Badminton star bound for the top
Hong Kong's top badminton player Tam Kai-chuen began setting goals when he was a 10-year-old with no conception of becoming a professional.
Mainland-born Tam has been a pro for four years and during this time has seen his men's singles world ranking rise spectacularly from 500 to 21.
'Players or athletes should always set short-term but attainable goals to become good at what they are doing,' said the 21-year-old.
'I always believe that setting these goals gets you to where you want to be in life. It doesn't matter what level you're playing at. If you want to be the best player in school or the best player in the world, you must set goals. This is one of the best ways to improve yourself.' Earlier this month, Tam reached the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open, the first local male to accomplish that feat. He was unlucky enough to come up against world champion Peter Rasmussen, of Denmark, who won the clash 15-2, 15-9. The title went to another Dane, Peter Gade Christensen.
Tam's advice for young badminton players is to start slowly: 'First play against players of your own age and slowly build up as you become older.' His goal this year was to finish in the world's Top 20. His heroic performance at the Hong Kong Open should catapult him into the Top 25. (The International Badminton Federation releases its latest rankings this month.) The SAR's No 1 climbed to his best ranking of 21 after a string of fine performances including a semi-final place at the Vietnam Open in April.
'I'm a professional player, so getting a good ranking is very important for me,' Tam said. 'In badminton, it is much easier than tennis to get a good ranking. In tennis, it is extremely difficult just to be ranked among the world's Top 100 because there are so many good players and there are many tournaments.' Tam did not get to where he is now without a tough training regimen, putting in an average of five or six hours' practice a day.
'In the mornings, I would train for about three hours and then in the afternoons I'd do another three hours,' he said. 'I usually incorporate my on- court training with some weight-training. If one wants to become good in the sport, then he or she must make the sacrifices.' Tam said talking about becoming the world's top player was of no use without the hard slog and discipline.