In life, you never know what surprise tomorrow will bring. For England’s Chris Langridge, Olympic bronze medallist, there was an unpleasant surprise in the lead up to one of the biggest tournaments of the year.
Speaking to BBC Surrey, Langridge opened up about the serious disruption he had in his personal life before this year’s All England Open.
- If I am being totally honest with you, a few days before the tournament I did not actually know if I was going to be playing. I can talk about it a little bit more now the tournament is over. I got a little bit unlucky with the build up and I did not train fully for about six weeks because one of my twin daughters,got Hand, foot and mouth. It is a very common disease for children, but unfortunately in adults it can often be quite bad. Essentially you get blisters all over your body and in your throat, and it really knocks you for six. So, I got that, and mid-way through, as I had previously returned from Asia and wasn’t getting any better, I was taken to the hospital. I had the Coronavirus test done on me. Results came clear but I was hit with an infection. So, it was two weeks of pretty much being in bed to recover, and then it was a slow build up to get back into it.
I am not sure I will be playing professionally next year
Considering Langridge was not able to do one full day of training leading up to the All England, reaching the quarterfinals, defeating fifth seeds Alfian and Ardianto along the way, was quite remarkable. Discussing this, Langridge said.
- I was very surprised with the level we were able to play at. Thankfully now I am feeling so much better and my body has pretty much defeated the virus and infection. It was such a weird build up, as All England is such a big and exciting tournament to look forward to, and it wasn’t for me this year. And also, it was probably the last All England I am going to be playing, as I am not sure I will be playing professionally next year. So, it is a shame that in the quarterfinal we could not give a little bit more in that final game that I know we have in us. But my body was not used to putting in that amount of effort in those three days after being ill for so long.
Langridge, who is approaching 35, gives his reasons behind thinking about retirement.
- To be totally honest with you, professional sport get’s harder and harder as you get older. My body cannot recover in the same way as it once could. At 28, it first started to feel tougher on my body. I have two young girls, who I miss massively when I am on tour. When you get older you begin to think what is more important. I have loved playing badminton. It feels like forever because it is kind of the only thing I have ever done because I started at 10 years old. So, when I do stop, I would have been playing for 25 years, which is a long time. When I turn 35, that is when the age of veterans starts, Langridge joked.
We can unite together
Langridge strongly indicated that when calling it a day he would like to stay involved in badminton. He has built up a significant amount of experience in the sport, and using that to help others would be an exciting prospect. But of course, the road has not come to an end yet, and there are several key goals to achieve first. Although, everyone’s best laid plans have been churned up due to the spread of Covid-19. Commenting on this, Langridge states.
- It is scary because Covid-19 is really taking control of the world. It is a time in history where we can unite together and do everything we can do to combat it. Also just caring and being nice to each other, as it brings you back to reality and reminds you what is important in life. People are getting frustrated with sporting events being cancelled. It is a minor thing when comparing to the risk of the virus spreading and having more people dying from it.
- If the Olympics was cancelled, I will be thinking where my mindset is now, where is my direction. But on the flip side, it shows that this virus is still spreading and is a real danger to humanity, so sport doesn’t really matter. It takes you back to the simple parts of life in enjoying every day and be thankful for the basics, Langridge adds.