Bet you didn't know that!

Recently Sydney Go, of Year 12 competed in the 2022 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals, an international event held in Thailand. Here is a little insight of how Sydney became a champion badminton player. 

1. How did you get interested/involved in badminton in the first place?

My dad introduced me at a young age as he had an interest in playing it socially. 

2. When did you discover you were very good at it?

I started playing around 7 or 8 years old, and started off very weak compared to the other girls. But once I started consistently coming to training and participating in tournaments (around 9-12 years old), I found that I became better and better as the years came by.

3. How much time per week do you train and play? 

My usual schedule involves 4 sessions before school (3 on court, 1 gym - 6:30am starts), and 5 sessions after school/weekends - these can either be on court, matchplay/sparring or physical (running/cardio, gym). Overall I train about 18-20 hours a week.

4. How do you manage to fit school, family, friends etc... around your training?

Sacrificing ‘free’ time was a hard thing for me to deal with when I started to increase my training loads and school became busier. For me, fitting school work around my training involved sleeping at later times, finishing any work I can during class/study periods, and sometimes bringing work to tournaments. As for family and friends, I try to schedule meals with them or find time to see them as you always need a break. Although not being able to go to parties and events was hard at first, it became rewarding as I started to see results later on. 

5. What are your proudest achievements in the sport so far?

• National Junior Squad since 2016
• Represented Australia in Junior Oceania team Championships in 2019
• Junior National Champion in 2018 (singles and womens doubles)
• Had the opportunity to represent Australia and compete overseas in countries such as Thailand & Singapore
• Part of team Australia in the 2022 Uber Cup team finals (world team event)
• Have been part of the state team (junior and senior) for numerous years

6. What ambitions do you have for the future in this sport?

In the future I would like to compete at the Olympics or the Commonwealth games. The atmosphere is completely different to normal tournaments and seems like a great experience. 

7. Anything else relevant you can think of?

If you have any questions about becoming an athlete and its commitments, or just want to ask about badminton, I am always open to questions. For reference my jacket name says ‘opera house’.