AFTER the retirement of Denmark’s legendary shuttler, Peter Gade last year, world No. 15, Jan Ø. Jørgensen was expected to fill his shoes and bring Danish badminton to further heights. Jørgensen, however, does not like to be compared to his more illustrious compatriot who retired last year after collecting 24 Grand Prix and Superseries titles as well as the 1999 All England crown and several medals from the World Championships.

“I do not want to be compared to Gade. I have set my own goals and I will go my own way. I want to embark on my own journey,” said 25-year-old Jørgensen, who defeated India’s Kashyap Parupalli 21-17, 21-14 in the second round of the Maybank Malaysia Open yesterday.

“It would be impossible to fill Gade’s shoes as he has done so much for Danish badminton.”

Jørgensen had a tough two years in 2011 and 2012 and instead of comparing him to Gade, he should be saluted for his fighting spirit.

He sustained an arm injury in 2011 and then shortly after, his mother passed away. When he thought things would get better, he suffered an inflammation of the heart valves. Yet, he went on to qualify for the London Olympics 2012.

“I have not been enjoying badminton for some time. Qualifying for the Olympics last year was supposed to be nice but it was no fun for me. Things have been hard for me the last two years,” said Jørgensen who started playing badminton when he was four years old.

“But I have always enjoyed playing in Malaysia and I did enjoy myself today. I hope that this will be a good start for me this year. I am aiming to win a Superseries title again,” he added. His only Superseries title was the 2010 Denmark Open.

Jørgensen will face Malaysia’s upcoming star Liew Daren for a place in the semifinals.

Article by Ho Lee Ching, Photo by BadmintonPhoto