Australian badminton players Tara Pilven and Boris Ma start day one of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore with very tough first-up assignments.

They have drawn the Junior European Champions from Spain and Finland respectively in their first group matches and have had limited time to get used to the difficult conditions which will be a major contributor.

The heat and humidity causes the shuttlecock to travel much faster through the air than they are used to in Australia. And the air conditioning in the 5,000 seat Singapore stadium causes the shuttlecock to ‘drift’. The speed of the game will be greater than they are used to but they have been trying to train accordingly.

Despite these factors the Victorians are looking forward to the challenge and determined not to give away any easy points to their favoured rivals.

“It’s a tough draw. The quality of players are quite strong but I guess it’s a good opportunity to play the best I can and hopefully come away with a few wins,” 18-year-old Ma from Melbourne said.

“I’ll be trying my best and playing my own game. I haven’t seen any of them play before so that’s a challenge as well but all part of the game.”

Both Australians could benefit from meeting their favoured rivals first up when they too haven’t had much time to familiarise themselves with the conditions. An upset would be the perfect way for the Australian Team to start their Youth Games campaign.

“I want to make sure I keep consistent and don’t give away any easy points. Make them work for their points and make sure I am playing my style and my game plan, and don’t let the other girls dictate the rallies,” 17-year-old Pilven from Ballarat said.

Pilven has drawn court 1 for all three of her matches which is quite lucky so she can get used to the drift from the air conditioning on that court.

“We haven’t had a lot of time to get used to the village and the conditions.

“The (hot) conditions are quite hard. You have to change how you play. You need to adjust your length so when you clear the shuttlecock it doesn’t drift long and give away easy points.

Australian coach Stuart Brehaut, who is Pilven’s personal coach, is using his Olympic experience from Athens in 2004 to guide his young charges.

He is realistic about their chances of causing big upsets on Sunday morning. However, unlike the Summer Olympic Games when it is direct knock-out, the format in Singapore is three group matches and then the top athlete in each group proceeds to the quarter-finals.

The athletes will spend the afternoon relaxing out of the heat before attending the spectacular Opening Ceremony. They will leave slightly before the end to make sure they are well rested for the biggest matches of their short careers.

On Sunday evening they will play their second of three group matches. Ma will take on the Sri Lankan champion and Pilven a player from Macedonia. The Australians favoured to win these matches. 

Andrew Reid
AOC