When Puisand Lai started playing wheelchair basketball at age 13, she said she “didn’t necessarily wanted to become a Paralympian.”
“I just didn’t know it was an option, you know, and I just enjoyed the game,” she said.
But now, over a decade later, the McMaster University engineering student will be in Paris representing Canada on the women’s wheelchair basketball team.
Lai, 24, has been preparing for her second go at the Paralympic games and spent several days this month training with her teammates in Quebec City before heading to Paris. The games start on Aug. 28 and go until Sept. 8.
The Canadian team punched its ticket to the 2024 Paralympics in April after routing Algeria at a qualifying tournament in Osaka, Japan.
Early beginnings
Lai grew up in Toronto. When she was six years old, she was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a rare neurological condition where the spinal cord is inflamed. The condition meant she no longer had the ability to use her lower body.
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.”
“We started with sledge hockey and wheelchair racing and then wheelchair tennis and then, you know, sailing or all types of sports just to get her going and to meet other people instead of always staying at home,” Jenny said.
Initially, Lai enjoyed both tennis and basketball but eventually decided to focus on the latter.
When Lai started playing wheelchair basketball, she said she had no ambitions to play competitively on the global stage. But that changed because of the support she got from her peers. It was in 2017 when she was approached by the national team coach about joining the team.
“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.
Paris won’t be Lai’s first time at the Paralympics. She played previously in the Tokyo 2020 Games where the Canadian women’s team landed fifth place.
The team has qualified for every Paralympics but one since 1972, but is seeking its first podium appearance since winning bronze in 2004.
Lai said she and her teammates were “kind of disappointed” by the result in 2020. But in the years since, she said she feels ready to tackle the Games again.
“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.
“After having that experience in Tokyo and having that time to get to know my teammates better and how we work together, I think I finally found my role on the team.”
Lai said another difference is that her family will be there to watch her play, as they were unable to travel to Tokyo due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“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 [will] learn and grow.”
Balancing athletics with studies
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.
That includes switching between full and reduced course loads and taking a semester off.
She also recently interned with chemical producer Dow Inc. at one of its plants in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Once she returns from Paris, Lai said she plans to return to Hamilton to finish her final year of studies. As for her plans after graduation, Lai said she wants to keep her options open, which could include playing wheelchair basketball overseas, starting her engineering career, or both.
“I kind of don’t want to plan so far ahead when I know things can change really easily… So yeah, I’m not really sure yet,” she said.