Pu Gui Yu is determined to make the most of his travels as an athlete, while in pursuit of a medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

“Jetlag is the most difficult part of travelling but it’s a chance to enjoy the world. I always get massages in Thailand and recently got interested in wine so when we had the tournament in Spain, I bought a lot of wine,” said Pu, of Chinese Taipei.

But he is focused on achieving his goal.

“I’m confident with my basic game but I need to make progress, to improve agility and speed. I have to become stronger. I’m still trying to overcome certain difficulties such as my body balance and it means having to do a lot of core exercises.”

It was Pu’s father who introduced him to the game. “My father loves badminton and would play with me on the weekends. I was about 10 years old.”

Now ranked No.7 in the world in the Standing Upper (SU5) men’s singles and doubles categories, Pu, 21, knows it would be a tough climb to the top.

“The top eight in my category are very good but compared to last year I seem to be doing better. I take Meril (Loquette of France) as my reference. I find it’s now easier to beat him.”

To push himself further, Pu trains with able-bodied players.

“I don’t have much expectations about things in general. That’s just me. But now that I’m here, I’ll do my best and see where it takes me. A (Paralympic) medal will show that all the work has been worth it.”