AFTER his recent successful three-month training camp in China, leading Zimbabwe badminton player Thabani Mathe is now eyeing an impressive outing at the upcoming 32nd Fajr Iran International Challenge.
The competition will take place in Tehran, Iran, from January 30 to February 4 with countries like China, Indonesia, Turkey, Japan and India expected to take part.The annual event attracts top international badminton players from across the world.
Following his three-month trip to China, Mathe has returned refreshed after an eye-opening camp which revealed a lot of areas he needs to master in the badminton game.“The training camp was very fruitful and I’m much more refreshed than I could’ve possibly hoped for, being the only international player to have been enrolled successfully during that period. I learnt a lot from some of the finest of players in China at the Sichuan Badminton Training Centre, which harbours and nurtures the top badminton players in both the Sichuan province and China as a whole,” Mathe said.
“Also, to be part of some vast calibre of talented individuals in arguably the best training centre I have ever been in for those three full months was really fulfilling.“My greatest improvement is definitely the self-belief and confidence in my ability above all other aspects. It is paramount for any professional athlete to have the utmost confidence in what they do and how they perform, especially when the odds are constantly stacked against you.”
Besides gunning for the upcoming 32nd Farj Iran International challenge, Mathe is also hoping for an Olympic qualification which is one of the biggest dreams of most sports people.“I’m beginning my ascent into the Badminton World Federation World Tour and also gunning for Olympic Qualification, both which are incredible heights that I’m pushing to reach, and with all that in mind the last thing any athlete would want is to have to battle him/herself first before tackling the best in the world,” he said.
Among his achievements, Mathe has two All Africa Schools Championship Bronze Medals, six Zimbabwe Open titles, five Sunrise Open Club Championships and five Eagle Wings Open Badminton championships.
“For all upcoming competitions, I’m obviously aiming to finish tops and with increased match performance, I don’t see that as an obstacle I can’t overcome. Furthermore, I aim at attaining as many points as I can with every tournament I compete in to qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics whose qualifying closing dates are at the end of May,” Mathe said.Among other upcoming events include All Africa Championships which will take place in Egypt from February 12 to 18 and also the Uganda International from February 21 to 25.