The sixteen-year-old badminton phenom from Vancouver bested some of the Canada’s top athletes to win gold in the U19 Women’s Singles, U19 Women’s Doubles, and U19 Mixed Doubles events last week.
“My performance at the Quebec Elite Series has really motivated me to train hard for the upcoming Games,” says Ouyang, who uses these competitions as part of her training strategy. “To me, tournaments are necessary for my preparation. Without them, I don’t know what I’m training for and what I need to do to improve.”
Ouyang’s pragmatic approach to such a cutthroat test of her abilities belies a maturity and confidence seldom seen in athletes her age. “If I win the game,” says Ouyang, “It will be an encouragement and I will keep working hard. If I lose the game, it will remind me that I am not good enough and I have to train twice as hard as the others.”
Badminton BC Executive Director Penny Gardner sees Ouyang’s gold as a sign of what’s to come for Team BC at the Games. “Based on results from previous national competitions, we had predicted Qingzi would medal at the Canada Winter Games in Prince George. Her result at the Black Knight Quebec Junior Elite Series is definitely an encouraging sign that we can expect a gold medal finish from Qingzi in both of her events.”
“Qingzi’s skill level is right up there with the top two U23 women’s players, Rachel Honderich and Brittany Tam, and she has faced them both before,” says Lisa Davison, President of Badminton BC. “She is an athlete with a lot of potential, and this win in Quebec will give her a great confidence boost before her performance in Prince George.”
Fellow Team BC athlete Kylie Cheng joined Ouyang on the podium at the Black Knight Quebec Junior Elite Series, snagging a gold in U19 Women’s Doubles (with Ouyangn as her partner), a silver in U19 Mixed Doubles, and a bronze in U19 Women’s Singles.
Cheng also saw last week’s tournament as an important opportunity to ready herself for Prince George. “The Black Knight Quebec Junior Elite Series helped me prepare myself for the Canada Winter Games, and to help me know where I currently stand amongst Canada’s other top players. It also allowed Qingzi and I to have more practice time together before the Games, which is an advantage we’ll have over other doubles partners.”
Ouyang and Chen will join their fellow Team BC Badminton athletes for another training camp at Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver, January 30 to February 1. In addition to on-court training and team bonding exercises, the athletes will undergo mental training and a special media training workshop to prepare them for a podium finish at the Canada Winter Games next month.