Paris Olympics: Hong Kong badminton pair buck trend, vow to come out swinging at debut Games
- Yeung Nga-ting and Yeung Pui-lam aiming to launch the team’s charge with wins in their first two group matches before crunch Chinese clash
The bullish Hong Kong women’s badminton pair of Yeung Nga-ting and Yeung Pui-lam have closed their ears to teammates’ warnings over Olympics nerves and vowed to come out swinging in Paris.
The Yeungs, quarter-finalists at last year’s Asian Games, open their debut Olympics campaign against Bulgarian sisters Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva on Saturday.
And while some of the 35-strong Hong Kong delegation have talked in fearful tones over their Games prospects, the world No 18 pair struck an upbeat contrast after a semi-final run at last month’s Australian Open, their last event before competing in France.
“We don’t feel as much pressure as athletes who have higher expectations on them,” Yeung Nga-ting, 25, said.
Yeung Pui-lam added: “A lot of the senior team members told us you feel really nervous playing in the Olympics for the first time, but we just want to do the best we can.
“We hope to demonstrate what we do in training. We want to play to our standard on every point, enjoy playing in the Olympics and not give ourselves too much pressure.”