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One of the greatest badminton players from Malaysia, Goh Liu Ying is all set to make a return at the highly-anticipated quadrennial Games, the Olympics. The former World No. 3 ranked player alongside Chan Peng Soon, Goh Liu Ying, who boasts of an Olympic silver medal along with 13 titles in BWF circuit, has batted to return at the prestigious Games, but this time in pickleball.
Notably, the 36-year-old former shuttler announced retirement in 2022 with her final appearance on the competitive badminton circuit coming in January 2023 at the Malaysia Open. After calling her time on the court, Ying went onto become a mother and has now stepped in playing pickleball. Recently, in an interaction, the legend of the game hinted on a possible comeback at the Olympic Games.
Goh Liu Ying eyes to comeback in Olympics but in pickleball
However, she batted to play pickleball if the sport gets a recognition in the Summer Games, but remains to break her retirement. “I played two to three times a week before I gave birth, sometimes for three hours,” Ying told Malay Mail in a recent interview. “Pickleball can be a social sport. But if it can enter the Olympics, I guess it has a chance,” Ying continued.
“All of our planning as athletes revolves around the Olympics. You can get pension money and salary if your sport is in. If it’s not, it’s tough,” the former World No. 3 in added. “You can go pro or just be social. That’s the advantage. You don’t even need to train hard, you can just show up and enjoy,” Ying further said.
However, at the moment the future of the sport - pickleball’s participation at the Olympic Games hangs in balance, it could go on to become one of the prominent sport as several retired players, celebrities have taken to it.
