Puisand Lai’s upcoming academic year will start differently than most. The mechanical engineering student will be in Paris representing Canada on the Paralympic Women’s Basketball Team. At only 24 years old, this will be Lai’s second Paralympic Games.
Wheelchair basketball has been an important part of Lai’s life for a decade. But it took some time for her to embrace the sport. When her mom signed her up for house league in Brampton as a young teenager, she questioned why she’d spend her spare time “trying to throw a circular object into another circular object.”
It wasn’t long before she realized that not only is she a natural and the sport is highly complex, but the sense of community that came with it would enrich her life.
“I saw it as something that I could invest my energy in,” she says. “And I was surrounded by a community of people with disabilities who were not only succeeding in sport, but in life with professional jobs and families. It inspired me to think about what might be possible for me.”
What she never imagined at the start of her wheelchair basketball journey were the places her sport would take her. Tapped for the national team right out of high school, competing at the Paralympics in Tokyo in 2020 and captaining the U-25 national women’s team, are just a few of her many accolades to date.
She’s also featured in a recently released Canadian version of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls alongside author Margaret Atwood and entrepreneur and activist Viola Desmond.
Global experiences through basketball
After starting her first year at McMaster and discovering an interest in mechanical engineering, Lai had an opportunity to work as an Operational Improvement Intern at an engineering firm in Germany while playing in a professional co-ed wheelchair basketball league. One of only two women on her team, Lai describes the experience as transformative.
“I moved to a new country and was playing pro for the first time,” she says. “We were traveling every weekend for games and the play was at a whole new level. It was primarily a men’s league, so the physicality was different, and I had to adapt my strengths to it and rely on more than just my speed and defensive skills.”
Leaving that experience with a faster game and a flawless pick-and-roll, Lai felt ready to get back to training with the national team for Paralympic stage. In Tokyo, Team Canada placed fifth, and Lai is ready for a rematch with powerhouse teams like the Netherlands and China.
“I know we have what it takes this time,” she says. Unlike Tokyo when there were few fans because of the pandemic, Lai’s twin sister and parents will be in the stands, cheering her on.
An ambassador for the sport
Drive, a willingness to learn and being receptive to feedback are three keys to Lai’s wheelchair basketball game. These qualities have also served her well in her engineering studies.
“I push my hardest in every practice even when I was learning and didn’t understand all the complexities of the game,” she says. “My ability to take feedback well and listen is a skill that’s often overlooked in a lot of areas, but it allows me to learn quickly and show my potential.”
Honing a quiet confidence, as Lai describes it, hasn’t limited her from leadership roles on national teams. “I’m not the most vocal player on the court but I lead by example,” she says.
Outside of making a strong impression on her Paralympic teammates, Lai wants to impart on all Canadians who are tuning into the Olympics to also support the Paralympic Games and to give wheelchair basketball a chance.
I don’t want it to be seen as a pity sport. It’s professional, physical and intense. We have a great following of people who do appreciate how strategic and exciting it is. Give it a watch. Go into it with an open mind.
Visit the Paralympic Games wheelchair basketball schedule.
Bookmark this page for CBC’s Paralympic schedule and where to watch.
