For an opponent standing across the badminton net from twin sisters Kerry and Annie Xu, it would be hard to strategize the weaknesses and strengths of each in the heat of battle.
“Very hard for the opponent to say ‘Hey, which one is not good today,’” laughed coach Harry Tan.
Though the 24-year-old sisters are individuals in every respect, their play on the badminton court has become one of a singular force — that’s propelled them to a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the doubles category, even after a four-year layoff during which they barely touched a racket.
“We are like considered pretty close,” said Kerry Xu, sitting inside Milpitas’ Bay Badminton Club where the sisters have trained the last fourteen years. “More like best friends.”
For the record — Annie is the older of the twins by two minutes. Aside from that two-minute separation, they’ve been together most of the journey since. They did homework together. Shopped together. And of course played together. As kids, their parents had them try out a variety of sports. Badminton was the one that stuck.
Stream every moment and every medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Peacock, starting with the Opening Ceremony July 26 at 12 p.m. ET.
“We started the sport when we were eight years old,” Kerry said. “Kind of picked it up kind of recreationally at first.”
They initially viewed badminton — once the domain of beaches and backyard parties — strictly as a fun exercise. But as they hit their teens the trophy case began to swell, and they began standing their ground on the court against older athletes.
More Olympics from NBC News
“I don’t think that ever really hit us, like ‘Oh we’re good,’” Annie said. “We’re always aiming for the next level higher.”
In pursuit of that next level, badminton carried them wide and far for competitions — they stamped their passports in Taiwan, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Canada. The Olympics weren’t even a distant waypoint on the…
Read the full article here
