There was gold for Brabrand IF Badminton at the weekend, when 17-year-old Toma Uda Jørgensen won the u19 B division at the national badminton championship at the weekend – only a year after he competed in a tournament for the first time. In everyday life, Toma is also a coach for the miniton team in Brabrandhallen.
It was during the corona era that 17-year-old Toma Uda Jørgensen first became acquainted with badminton. For him too, it was a time when he spent many hours at home, and his mother believed that he should find a leisure activity.
“Then it must be badminton,” Toma said to himself and showed up for training in Brabrandhallen.
It can be hard to imagine that it was only a few years ago that he threw himself into the sport of badminton. Because at the weekend he won a small swarm of medals at DGI’s national championships, which took place in a number of halls in Aarhus. Among other things, a lot of matches were played in the Brabrandhallerne.
The U19 series, where Toma competed at B level, however, took place in Vejlby-Risskov Hallen. Here he reached the very top in the singles row, after he had eliminated first-seeded Malthe Dahlmann from Grindsted in two sets in the semi-final. In the final, it was over a player from Copenhagen.
But that’s not enough. He also won a bronze medal in men’s doubles, where he played together with Oscar Steffensen from Stensballe. And he could also take a silver medal around his neck, as it resulted in a final place in mixed doubles together with a partner from Skanderborg.
“I had trained really hard for the championships, so it was just great that it went so well. It’s something you can look back on for the rest of your life. Now the medals hang in the room at home, so I can look at them every morning when I get up,” says Toma Uda Jørgensen, who has a Japanese-born mother and a Danish father.
The badminton players are awarded points according to their performances, and Toma was therefore placed in the B row. But with his many victories at the weekend, he is now moving up in the A series.
Reminds a lot of exams
As mentioned, it is only a year since Toma competed in his first open event. It was his own club, Brabrand IF Badminton, that organized a meeting for youth players from all over Denmark.
“Then I might as well try – and since then I’ve just loved it. I now play tournaments almost every week all over Denmark,” he says.
On Monday and Wednesday, he trains at Brabrand IF Badminton, where he gets a lot of great input – and instructions on a lot of push-ups – from his coach, Oliver Kaihøj.
“It’s really good training,” says Toma, who also trains at Højbjerg Badminton Club on Fridays, while on Tuesdays and Thursdays he supplements with strength training in the fitness centre. And then there are the tournaments at the weekend.
“I love it. And I also feel that I’m getting stronger in everything that has nothing to do with badminton. I’m learning that I have to go, even if I’m a little tired and would rather relax a little,” says Toma.
“And then I also get a lot out of the tournaments. They remind a lot of exams. I remember being very nervous when I was going to the exams. But after all these tournaments, I think I’ve become pretty good at handling these kinds of situations.”
“Fun to be a coach”
You wouldn’t think that there was time for much more for Toma, who also has to take care of his education at HHX in Viby during the week.
But he still squeezes an extra task into his program as a coach for the 5-7-year-old new badminton players every Saturday at 12-13. Miniton is called the initiative. He has been responsible for this for a year and a half together with the slightly younger Aron.
“I thought it might be fun to be a coach. And then I got an offer to coach the children on Saturdays,” he says.
“It makes a lot of sense for me to train the small players who have plenty of time to develop.”
He emphasizes that the children get the opportunity to participate in a lot of games where they get to know each other and start talking to each other.
“Many of the little ones don’t want to leave their parents. But then they start talking to each other and become good friends. I’m really happy about that.”
