Tracy Hallam is heading to Beijing this summer to represent Britain in the women’s badminton singles. Sportsister chats to her on the day the squad was announced.
Congratulations on your selection
Thanks, it’s fantastic to have qualified after having a career threatening injury 19 months ago. I almost didn’t think it would be possible to qualify, but I did it and it’s a wonderful feeling to be going to the Olympic Games to play for Great Britain.
How did you get started in badminton?
My teacher at junior school said I had quite good coordination with a bat and ball, and there was a club in the village and he suggested I go down there. So for a few years I was playing once a week, and then I played a local tournament and did quite well which qualified me to go to the county finals. I then started playing for the county and it just snowballed from then on.
What do you love most about the sport?
For me it’s playing international competitors; I get a real buzz out of that. Obviously you have to take care of your preparation or else you can’t perform, but it is the competing on the international stage that I enjoy the most. I really like to play different styles from all over the world.
Which do you prefer the training or the competing?
The competitions, as that’s where you get the results. Obviously without the training you will struggle to get those results but the training is definitely hard work.
What is a typical training day for you?
We train six days a week. One of those days is just one two hour session, the other days it’s two sessions a day for two hours. The training is pretty varied; this morning for example we were doing hill sprints in a snow dome. We do weights, different kinds of running like sprinting on and off court if you are approaching a competition. The variety stops it from getting boring.
Is there a good spirit among all the girls competing?
I would say so, we all know one another pretty well now, especially the Europeans from the circuit, so off court we can relax but on court we all want to win so its very competitive.
And how do you deal with the pressure of a major tournament?
A year before the Commonwealth Games in 2006 I started working with a psychologist because at that point, one year in advance of the games, the seeding is taken on the world rankings and so I would have been top seed. Obviously things can change throughout the year, but I just felt I needed to work on dealing with being the top seed, and taking on all the pressure that comes with it and performing as well. I worked on that and it paid off in the end because I got a gold medal.
Have you ever had any negative reactions to being a women involved in sport?
I haven’t experienced any negativity for being a woman. But I think that badminton as a sport still has some way to come in terms of its image. When I tell people that I am a professional badminton player often people are surprised that it exists as an elite level sport, most people still think it is just played in church halls.
What do you think can be done to raise the profile of badminton?
I think that if the likes of myself, and Donna and Gail, can all perform on an international stage, and get the media interested in us then that will raise the profile. Obviously it is dependant on us winning, but if we can get the results that will really help.
Are there any other sportswomen that you admire?
Kelly Holmes and Paula Radcliffe.
Which of your sporting achievements to date means the most to you?
I think the Commonwealth Games was the big one for me, I was quite determined to come out of that with a gold medal. I was quite disappointed with the team event; losing to the girl that I then went on to beat in the individual final.
I had an injury after the games, and I didn’t know if I would be able to come back after that, and if I could to what level. I wasn’t really that interested in coming back to the sport if I wasn’t going to be at the top level again, but you have to give it a try. So I think my first win back in a small tournament was really important because it made me realise I could carry on competing and should keep on going.
At the Sudirman Cup last summer where I beat both a Thai girl and an Indonesian girl who were ranked roughly the same as me but they were tough matches, I managed to come back and that was really when I realised that I was back to where I wanted to be. There is still a little bit further to go, but I am almost there.
If you weren’t playing badminton do you think you would still be playing sport?
Possibly. I really like tennis, but obviously I don’t get to play that much now as my time is all focused on badminton, but I think I could be a decent tennis player.
Do you ever get time to play just for fun now, or are knock arounds a thing of the past?
I did when I used to play club matches in France and the team that I played there with I had known for 10 years, the reason I went there to play was because it was social and the team was so great. That was about as close to just playing for fun, it was a bit of release from the serious training. But then the time came to give that up and focus my aims a little higher.
What would you say to girls that were thinking of taking up badminton?
Aside from the usual benefits of playing any sport, if you are good at it then you get to travel and experience new cultures and different people, and that all helps you grow up into a better person in the long run.
Louise Hudson, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
Photo credit: BadmintonPhoto.com
Look out for Sportsister’s interview with Gail Emms and Donna Kellogg - both hoping to bring home medals from Beijing in the badminton this summer.
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