THE Jamaica Badminton Association’s (JBA) 2013 Under-15 All Jamaica Junior Championship triple crown winner, Alana Bailey, has set her sights on representing Jamaica at the Olympics.

“My goal is to become the top female player in the Caribbean and get the chance to represent Jamaica in the Women’s singles at the Olympics and to take home the gold medal,” Bailey told the Jamaica Observer.

“I really want to work hard in badminton as I also want to get picked to go to Guatemala for the Pan Am Championships and to compete in the Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation Championship (CAREBACO) later this year in Jamaica,” the triple crown champion said.

She knows very well that success will only come with hard work.

“But in order for me to reach that far I have to train hard and that is what I am doing from now. If I can stay healthy, injury-free and carrying out my hard work, then I know that I will do very well,” she said.

Bailey, who is in third form at Bishop Gibson High School in Manchester, said training is not easy but noted that her love for the sport keeps her going.

“Sometimes training can be a little hard due to my school work… at times I get tired and my legs get weak and sore. But I enjoy training a lot.

“I do warm-ups before I do techniques, which I love very much, I do court drills, yoga exercises which I do for concentration. But overall its been good,” she explained.

The 14-year-old Bailey shared that she started playing the sport from an early age

“I was playing the sport from Grade 1 at El Instituto de Mandevilla, my brother and his friends were playing the sport and one day I decided to tag along and I developed a liking for it,” she recalls.

The Bishop Gibson’s star athlete said that she also take part in Taekwon-do but prefers the badminton as it was her first love.

Bailey has other sporting passions, but not as dear to heart than badminton.

“I also do Taekwon -do. I was a gold medallist in the 2013 ITF New York sparring tournament, but I prefer badminton because I am comfortable when I am playing and I always enjoy myself,” she noted.

Bailey, who represented Jamaica in the 2010 Pan American Junior Championship in the Dominican Republic and was a triple crown winner in the 2011 Under-13 Junior Classic, said while it can be difficult to juggle academics and the sport, she has no immediate plans to quit either of them.

“I aspire to become either a criminal defence lawyer or a psychiatrist, but will even still find some time to play badminton to take off some stress… you know those are pretty serious jobs that take a lot out of people,” Bailey said, before breaking out into laughter.

The soft-spoken Bailey, who also competes in local table tennis tournaments, mentioned that the key to her success thus far is the love, care and understanding of her parents and coaches.

“My parents really help me a lot… my dad Errol Bailey and mom Corelene Bailey, play a big part in my achievements as they encourage me a lot and they always come to my matches to support me. My brother, Erin Bailey, also gives support and encouragement and sometimes he coaches me when my coach is busy, and for that, I thank my family,” she concluded.

Bailey also thanked her coaches Howard Ranger and Joleen Masters for their “assistance and encouragement along the way”.

— Ruddy Allen