Paralympian Yip Pin Xiu has earned respect and deserves parity

On the second page of a new book by Billie Jean King is to be found an eloquent paragraph. The great tennis player and activist for equality was commenting on the slights that she, like so many girls, faced as a young athlete.

"Why would anyone set arbitrary limits on another human being... Why were we constantly told, can't do this, don't do that, temper your ambition, lower your voice, stay in your place, act less competent than you are, do as you're told? Why weren't a female's striving and individual differences seen as life enriching, a source of pride, rather than a problem?"