
“I hadn’t won a single match – this was my first win and obviously I’m happy to win a point for my team, and we are happy we could beat Singapore,” said Zhang.
“My parents are here, some of my relatives from other provinces have come to watch me. I’m happy that I was able to win in front of them and make them proud.
“It’s my first time playing a tournament in China, so I’m very happy. I could hear people yelling my Chinese name, so it’s quite impressive. I’m not very used to such a crowd being in the stadium – it’s hard to hear the sound of the bird. Sometimes it’s hard to play, but very happy to see that badminton is growing and people are watching and getting to know the sport.
“When I first walk on, I get quite nervous but once the game starts I get into the game quite fast and I tend to forget that there are so many people watching. Of course it’s intimidating – there are so many people watching badminton on all four courts!”
Zhang was born in Kunming and moved to Canada when she was in fourth grade. She had played some recreational badminton while growing up in China, but it became a serious pursuit only after the family had moved to Canada.
“I’m from a province that’s very high altitude, so you can’t really play badminton there. I played recreationally with my parents, I learned the simple (basics) but nothing very serious until I moved to Canada. I came back to train in China during a summer break but not recently.”
What are her memories of the Uber Cup?
“Getting to know my teammates; we didn’t really know each other very well. Some of them are juniors who came up to play with us because some of our (main) players are injured. So getting to know each other and cheering each other on and having the team vibe is important. It was a fun tournament.”
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