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KUALA LUMPUR – Canadian women’s singles shuttler Talia Ng is having a whale of a time here – though she has trained in three countries before, none can top her experience in Malaysia.
Having trained in Thailand, China, and Hong Kong previously, Talia, who began a month-long training programme here a fortnight ago, said her first training experience at Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM), Bukit Kiara, was truly remarkable.
“The training vibes are really great and I like it a lot as everyone is so cheerful. The facilities and coaches are also very good here.
“Apart from court training, I really like to train in the gym as the coach has a lot of knowledge in sports science, including how many exercises you should do,” she said when met at ABM.
Talia, who forked out her own money to train here, was mesmerised by the camaraderie and unity among the Malaysian shuttlers at ABM.
“In Canada, we don’t have a national training centre, as everyone trains independently at their own badminton clubs, and we are not really close with the team. I really like how the Malaysian players train together, have fun all the time, and help each other,” she said.
As badminton is an unpopular sport in her own backyard, the 21-year-old player said that not many Canadians were familiar with their top shuttler, Michelle Li, ranked 15th in the world, despite her compatriot being well known among badminton lovers around the world.
Talia, currently world number 53, said she is running through an intensive training programme to help her gear up for the Thailand International Challenge 2023 from March 7 to 12, followed by a few European legs including the Polish Open 2023, Madrid Spain Masters 2023, and Orleans Masters 2023 in France.
In the meantime, the Toronto-born player hopes to break into the top 40, and is set on playing at the Olympic Games in the future.
The Ontario-based McMaster University life science graduate also said that she will be sightseeing in Penang after spending her last weekend in Melaka.
“More importantly, Malaysia has a lot of good food,” she said. – Bernama, February 22, 2023