Disabled badminton player aiming for Tokyo 2020
- Patience, determination and positive outlook have Tim Wong Chun-yim on path to Paralympics
Badminton player Tim Wong Chun-yim got his first taste of the sport when he was 10, only to give it up a year later.
“My father wanted me to take up a sport as a hobby. I didn’t choose football or basketball because I might have been knocked down easily playing contact sports. I decided to try badminton because even if I fell, it would only be me in the court,” said Wong, who has achondroplasia, a genetic bone growth disorder that leads to short stature.
He stands 1.36 metres, and weighs 45 kilograms.
Now 30, Wong’s early days of badminton training were a traumatic experience.
“Other people were much taller and stronger, and they ran much faster. They were making progress much more quickly than I did. I felt defeated and stopped training after a year,” he said.
I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t feel defeated every now and then growing up, but I figured I would live in misery if I kept dwelling on things I cannot change
