Sports
Jackson Zi Yi Yang juggled four shuttlecocks for more than four minutes.
Photo courtesy Guinness World Records
McNair grad sets Guinness badminton record
Published 3:42 PST, Fri December 1, 2017
McNair grad Jackson Zi Yi Yang isn’t just a
Guinness World Record holder anymore.
Now, the 18-year-old Trinity Western
University student, who is studying sports management, has been showcased on
Fairchild TV locally.
But what may come in early December could
raise Yang’s profile into the stratosphere.
A major Chinese TV station that boasts 100
million regular viewers, would like to bring Yang in for one of their shows
which features other athletes and Guinness record holders.
According to Yang, this TV show is a Guinness
record holder as well, with an unmatched number of viewers for any show in the
world.
Unfortunately for Yang, his school schedule
may make a trip abroad impossible, and could necessitate that appearance on the
Chinese show being delayed.
During the summer, Yang set a Guinness record
by juggling four shuttlecocks for four minutes and 40 seconds during an attempt
in Guangzhou, China on Aug. 26.
The videotaped, witnessed, judged and timed
effort was verified by the Guinness World Record team in the United Kingdom,
which sent him an official certificate on Sept. 10.
Yang told The Richmond Sentinel that he first
began playing badminton at the age of six, and then started juggling two
shuttlecocks when he was six or seven years old.
He tackled three shuttlecocks at a time when
he was 12 or 13, then graduated to four about a year later.
Today, he can juggle six shuttlecocks for 52
seconds. His goal is to juggle five shuttlecocks for two minutes, and six
shuttlecocks for one minute.
“It takes a long time to train, maybe two or
three years,” he said. “Practice makes perfect.”
But why juggle shuttlecocks instead of
playing badminton?
Yang said juggling necessitates a relaxation
of the muscles, and requires a great deal of focus.
He claims it’s good for one’s eyesight and
juggling doesn’t result in injuries. There’s no sudden stop and go which makes
it less stressful on the joints.
Yang hopes his newfound fame will help him
promote the sport of badminton and encourage other youth to try their hand at
it.
While juggling multiple shuttlecocks may seem
a relatively easy task, Yang said it becomes much more difficult with each
additional shuttlecock. As well, in order to qualify for a world record, no
shuttlecocks may collide and they must be struck into the air in the same
sequence.
Asked how he feels about setting the record,
Yang said: “I feel pretty excited.”
According to the Guinness certificate, Yang
is “Officially Amazing.”
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