Dashing Danes: Anders Antonsen (left) and Viktor Axelsen have been holding the fort for Denmark in many tournaments.
PETALING JAYA: The healthy rivalry between Denmark’s top two singles players Viktor Axelsen and Anders Antonsen on the international stage has inspired youngster Eogene Ewe.
The 19-year-old Eogene hopes that one day he too can be snapping at the heels of the country’s top players.
He is one of the four Badminton Assocaition of Malaysia (BAM) players in the elite squad together with Leong Jun Hao, Justin Hoh and Ng Tze Yong but there is a huge gap in his standard with all of them.
And there is also the world No. 8 and professional Lee Zii Jia, who is way ahead of the rest and leading the pack as the country’s top player. Eogene knows where he stands but he is determined to catch up.
“In the recent China Masters, we saw two strong Denmark players, Viktor and Anders. It will be difficult for me to narrow the gap next year to provide the same healthy rivalry like the Danes do but I will try my best to do it in the future,” said Eogene, who acknowledges that he needs time to grow.
In the recent China Masters, Antonsen lifted the men’s singles title while two-time Olympic champion Axelsen lost in the semi-finals. And the two Danes have been holding the fort for Denmark in many other tournaments too.
Eogene hopes the presence of Kenneth Jonassen as the new singles head coach will help him and others in his department to fast-track their progress.
“We met up with him (Jonassen) yesterday (on Monday) briefly but we didn’t get to speak much. I know him very well (his credentials),” said Eogene.
Jonassen has worked with Axelsen, Antonsen and Rasmus Gemke and a host of other players, and had turned their dreams into reality by making them champions.
“Hopefully, his presence can help me to improve as a player too,” added Eogene.
Eogene has ended this year as the country’s world No. 103rd without any titles. Due to his low ranking, he is still trying to establish himself at the lower-tier tournaments.
“One of the areas I’m working on is improvising my game strategies on court. My strong point is my power in executing my shots,” said Eogene.
Eogene has many good years ahead of him, and if he can work hard to combine his talent, tactics and power play, he too will be able to breathe down the necks of the top players here.
