Goh Liu Ying knows was once one of Malaysia’s preeminent athletes. In fact, she’s still widely recognised in the country as one of its badminton legends. That’s the notoriety one gets from making it to the Olympics and netting a medal—a silver in Ying’s case.
Yes, Ying knows all about the fame of being a stellar athlete. She chased glory and honour, often under the bright lights and under the immense pressure of carrying an entire nation’s sporting hopes.
Those days are long gone, of course. Ying is happily retired and enjoying the fruits of retirement. It doesn’t mean she’s no longer staying active because she still is—only this time, it’s by playing a different sport.
Goh Liu Ying Pivots to Pickleball
That sport is pickleball, which Ying describes as a relaxed “social” game that one can enjoy.
“I played two to three times a week before I gave birth, sometimes for three hours,” Ying told Malay Mail in a recent interview.
However, Ying clarified that she’s playing pickleball only for the fun of it, and that it won’t rival badminton as the sporting love of her life. She didn’t close that door completely shut, though, as she hinted she might reconsider if pickleball makes it to the Olympics—something Ying believes will be monumental for the sport for two reasons. First, it will uplift pickleball’s profile even more. Second, it will entice more professional athletes to go all-in on the sport.
“Pickleball can be a social sport. But if it can enter the Olympics, I guess it has a chance,” Ying said in the same interview. “All of our planning as athletes revolves around the Olympics. You can get pension money and salary if your sport is in. If it’s not, it’s tough,” she said.
While that’s certainly a valid point, Ying is definitely still rocking pickleball for recreation.
“You can go pro or just be social. That’s the advantage. You don’t even need to train hard, you can just show up and enjoy,” said Ying, who is now 36 and a doting mother of two.
Now, about that Olympic thing Ying was alluding to… It might be coming. And it might be coming sooner than people think.
Goh Liu Ying in the Olympics again but playing pickleball? Now that would be something, right?
