Did you hear this big scandal? Eight female badminton players were expelled from the Olympics for trying to lose on purpose. So tragically, they'll never have another chance to play badminton unless they get invited to a picnic.
Seriously, the Olympic badminton players were apparently trying to lose on purpose, a big story. But really, think about it, if you train day and night for four years to be in the Olympics for badminton, in a way, haven't you already lost?
I was very different from other badminton players. I did not bring badminton home. I wouldn't eat, sleep, drink badminton or talk about it to friends.
Both my parents were amateur badminton players. My father is a scientist and wanted me to be a doctor. But my mom was very aggressive and loved badminton. She pushed me right from the age of nine to take up the sport.
Badminton will gain momentum in a big manner after my win in Olympics. More players will participate in the game now.
Tennis is not always that accessible but I sometimes think badminton is harder - tennis you can always play against the wall but badminton is tough to even play outdoors with the wind.
When I was a kid, my parents would play badminton, but I hardly joined them. I'd just pick up their racquets and fiddle around. Check out how the racquet was made... toss it around to see how light it was! At the time, I didn't even know I'd play badminton.
Badminton is not popular in the U.S. because I think the mentality of badminton has to change.
I think badminton has a real legacy with more youngsters taking up the sport. Badminton has done really well in that regard compared to other sports.
I hope the BWF (Badminton World Federation) will seriously do something about the Olympic qualifying format or risk getting badminton dropped from the Games.
One thing you never hear is "Man that guy is good at badminton".
What we do is nothing like the portrayal of badminton as a gentle game played in a church hall. Badminton can be fun and relaxing, but as professionals, this sport is our heart and soul and passion, and our games are fast and aggressive.
When I was a junior, my school introduced badminton, which was clearly a P.E. department ploy to get me away from the wrestling room, and it worked, since the first time I played badminton was like the first time I tasted sushi or heard the Beatles or read Wordsworth. This was a sport? This counted for gym requirements?
Any girl who likes watching movies would like to work in them and would want to do all of that. I'm also one of them. But people know me for badminton and love me for it. So I'd stick to it right now. But maybe after badminton, I'll think about it.
From the start, all I did was play football. I briefly played badminton and won a tournament when I was 12, but really, it was always football.
There is talk that badminton may not make it as a sport in the 2020 Olympics. We must bear in mind that other sports are strongly lobbying to be included.