ZHANG Beiwen

General
FROM CHINA TO SINGAPORE TO THE UNITED STATES
Born in the People's Republic of China, she played badminton at provincial level in her country of birth before following her provincial coach to Singapore at age 13. She represented Singapore at international level until 2013, when she switched nationality to the United States of America following a disagreement with her coach in Singapore. "I was born in China, represented Singapore for close to 10 years and then moved to the US. I didn't play for China though. USA Badminton gives me more freedom as compared to Singapore. I can choose whatever tournament I want to play in. However, I've reached the level I'm playing at today because of the experience I gained in Singapore. It was not only me who had a problem with the coach [in Singapore] so I had no other option but to leave." (teamusa.org, 10 Dec 2019; sportstar.thehindu.com, 28 Apr 2020; yumaoqiu.1she.com, 18 Sep 2018)

PIONEER
She says playing badminton in the United States of America can be financially difficult due to the sport's lack of popularity, but feels she can play an important role in promoting the sport in the country. "It's not easy playing badminton in the United States and every expense has to come out of our own pocket. There is no subvention [financial support] from the national sports association at all. I would consider myself a pioneer playing professional badminton in the United States. I think badminton is slowly getting recognition from fans in the US. People are taking it up as a career. Hopefully, in five to 10 years it should develop more. If I get an Olympic medal, maybe they'll start considering the sport important." (scmp.com, 15 Nov 2019; sportstar.thehindu.com, 27 Jan 2020)