Badminton: Beiwen saving her best for last lap before calling it quits

KUALA LUMPUR: Zhang Beiwen is enjoying the best moments of her colourful career but the American is not about to change her retirement plans at the end of the year.

Beiwen, born in China but represented Singapore until 2012 before playing for the United States, reached a career high world No. 9 for the second time last month.

Winning her first gold at the Pan American Games and the Hylo Open in November had helped her to break into the top 10 and she also qualified for the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou in December.

She reached No. 9, her highest ranking to date, for the first time in 2017 but constant injuries had restricted her performance.

At 33, Beiwen is not looking at extending her playing days beyond this year and aims to maintain her current performance before quitting the scene.

“I’m not young anymore and I have no plans to prolong my career. The 2024 Paris Olympics could be my last major event. I just can’t wait to retire,” said Beiwen.

“I have to train smart and keep away from injuries and I’ve also been wise in choosing the tournaments. That helped me to perform well last year.

“I had suffered so many injuries over the years that it had hampered my progress. My only goal this year is to avoid injuries.

“I don’t train under a coach but prepare myself by joining other independent players in training. Based on my schedule, I train in Singapore when I play in Asia and train in Denmark or Holland when I’m in Europe to save cost.”

Beiwen, who had not been training for almost two months prior to the Malaysian Open due to unspecified family issues, will be facing World Tour Finals champion Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan in the first round.

“I only started training a week ago and will be facing Tzu-ying. There is no pressure on me and I just have to go out there and play,” said Beiwen.

This could be the easy-going approach for Beiwen as she prepares to begin the final innings of her career at the Axiata Arena on Tuesday.