11 minute read
I told him if you don’t do something crazy, I’m going to withdraw
Two doubles from Denmark surprisingly reached the semifinals at last year’s edition of Denmark Open, even though none of them were in the top-50 of the rankings.
By Ronni Burkal Elkjær
Amalie Schulz was standing behind the curtain. She was nervous. In a few moments she would walk onto the court with tv-cameras following her and her double partner Christine Busch.
It was without a doubt the highlight of the Danes’ career. Their first semifinal in a Super 750-tournament and even on home court in Denmark Open. Getting a chance of competing against one of the best women’s doubles in the world.
Two hours later another Danish double pair were ready to make their semifinal debut in the tournament. Rasmus Kjær and Joel Eipe. In contrast to their countrymen, there weren’t any butterflies in their stomachs.
Sure, they were excited. But focus had been on something else. Kjær’s knee. A few weeks earlier he almost couldn’t walk. And on the morning of the semifi-
nal, he was close to withdraw, because he was in so much pain.
- Before the tournament we hoped to win the first game, and I hoped just to be able to walk off the court afterwards. That it developed into so much more, were quite surprising, says Rasmus Kjær, when he remembers back.
Last year’s Denmark Open was very different for the two Danish pairs, but they both had in common, a fairy tale came true in H.C. Andersen’s hometown Odense.
A fantastic draw
There were no expectations to neither Busch and Schulz or Kjær and Eipe in the tournament. The latter was number 125 in the world at that time. Busch and Schulz were 71st in the rankings.
Because of covid-19 the third seeded Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida had withdrawn. A pair Busch and Schulz could have faced in the second round. Now the picture was completely different. If they managed to win their first-round game, they would already be in the quarterfinal of such a big tournament. And their opponents in the first round was a young German pair. The draw looked incredible.
- It was something you thought about. We had a good chance of reaching the quarterfinals, and that created some pressure, remembers Christine Busch.
She and Amalie Schulz delivered. They won in two sets and cruised into the quarterfinal.
The beginning of the tournament didn’t go as smooth for Rasmus Kjær and Joel Eipe. Because of Kjær’s injury, he hadn’t played matches in three months, and they hadn’t really practiced together in the last six weeks. So, he called Eipe and told him, how bad the situation was.
- I said to him, I don’t know, what my knee can manage, and there was a possibility, I needed to be carried of the court and maybe finish my career. But I was ready to give it a shot, says Kjær.
Just like Busch and Schulz, Kjær and Eipe also faced a German pair in the first round. But they had a lot more trouble. After three close sets, Eipe og Kjær won. The mood afterwards wasn’t good though.
- We played a bad match. Especially me. I had a feeling I’ve became so bad. It was embarrassing, and my mindset was, that it was my last tournament, says Rasmus Kjær, while his double partner adds:
- It was so difficult being on court because I never knew, what was going on with him, says Joel Eipe.
A painful celebration
The problem with Kjær’s knee filled so much after the first match, that they almost didn’t have time to talk any tactics before the next match. Not the best prelude, when you’re facing the countrymen and top men’s double pair in Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup. >>
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But a day off without a match helped Rasmus Kjær and his painful knee. He and Eipe could play freely as an underdog, while the opponents had a giant pressure on there shoulders.
Kjær and Eipe played well and got momentum early the match. That shook Astrup and Skaarup, who had trouble playing their best. Another three sets game turned into a win for the young Danes. Both Eipe and Kjær got down on their knees and celebrated like crazy.
- I rarely celebrate like that. Especially when I have a painful knee. But it really meant something for both of us, says Kjær.
- It is that match, we remember the most, when we look back at last year’s tournament, because we were filled with joy after the surprising win, Eipe adds.
Shook the first seeded
After two days without a match, Busch and Schulz was again ready to conquer the court in Odense Idrætshal. This time it was a quarterfinal. It was a fifty-fifty match against a Scottish pair. After a slow start the Danes made a huge comeback in the first set. Down 15-20 they won seven points in a row and stole the set. In the second set they crushed the opponents by 21-9.
- There were some nerves, when the match began, but when we were behind late in the first set, it was like the pressure vanished. We could play freely and with a mixture of luck, we managed to win, says Schulz.
In the semifinal they faced the number one seeded Japanese pair Sayaka Hirota and Yuki Fukushima. And the Danes surprised. They were leading 15-7 in the first set.
- I felt a relief, that we got of to a good start, and we weren’t just crushed from the first shot, says Christine Busch.
Still, she and Schulz ended up losing 1821, 6-21. Especially the second set hurt a bit. - Right after the match I was annoyed about the last set, because we played so well in the first. But afterwards we were still happy about the accomplishment, and we realized, what things we need to improve to be in the top of the rankings, Amalie Schulz points out.
