Yang Ruiwen: My dream is to make national team one day

In the badminton competitions of the First National Youth Games being held here in Fuzhou, a tall and slender girl with fast footsteps caught the attention of the crowd. She is a Shanghai teenager named Yang Ruiwen.

Yang told reporters that her dream is to be selected by the Chinese national team and to play for her country at international events.

The 15-year-old Yang is the "star of hope" for the Shanghai badminton team. She is beautiful, kind and she loves badminton. She said when she was a little girl, her mother took her to piano lessons but after a while she didn't enjoy it because of her lack of patience.

"I am outgoing and I want to move around so I don't like playing piano, I enjoy playing badminton at home," said Yang.

Her father took notice of her habits and encouraged her to take badminton training. Yang started to play badminton the year when she entered the primary school and joined in a local club in Hongkou district. She explained that the sport of badminton requires players to be flexible and there is no body contact in the game, that's why she likes it very much.

Yang is not only a good badminton player but also a very smart student. Her academic marks ranked in top 3 at her class before she went to middle school.

After graduating from middle school, Yang was selected by the Shanghai Jin'an district badminton team for professional training. "I had 6 hours of training everyday including skills and fitness training, every day at 6 a.m. I must get up, although it's very tiring but also fulfilling," said Yang.

"The most memorable competition for me was the Shanghai sports tournament in 2014. My coach hoped I would win gold but in the singles semi-final I wasn't feeling so well and being nervous so I lost the game, that moment had become a regret in my life," said Yang.

"Practicing badminton has made me smarter and my mind is maturer," Yang said, adding that before joining the Shanghai badminton team she had a bad temper, but after practicing badminton she has learned to stay calm and think a lot.

"This year I got injured in a competition, and could not compete for many months. I was afraid of this setback. Up till now I have not fully recovered and my parents are worried of my health playing too much badminton, so they are still not so sure whether to allow me to become a professional player. Whereas, for me my mind is already set and my dream is to make it into the national team, because only when on the court I can be my most confident self," said Yang. Endi