At 28, Yip Pui-yin is headed for her third Olympics, relying on determination and strength of will, to overcome the creeping energy deficit that overtakes athletes late in their careers.

A lot can happen in 13 years, a toddler grows into a young adult, a teenager grows into a young executive, and Yip Pui-yin saw her transformation from a mere beginner, into a world class badminton player.

Yip, Hong Kong&’s top female badminton player was on the practice court by mid-afternoon, just the day after the Hong Kong team returned from the Uber Cup in Kunshan, Jiangsu province.

Clad in a purple training shirt and white shorts, she was the first team member to resume training, stretching her ankles at the Badminton Hall of the Hong Kong Sports Institute. Perky as ever, she waved and shouted cheery greetings to acquaintances.

She will head for the Olympics in Rio. It’ll be her third appearance at the Games. The intensity of being in that spotlight gives some players a tough time, and Yip is among them.

“Having been on the badminton field for 14 years, I have had peaks but I’ve also fallen into deep valleys,” Yip told China Daily.

She&’s ranked No 30 in the world. She played back a Eureka moment, posted on her Facebook page – a video. Her Indonesian opponent, Maria Febe Kusumastuti had just leveled an unintentional drop shot. Yip could be seen making a lunge and spin, to make the successful return. It was a good test for both players in the first round of the Uber Cup. Neither gave anything away to her opponent.

“I just wanted to catch the shuttlecock before it touched the ground,” recalled Yip, twiddling the bill of her black cap. A smile played on her lips as she watched the encounter. “It was my first instinct to pounce on it.”

The third game proved a minor miracle. Down 15-18, she fought back and won six points in succession, to win 21-18.

The 28-year-old homegrown badminton player proceeded to do more stretching exercises, perched on the front seats of the stands. In the background rose the badminton hall where talents are honed.

Yip recalled her long career in racquet, as she stretched and twisted her foot.

Road to Rio

She was nicknamed “Black Girl” when she first started playing, because of her deep tan.

When asked about what could give her the upper hand against the world&’s current top three players, Yip replied without hesitation, “my rather aggressive and powerful shots have certain advantages in rallies.”

Her distinctive “Jump Smash” is her trademark. It&’s a hard shot, rarely used by female players. It&’s hard to master, but it&’s helped her to the string of victories that earned her world ranking.

When she spots the opportunity, she lines up in front to the shuttle, leaps into the air and smashes – sending the shuttle back where it came from. It is an edge-of-the-seat moment watching Yip jump and strike the shuttlecock, then seeing it streaking toward the back line. Spectators react with gasps and eyes gaping.

At 19, the first time Yip achieved peak form, she was a longshot, competing in the 2006 Doha Asian Games. Then, she caught the world&’s attention, beating the world&’s No 1 female badminton player at the time, Chinese mainland&’s Zhang Ning, in the quarterfinals.

On Dec 9, 2006, Yip and her teammate Wang Chen, who wrested both the silver and gold medals at the women&’s singles tournament in Doha, defined a new faith in Hong Kong badminton. It was Yip&’s first experience, basking in the glow of victory, as the anthem was sung, while she stood atop the podium.

Two years later, she hit her low point. She was 21, when she was struck by a bout of diarrhoea that had sapped her energy as she began the first round of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Yip didn’t make it to round two, losing a 15-21, 17-21 upset to England&’s Tracey Hallam.

The Beijing Olympics, she told China Daily, was the biggest letdown of her career. The expectations of her hometown weighed on her heavily, and she felt she had let the people down.

That was the year the city&’s strongest medal prospect seemed to run out of steam. Failure at the Beijing Olympics sapped her confidence. Yip even considered ending her athletic career, she confessed.

Come back strong

For most great athletes, enduring failure – and accepting it – is not easy but real competitors learn from their mistakes and aim even higher.

“I’m blessed to have Uncle Choi behind me,” Yip declared affectionately with a shrug and continued, “He was the one who perked me up.”

Chan Chi-choi, former coach of the Hong Kong Badminton Association, never lost faith in her. He believed she had all the natural attributes of a strong athlete.

Yip and Chan would spend up to two hours after grueling training sessions, every day, poring over videos of her moves, smashes and techniques in her previous matches.  

“If you could play in such good form, and win against top players, why don’t you believe in your own caliber?” Chan questioned her one day.

His words, added to the long hours of training and review, helped to turn the tide. She found herself again. Her self-assurance came back strongly, and in 2009, she took the title at the 2009 East Asian Games and won bronze in the 2010 Asian Games.

Now Yip is capped to be an Olympian for the third time. This means a whole lot to a devoted sportsperson, especially for this girl, whose family could be described as hard-up, during her childhood.

Humble beginning

Yip started playing badminton while hanging out at a local community centre in Kwong Yuen Estate in Sha Tin, while her parents were at work. She recalls those early days of wielding her racquet without giving it much thought.

The 13 years since then have never dulled Yip&’s dedication to the game and she&’s earned a reputation as an athlete with the mettle to work her way up.

She admits age has taken its toll on her energy, even for one able to achieve success as a world class player at 19. She finds her strength by keeping a positive frame of mind.

Facing the year-long grind of qualifying matches on the road to Rio 2016, she says she still gets butterflies before crucial matches, knowing that one bad match could mark the end of that road.

“There&’s always a way to break the fall,” she said. “Once you acknowledge your faults and work on them, you are ready for the breakthroughs.”

Yip is a fighter who doesn’t let “nerves” get the better of her. Training for Rio, Yip aims to diversify her tactics, and polish her techniques. Everything in moderation, she said. Rest and recovery are the other crucial components of training, she added.

It&’s exhilarating to watch Yip play on-site. Amid net dribbles, round-the-head drops, and the twangs of smashing shots resounding loudly on the practice court, it&’s hard to suppress the whoops of enthusiasm.

Yip dropped out of secondary school, giving up her education to make badminton her career. A decade of punishing training followed. She doesn’t feel like she&’s lost anything and beyond that, she believes people who never lost, don’t learn to give thanks for what they have.

“Yip has given out all her effort on badminton over the past decade, receiving many trophies. As a father, I have always been proud of her,” Black Girl&’s father Yip Cheuk-kun said.

The afternoon practice session was ready to start. “It seems like an incredible tale for me, to step on the Olympic court for the third time,” Yip exclaimed.

“It is as if this is still a dream,” said Yip looking, showing a trace of feeling. She remains modest about her achievements, but preparing for her third Olympic Games, thankful for a dream that came true.