Badminton
Julien Carraggi fulfilled his dream of one day participating in the Games. — © Vel
Dubai –
Julien Carraggi has been able to make his Olympic dream come true. The 23-year-old badminton player from Sint-Agatha-Berchem may participate in the Olympic Games in Paris in August. To get to the start in optimal condition, Carraggi went to Dubai last Saturday to train for a while with the Dane Axelsen, the number one in the world.
“When I saw a report on television about the Olympic Games as a young boy, I was immediately captivated by the event,” Carraggi muses. “Moreover, when our compatriots Yuhan and Lianne Tan were allowed to participate in the London Games in 2012, I was completely absorbed. And what a dream final that was between the Chinese Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei! But yes, then it all had to start for me. In recent years, the Olympic dream has been increasingly fueled. I absolutely believed in qualifying, but I certainly didn’t think I would make such a leap forward in a short time. On the official list for Paris, I am now the fifth European in twenty place. In the current world rankings I am now ranked 43rd.”
Carraggi was very pleased with his performance at the German Open, where he narrowly missed the semi-finals after three hard-fought sets. However, things did not go so well for him at the following European Championships in Saarbrücken. “I have therefore drawn my conclusions from that. I realized that I really don’t need any radical changes in terms of training, on the contrary. I therefore wanted to bring some sort of stability to my work schedules again. Playing many tournaments abroad with the associated travel, it seems fun, but it is still very tiring. Moreover, a succession of competitions constantly took me out of my daily routine. That is why it is now especially important to focus on all possible details and not to miss a single day to get the best out of myself.”
© Well
Crazy days in Dubai
Last Saturday, Carraggi left for Dubai to train with the Dane Viktor Axelsen, none other than the current number one in the world and also the defending Olympic champion. “Training in Dubai was something that had been on my wish list for a long time. Axelsen has made this his permanent training environment. The fact that I know a number of Danish players well has everything to do with the fact that I also belong to a club in Denmark. For example, Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, the current number ten in the world, is one of my teammates. Being able to train here with such a top player is of course a great opportunity for me. The experience I am having today is truly indescribable.”
After the internship in Dubai, Carraggi will travel to Thailand, where he will participate in an international tournament on May 12. “Indeed, and after that the Malaysian Masters 500 is already on my programme. I would then like to complete my Asian tour with the organizations in Singapore and Indonesia, but in the last two tournaments I am currently number two on the reserve list. So we’ll have to wait and see, but I’m certainly motivated to make something of it in the coming weeks and months.”
2024-05-07 17:42:44
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