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Friday, 25 July 2008  
THAT WINNING FEELING - Hans-Kristian Vittinghus PDF Print E-mail
ImageHans-Kristian Vittinghus, the young Danish badminton player, recently competed in and won the Dutch International. The following is his own personal account of the highs and lows of the tournament and joy experieced in winning his first tournament after recovering from a serious knee injury.

By Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (Danish Professional Badminton Player)

I arrived at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam Thursday afternoon last week to take part in Victor Dutch International. A tournament ranked as an International Challenge and a part of the European circuit tour. My goal for this event was very clear from the beginning. I was there to win. I had played pretty well at the Finnish International Challenge a couple of weeks ago, where I made it through the qualifiers, but eventually lost out in the quarter final. The confidence I had build up in Finland combined with the fact the two top seeds decided to pull out a few days prior to the start of Dutch International made me believe I could achieve this goal. Turned out I was right! After five hard fought matches I could finally scream out my joy of winning on Sunday afternoon. The purpose of this article is to give you all an insight into how I as a player experienced the days of competition in Holland and what went through my head as I got closer and closer to my goal...


Day 1
My first match was to be played Friday just before noon. I woke up around 8.30 in the morning as I like to be awake for some hours before my games. Fifth seed Vladislav Druzchenko from Ukraine was my first opponent. He is a very consistent performer on the European circuit, so I knew this could very well be a tough first round match. Preparation for this game started Thursday night where I had watched some video of his game at the Europeans the week before Dutch. A game where he lost to my daily sparring partner Jan Ø. Jørgensen, so I had a pretty clear impression of how to beat him. Obviously I believed I could win this match if I could just stay focused on the tactics and get my own game going. The start of the match was a bit tense, but as the match progressed I started feeling more and more comfortable. When I closed the first set 21-18 after being down 17-15, my confidence grew and the second set proved to be a lot easier than the first. I was well pleased about only taking 23 minutes in total to see off the challenge of Druzchenko. Using as little time on court as possible is important in tournaments like these. I would have to play 5 matches in only two and a half days to get hold of the title, so obviously saving some energy for the later stages was going to be a big advantage.
After evaluating the match with my coach I went back to the bungalows we all stayed in to lie down and relax a bit before my second match of the day. With bus’s going back and forth from the hall to the bungalows every half hour it was never going to be a problem to make it back in time. Next up for me was Kasper Ødum of Denmark, whom I knew pretty well as we have had a few previous meetings. I won the last time I had played him, so again I knew exactly what to do to win this match and was very confident going into it. We started off trading point for point, but at 8-8 I managed to put together a string of good rallies to create a gap of 6 points. He didn't look like someone who really believed in coming back into the set after this and I made another good run of points towards the end to win 21-13. I felt confident and sure that this would be another win for me. Not even a disastrous start to the second set, where I got down 6-0 made me doubt I would win this match in straight sets. It may sound a bit arrogant, but this is how I felt. I knew how to play him, my own game was working and I just felt very comfortable on court. After I closed the gap he created at 15-15 he never got back into the lead and I wrapped up the second set on my third set point 22-20.


