Registered nurse Tiffany Ho admits she is an underdog as she heads off to Paris to compete in the badminton singles at her first Olympic Games. 

“For me, where I sit in the ranking, I’m in the bottom half. So, everyone will be tough, but that’s the exciting bit. It’s always going to be a challenge on such a big stage.  

“I want to go in showing the world what badminton is about and to show that we (Australia) can be up there with the best of the best and hopefully come away with some wins.” 

A nurse in the casual pool at Concord Hospital, Tiffany finished her last nursing shift only a week before she left for Paris last Saturday. “It’s just full-on training now. I haven’t had time to stop, it’s been pretty busy.” 

Nursing

It’s been a juggle since Tiffany graduated as an RN in 2021. She comes from a medical family; both her parents were born in Hong Kong and her mother is a nurse and midwife. 

“I grew up not really knowing much else. It was when I finished high school, I was asking myself ‘what is it that I want to do?’ And I just knew I really enjoyed helping people, especially the elderly. I found that very rewarding. I thought I could make a career out of it, that’s why I picked nursing. I probably don’t see myself doing anything else really.” 

While Tiffany started out on a grad program at Sydney’s Concord Hospital in 2022, she had to put it aside to pursue her childhood dream. 

“When I first started, I tried doing the full-time new grad position while still training in badminton. I had a really big passion for nursing, but it just wasn’t doable to do both full-time. Because they’re both quite demanding; I was so exhausted. I’d do a morning shift and then go to training at night. It would just be so tiring.

“That was when I really reached out to my hospital and told them about my situation in 2022 when I was trying to go for the Commonwealth Games. There was a lot of training involved and tournaments.  “I told them my goal: ‘I want to go to Birmingham’ and they were really supportive. They let me go into the casual pool and so I got to balance working and training at the same time. 

“I don’t think I’d be able to do both if it wasn’t for them because I really was at a crossroads. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. But without them, I wouldn’t be here.” 

Journey

Tiffany started playing badminton with family and friends aged 7-8. A family friend was a coach, so they also did some training. 

“I think it was at the age of 10, where I played and won in my first local tournament. I was kind of surprised. I was like ‘ok, maybe I’m not too bad at this’. From there I kept training every week, playing more and more tournaments. Eventually it led to some junior international tournaments and then when I was still a junior, I would go out and play in the senior circuit as well.” 

Her three brothers eventually dropped out, although one still umpires as a side hobby. “I just kind of persevered and excelled in it,” says Tiffany, who attributes her love of the sport to its speed and quick change of pace.  

“I think it’s the fastest racket sport out there. It’s combination of quick-thinking, decision-making, and quality of shots. 

“It’s so challenging. It’s not just your physical side of things, but it’s also the mental side of gameplay that goes into it. The training is tough, but I enjoy that side of things as well. And I love to win. I love the sport and I’m not too bad at it.” 

It hasn’t been an easy ride, however, with injuries, studying through high school and university and then nursing. “But I’ve persevered. I went through all of it and continue to train and compete. And this is where I am right now.” 

While Tiffany got to compete at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, she says the nerves got the better of her. 

“It was my first biggest team tournament and individual tournament in representing Australia. I think with that, was a lot of pressure and nerves. We didn’t do overly well, but it was a really good experience to be part of such a big Australian team.” 

Qualifying for the Olympics 

Tiffany has spent the past 12 months trying to qualify for the Paris Olympics, playing around the world – in Asia, Europe, South America and Africa. She’s competed in tournaments, including in Taiwan, Mongolia, Uganda, Peru and Guatemala. 

“It was pretty insane. I played a total of, I think 23 tournaments all around the world. I got to travel to some really amazing places to play tournaments that I’ve never been.  

“It was a lot of travelling, a lot of flying in and out, being away from home for long periods of time, not having good training blocks for a while. There was one tour this year where it was nine weeks away from home, just tournament after tournament, back to back. So that was definitely really tough. But it was an experience that I’ll never forget.” 

The competition is brutal, says Tiffany, with only 36 girls who qualified for the women’s singles event at the Paris Olympics. Two other Australian girls qualified for the doubles event. 

“There’s actually only three of us. I play the women’s singles and then the other two girls that also qualified play the women’s doubles. Each person specialises in their own event. For me it’s always been singles.” 

Although all players will be tough to beat, Tiffany considers those from South Korea, China and Thailand her fiercest competition. 

“Those will be the toughest. But also, many of the girls from the European countries are so strong as well. You have Denmark, Germany, there’s even some girls from Africa that are quite strong, from Mauritius, from South America, the Pan Am region. I won’t get an easy game – everyone’s going to be tough.” 

While some of the high-profile players from the top 10 countries, such as China, Korea and Denmark are full-time and paid, Tiffany says this adds pressure to get results. “From a very young age, they get selected in primary school or high school and exposed to that high pressure and training. 

“Whereas badminton is considered a leisure sport in Australia. People sometimes book a court or play outdoors, it’s more of a fun thing to do. It’s not possible to do it as a fulltime job because it doesn’t pay unlike a lot of countries that take it very seriously. 

“But I’m trying to not put too much pressure on myself as I know pressure can make or break anyone. I’m just out to enjoy the experience and to highlight badminton can be a serious sport, not just played for fun.” 

To follow Tiffany’s Paris journey, follow her on Instagram tiffho_ 

Tiffany has a GoFundMe page to help assist with her travel expenses. Anyone wanting to contribute, visit https://gofund.me/507305ff