Coach Pai hails from Taipei, Taiwan. Growing up, she has always loved playing sports. She started playing badminton at age 10 with her elementary school team which happened to be one of the best in the city. Even though most of her peers started training earlier than she did, Hsiaoma did not let this hold her back. Soon enough, she caught up. At age 18, she won first runner-up in Women’s Singles at the National Games.

After that, Hsiaoma started competing internationally. As a member of the Taiwan National Badminton Team, she helped the team win third place at the 2006 Uber Cup. In 2012, she won the US Open and second place at the World University Badminton Championship. In 2013, in addition to winning the National Games twice in a row, she also won the Yonex-Sunrise Bangladesh Open. In 2014, she won the Australian Challenge and helped the Taiwan National Women’s Team win 5th place at the Asian Games. During this time, she also achieved her highest Badminton World Federation ranking— 15th in Women’s Singles.

Early in 2015, she announced her retirement from competitive badminton. Since then, she has dipped her toes in a variety of fields. She was a commentator at ELTA TV, the leading sports channel in Taiwan, and has also commentated on the All England, World Championships, Sudirman Cup, Thomas & Uber Cup, Asian Championships, and other BWF tournaments.

From 2017 to 2022, she worked as a Physical Education teacher at a secondary school in Taipei, designing and teaching curricula with a focus on understanding sports, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and performance. She also piloted the school’s badminton after-school club. With players from beginner to novice levels, she honed in on her skills in meeting a wide variety of students’ needs.

Hsiaoma is excited to bring her experiences as a player and coach to the SBC family.