Having played badminton for over six years, freshman Joshua Yuan is currently ranked third in the national junior rankings for the boys Under-17 division, and is hoping to compete in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“I’m probably gonna try for the next, next Olympics,” Yuan said.
As a nationally-ranked player and hopeful Olympian, Yuan dedicates much of his life to badminton. His badminton career began when his father, David Yuan, wanted to introduce him to a sport he enjoyed.
“I enjoy playing badminton, so I introduced him into the sport,” his father said. “I played when I was … in elementary school. I enjoyed playing with a lot of old people, like 50- to 80- year olds, and I had a lot of fun so I had a very good and enjoyable experience from this sport.”
Yuan didn’t begin playing on a court, but rather with his dad in their house.
“We started playing off in our living room,” his father said. “It’s a small place, but it’s enough [because] it has a high ceiling.”
His father then encouraged him to take a chance playing the sport competitively.
“It was in third grade when my dad took me to a gym called Bay Badminton Center,” Yuan said. “I didn’t like it, [but] my parents forced me to continue. It was only until the end of summer camp where I took interest, and I just continued from there.”
Yuan then moved to Synergy Badminton Club, where he receives coaching from Olmympians.
“[My coaches] are Bob Malaythong and Raju Rai — both are Olympians,” Yuan said. “I usually train three to four days a week, and each session is three to five hours, depending on the day.”
Getting coached by high-profile athletes provides many advantages for Yuan.
“They can be [very rigorous], but they are usually nice,” he said. “There are times where they yell at us and even kick us out of training. However, everything they do is for our good, and they always support us.”
Aside from training, Yuan spends a considerable amount of time traveling to different destinations throughout the year to compete in badminton tournaments.
“I play [around] one [tournament] every two months and maybe six to eight tournaments a year,” he said. “They vary in places … some are local and some can be further in the states and even in other countries.”
Although the commitments and responsibilities that are included with being a nationally-ranked badminton player are immense, Yuan’s high ranking provides a gratifying result, earning many points for his tournament performance.
“Depending on how you do and in what kind of tournaments, it will affect how many points you have, which then influences your rank,” Yuan said. “I almost always get top four in most tournaments, so that’s why I have a high rank. I’m second in the nation for doubles and fifth for mixed doubles for Under-17.”
Although this is Yuan’s current rank, it is bound to change due to his participation in tournaments. Because Yuan has recently decided to compete in the U-19 bracket, his winning percentages are lower, making him unable to receive as great a quantity of points.
“My rank has dropped because I stopped playing under 17,” Yuan said. “Even though I play under 19, the points in that age group don’t count for under 17.”
When recovering from injuries or training, Yuan finds time to relax.
“My favorite thing to do is just spend time with friends and watch movies and YouTube,” he said. “I watch BuzzFeed a lot.”
His father believes badminton helped provide his son with lessons in life skills.
“Because his time is fragmented, he constantly has three or four or five days in the court training, plus traveling,” David Yuan said. “But he also has the obligation as a student, so he has to learn how to deal with balancing all these [responsibilities] early on and [having] good time management … I’m hoping that his training and learning will help him be successful in anything he chooses to do.”
