TAIPEI, Taiwan — After winning Taiwan’s first championship at the Badminton Asia Championships in 55 years and her sixth-straight World Super Series title, Tai Tzu-ying said she was actually “unhappy” playing the tournament, because her clothing was oversized.
In a statement posted on Facebook Monday morning, Tai said that she had to frequently adjust her sleeves and the tightness of the waistband on her shorts during the games because they didn’t fit her.
“We were never informed in advance how our clothes would look,” she said, adding that this was not the first time she had to compete in ill-fitting clothing.
The design for the national team’s apparel is different for every tournament, Tai said, sometimes all clothes use men’s sizes, while sometimes she thought it was men’s size but then it turned out to be women’s size.
She said that they don’t usually get the chance to try them on and change them if the size is wrong because the clothes arrive shortly before the tournament.
“I departed (for the game) on Sunday but I only received the clothes on Friday,” Tai wrote in Facebook post, “I had absolutely no time to ask for new ones.”
She said that she had intentionally requested a size slightly larger than her usual size this time to ensure that “it would definitely fit me,” because in the past she had to work with clothes far too small for her.
“All I ask for are clothes that I don’t have to worry too much about,” she said.
Education Minister ‘Ashamed’
Chinese Taipei Badminton Association (CTBA) issued a statement later Monday, sending their congratulations and promising that in the future, they will tailor Tai’s clothes for national tournaments.
Tai responded that it’s not just her who needs tailor-made clothes, but “all the members of the national team.”
At a legislative committee Monday morning, Education Minister Pan Wen-chung said that he “felt ashamed” that Tai had to go through this unpleasant experience, and that he will see to it that the Sports Administration takes responsibility for supervising the CTBA.
Tai defeated Akane Yamaguchi of Japan on Sunday to win the women’s singles title at the Badminton Asia Championships in Wuhan.
Tai beat Yamaguchi 18-21, 21-11, 21-18 in three sets, becoming the first Taiwanese to win a title at the Asian tournament since it was launched in 1962.
It was Tsai’s sixth straight World Super Series title and followed her win at the World BWF Super Series Singapore Open Badminton Championship on April 16.
She remains unbeaten in international competition since she climbed to the world No. 1 spot last December.
