McMaster Student Puisand Lai, right, will be playing for Canada's women's wheelchair basketball team in Paris later this month.
Lai, 24, has been preparing for her second go at the Paralympic Games and has spent the last few days training with her teammates in Quebec City before heading to Paris. The games start on Aug. 28 and go until Sept. 8.McMaster Student Puisand Lai, right, will be playing for Canada's women's wheelchair basketball team in Paris later this month. When Puisand Lai started playing wheelchair basketball at age 13, she said she "didn't necessarily wanted to become a Paralympian.
Lai's mother Jenny Lai said she first signed Lai up for wheelchair sport because she was "trying to get her to do any kind of sport." "I guess they saw potential in me and said that I am able to compete at high levels and convince me and believed in me. So I think that was a really awesome feeling and that's where I decided OK I think I can do it," she said.
"Everything was so new to me. I came to the team super fresh with a lot to learn, so I feel like back then I was just trying to almost keep up with the team," she said. "I hope the Canadian team will go to the finals but I guess most importantly, I just want them to have fun and have this very special, memorable experience," Jenny said. "Whatever happens, I'm sure they learn and grow."Between playing competitively, Lai has been studying mechanical engineering at McMaster University, where she says it's taken "a lot of planning" to manage her time between schoolwork and her athletic career.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Skills Ontario summer camps provide a trades twist to summer vacationCanada's construction news
Read more »
'Summer Olympics': Summer McIntosh wins gold in women's 200 medleyCanada's Summer McIntosh has won the gold medal in the women's 200-metre individual medley at the Paris Olympics.
Read more »
Sum and Summer: The two sides of Summer McIntosh, Canada’s gold medal talentThere’s the poised Olympian and the ‘spicy’ teenager affectionately known as ‘Sum’ who’s planning to celebrate her 18th birthday at the family cottage
Read more »
Record Olympic Summer Games for Canada in Paris came with peaks and valleysCanada's record performance at the Olympic Games in Paris did not happen without thorns, but athletes provided unforgettable sporting moments.
Read more »
Record Olympic Summer Games for Canada in Paris came with peaks and valleysCanada's record performance at the Olympic Games in Paris did not happen without thorns, but athletes provided unforgettable sporting moments.
Read more »
Paris and the Olympics have changed each other during their summer flingThe 2024 Games drew to a close Sunday. After the Paralympics from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8, normal life will resume in Paris.
Read more »