Day 2
My first opponent of the day was the Danish qualifier Martin Delfs in a match that was to start at 12.50. He is not playing a lot of international tournaments so I was quite surprised to see him at this stage, but I also knew he is a player that can play very well as I've seen him play in several national competitions. He's someone I should beat based on rankings and going into the match I also felt like being the better player overall. None the less I lost the first set by a clear margin 21-14. He surprised me by challenging me at the net almost every rally and often coming out on top, not giving me many chances to attack. I base my own game mostly on attacking, so I was frustrated about not being given any chances to do so. This forced me to change my tactics for the second set. I began to push it at the net, making it more difficult for him to play tight net shots. It proved to be the right tactics as he often opted to make a lift instead of going for the net shot. I was also more aware about being aggressive at the net myself, so the rest of the match I was the one who dictated the game. I won the second set with no problems and even though he adapted a bit better to my new tactics in the third set, I was still in very much in control and finished off the match 14-21 21-13 21-17. The match had lasted for almost an hour, making it hard physically and not giving me a lot of time to recover before my semi final match. I did manage to get about an hour at the bungalows to relax. As earlier mentioned it was a good thing the player buses went back and forth so often. Would be nice if it was like that at every tournament!
Last hurdle for me before the final was yet another Dane. A 20-year old guy called Emil Vind. I played him in a Danish league match back in February, which was my first competitive match in 4 months after a knee surgery. Back then I had beaten him in straight sets. I thought that if I could beat him after such a long break, I should be able to beat him again now without having to work too hard for it, as I was beginning to find my form again lately. After the first set it looked liked I was right. Emil made numerous errors and I quickly won the set 21-14. Things changed in the second set however as he began to play very well, getting every shot back at me. Winning the first set so easily had clearly made me underestimate him and I was struggling to convince myself I would have to work harder to win. I never got in the lead in the second set and eventually lost out 21-17. I was disappointed at myself for underestimating my opponent, but the second set had already slipped away, so I couldn't use any more of my energy on this. I just needed to focus on how to win the decisive set. I was much more prepared to work hard and it paid off instantly giving me a 9-6 lead. Then all of a sudden I was down 13-9 after losing 7 straight points and looked like I could crash out of the tournament in a match I would never have thought I could lose. A lot of thoughts were going through my mind. All about how I got myself into this position and how much it would mean to me to make the final. It would be a hard pill to swallow to throw it away in a semi final I really felt like I should win. I dug into my mental resources, fought hard and found a way back into the set. Got back level at 17-17 and secured my place in the final by winning 21-18.
Again a match lasting almost an hour, I was definitely beginning to feel tired in my legs. The floor in the hall we played in felt like it was made of concrete, which obviously didn't make it easier to play two 1-hour matches in one day. In Denmark we are used to play on wooden floors all the time. They are not nearly as hard on your legs as concrete floors are. There is no need to complain though, it's the same conditions for all of us and it's my own fault I had to use three sets to win both of my last two matches. A massage given by the tournament-physiotherapist present at the hall also helped me recover a bit, so I was quite confident I would feel good for the final the next day. Turned out I was wrong...


Final day
When I woke up Sunday morning I felt terrible in my legs. They were stiff and sore, it hurt every time I had to just sit down and stand up again. Not that I was questioning if I could play, but I was very unsure if I would be fit enough to win. Wouldn't help me to feel sorry for myself (and there was definitely no need to) and soon enough I began to be positive about the final and look forward to it. It's not often I get to play finals, or at least not as often as I would like to, so it's important for me to enjoy it when I get the chance.
The men’s singles was the third final of the day, following the mixed and ladies singles finals. I got to the hall when the mixed was still in the beginning of the game, so I had plenty of time to prepare for my game. Feeling so bad in my legs, I knew it would take a bigger effort than usual to get ready. I chatted with my coach when the ladies singles final was to begin and started my warm up as soon as we were done talking about tactics. Even though I had warmed up for almost 45 minutes I was forced to take a painkiller if I wanted to feel ready for the match. I would prefer not to play on painkillers, but honestly didn't think I had a choice if I wanted to be able to move around court without feeling pain. I know it's very necessary to be careful with painkillers and playing on them regularly is not a good idea!
When I got on court for the final, I felt ready and focused. My legs were full of energy and no longer stiff and sore. Still I didn't get off to the best of starts as my opponent was soon up 5-1. Then I got the feeling of it and played my best badminton all week for the remainder of the set. I was patient, yet aggressive, very positive and moved around court with great speed. I won the set 21-12 and looked to have things under control, but the rallies were often quite long and as I told my coach during the interval, I was very tired and not sure if I could keep up the pace in the second set. After discussing what to do, we decided I should try to keep up the pace. Somehow I found the energy to do it and dominated the second set as well. At least up until I was leading 16-10 and cruising towards the title. Then he played a few good rallies where he was the more aggressive player and I forgot to react. I just let him take the initiative and soon he had closed the gap at 16-16. I was angry at myself for letting him into the match again, but I simply refused to let a title slip away like that. I fought back, regained the attack and played some splendid rallies to take the match and title 21-12 21-18 in 35 minutes.


Winning the last rally was such a nice feeling. I've been working very hard to get back at my level after my knee injury and now, 6 months after the surgery was done, I finally felt like I'm was there. As I mentioned in the beginning, I had set a goal of winning before the tournament started, so it's just a feeling of pure joy and satisfaction that runs through our body after a win like this. It's a feeling I can only get when playing badminton and it's very hard to compare to anything. I think you will need to experience it yourself to understand what it's like. One thing is certain though; I will never be tired of this feeling!

You can follow the progress of HK Vittinghus by logging onto his daily blog HERE





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