Close to retirement
When Eipe and Kjær reached the day of the quarter final, the pain in Kjær’s knee had become worse. He felt like, he couldn’t bend his knee. Physiotherapist Kaare Mejding helped, so the player could be ready. The Danes felt like favorites going into the match against a young French pair. Rightfully so. They won in two sets. Bittersweet for Kjær, whose pain got worse for every day, and he also started cramping. But he had to play another game.
The night before the semifinal he slept around one and a half hour because of the pain. Even though he ate painkillers. When he woke up, he went straight down to Kaare Mejding
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- I told him if you don’t do something crazy, I’m going to withdraw. It was a bit risky, but he gave me a rougher treatment, than he usually does on a match day. But it helped enough, so I could walk on court later that day, tells Kjær.
The Danish double played a nice first set and followed the British pair Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis to 20-20 before losing the first set.
Just like Busch and Schulz, Kjær and Eipe got beaten badly in the second set and lost 6-21.
- I feel like, the first set against Ellis and Langridge is where we played our best through the whole tournament. In the second set, we were doomed. I think the score was just 2-0, when Rasmus told me, he had a cramp in his back, remembers Joel Eipe.
After the game Rasmus Kjær also got cramp in his stomach and several other places in the body. In the next few weeks, he wasn’t even close to getting back to practice.
- I almost retired after Denmark Open. Nobody could figure out, what was wrong with my knee. After three and a half week I reached out to a person, I knew through my club, who treated me in a different way, and that helped me. - It took a while before I was back practicing, and first five months after Denmark Open, we played a tournament together again. So, there wasn’t really a lot of momentum leaving Denmark Open, but at least we got a memorable experience, says Kjær. ■
FAIRPLAY I BADMINTON
Badminton Danmark og DGI Badminton er klar med vores syn på Fair Play. Det vil I støde ind i og stifte bekendtskab med i hallerne, i den kommende tid til de større mesterskaber.
Målet og det primære fokus er at hjælpe til at børn og forbilleder efterleve de rammer og regler, der er sat i badminton og opføre sig fair især i turneringsaktivitetssammenhæng.
Badminton er en enestående sportsgren, da langt de fleste badmintonkampe afvikles, hvor spillerne selv dømmer kampene. Det stiller store krav til badmintonspillernes opførsel og evne til at dømme og opføre sig fair.
Badminton Danmark og DGI Badminton går ind for FAIRPLAY, da det danner fundamentet for, at det er sjovt at konkurrere, giver masser af gode oplevelser og, at der er plads til alle. At være FAIR handler om at opføre sig ordentligt, ærligt og retfærdigt, samt ikke virke stødende med sin adfærd, både i forhold til dem, der spilles med og imod.
• FAIRPLAY er at overholde reglerne og respektere sin modstander og handle på en måde, der sikrer retfærdighed og en god afvikling af konkurrencesituationen. • FAIRPLAY er at være ærlig og retfærdig, også selvom det ikke er til ens egen fordel. Det betyder, at du skal være villig til at ofre din egen succes til fordel for et retfærdigt udfald. • FAIRPLAY handler om spillet på banen, men også om, hvad der sker udenfor stregerne på tilskuerpladserne, så det gælder både spillere, trænere og forældre.
Gensidig respekt og FAIR PLAY overfor hinanden giver de bedste forudsætninger for gode oplevelser for alle.
Vidste du,...
At det kun er en dommer, der kan dømme ”fejl”. Du kan ikke dømme, at modstanderen ramte nettet med ketsjeren, eller lavede overhåndsserv el.lign. Du skal altid spille en duel færdig, og duellen afgøres altid ved, at bolden dømmes inde eller ude eller ikke kommer over nettet.
At du som forbillede altid kan stoppe dit eget barn i at fortsætte en kamp og trække dit barn ud, hvis dit barn er gået over stregen for FAIRPLAY.
At du altid kan henvende dig ved hallens dommerbord, hvis du som forbillede oplever en meget problemfyldt kamp, som du ikke føler, spillerne selv kan håndtere. Dommerbordet kan tage stilling til, om det vil hjælpe med en neutral observatør (som afgør uenigheder) resten af kampen. At en badmintonkamp starter, når spillerne er trådt ind på baneområdet, og slutter når de er trådt ud. Spillerne må IKKE forlade banen, før kampen er spillet færdig. Ingen må gå på banen, heller ikke forbilleder med vanddunk eller et sidste godt råd, når spillerne er gået på banen.
Hygge
[ˈhʊɡ.ə]
A Danish word for a quality of cosiness - feeling warm, comfortable and safe – that comes from doing simple things such as lightning candles, baking, sharing good food and spending time with family and friends.
