Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Wednesday said that she wants to have children once she retires, and added that a trip throughout Taiwan was in her plans for when she lays down her racket.
Tai, who turned 30 yesterday, has said she plans to retire at the end of this year.
In an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA), she said that “there’s still a lot of places in Taiwan I haven’t visited,” adding that she also wants to rest and enjoy life without having to set an alarm.
Photo: CNA
Tai first picked up a racket at age five and began training professionally at age nine. She made her international debut as a senior when she was 15, finishing second at the Vietnam Open, a Grand Prix tournament.
Two years later in 2011, she won her first international tournament at the US Open. In 2018, she represented Taiwan at the Asian Games and clinched the nation’s first-ever Asian Games gold medal in badminton.
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she won silver in the women’s singles, Taiwan’s best result in that category.
Photo: CNA
Tai is also the record holder of the longest stay at world No. 1 in the Badminton World Federation women’s ranking, having held the title for 214 consecutive weeks up to December 2016. She is currently world No. 3.
However, injuries have been an issue.
Tai said that every athlete eventually experiences a decline.
Maybe it is time for me to move on to the next chapter of life, she said.
“I still cherish every opportunity to participate in competitions and strive to do my best,” she told CNA.
However, retirement would bring another stage of her life, she said.
“I want to have three children,” she told CNA.
She said in the interview that her sister’s children are cute.
“Having a few children is just an idea,” she added. “I will plan it carefully after I retire next year.”
Taiwan head coach Liu Chia-cheng said that Tai was recovering well after withdrawing from the Indonesia Open earlier this month due to a knee injury.
Tai said that the Olympics holds the highest and most important place in every athlete’s heart.
“Of course, I will give my all, but there are many uncontrollable factors in competitions, including [an athlete’s] physical condition ... being healthy and in good physical condition is essential,” she said.
The Taiwan Institute of Sports Science monitors each athlete’s condition to ensure that they are in good physical condition for the Olympics and to prevent further injuries before the competition, Liu said.
The team’s goal is to get a medal in the men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles, he said.
The draws for the Paris Games are expected to be announced on July 12 and once confirmed, practice and preparation would be conducted according to the potential matches, he said.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
RSS