Shuttling her way back to the top

After a brief hiatus, badminton world champion Chen Yufei is gearing up for a comeback. Despite maintaining her Weibo username "Chen Yufei on vacation" until late last month, the 26-year-old Tokyo Olympic gold medalist has actually been hard at work, with a renewed focus on claiming the top prize at the Los Angeles Games.

In an exclusive interview with China Daily's online show Tracking Success last month, Chen officially announced her bid for a third shot at Olympic glory. The same day the show was published, related Weibo topics surged to the platform's trending list, amassing over 40 million views.

Chen's Olympic career has been marked by both triumph and setbacks. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she made an unforgettable debut as the youngest player in China's 14-member badminton squad. At just 23 years of age, she overcame Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-ying in a thrilling 2-1 final, ending a nine-year drought for China in the women's singles competition.

However, her title defense at the Paris Olympics last year ended in disappointment. As one of only two Olympic champions in China's 16-player roster, Chen fell 2-0 to teammate He Bingjiao in the women's singles quarterfinals. The result was in stark contrast to her strong record against He, as Chen struggled to find her form on the court.

After her early exit from the Paris Olympics, Chen took a step back from the sport, spending 10 weeks in Australia to study English. She returned home at the end of last year, refreshed and ready to pursue the next chapter of her life.

Chen explained her decision to temporarily leave the court: "After the Olympics, I didn't want to return to the field, because I felt that someone without ambition shouldn't be there."

Ambition has been a key theme in Chen's reflections over the past few months. Looking back at the previous Olympic cycle, she admitted that her mindset was a challenge.

"After the Tokyo Olympics, I was constantly competing and felt exhausted. I said I just wanted to play badminton for fun, but I didn't really know what I wanted. I wanted to win, but I also wanted to enjoy myself."

Following her disappointment at the Paris Olympics, Chen took a break to rethink her approach. She also changed her Weibo name to mark her time away from competition.

During her break, Chen kept up her strength training, but also turned to mental exercise as well.

"I've always wanted to learn English, but could never stick with it," she explained. "After the Olympics, I had the chance, so I took it. At first, it was tough, but I persisted. I realized that, if I can keep going with English, I can also keep improving in badminton."

The time away allowed Chen to gain clarity about her future. "I realized that I still love badminton. I also understood that competitive sports are not just about effort. Victory requires the right mindset — ambition is critical. That's what I'm going to focus on moving forward."

After her return, Chen updated her social media, sharing her renewed outlook: "Ten weeks of English lessons have come to an end, and my study abroad is wrapping up. This experience showed me a world beyond badminton and introduced me to so many wonderful people."

"I've made new plans for the future, and now it's time to meet you all where you've missed me. Brave Yufei is ready to return to the badminton court," she wrote.