General

(Photo: Badminton Photo)
The effort needed to even stand on court
Date: 3/2/2021 9:32 PM
Published by : Alan Raftery
Day one has come to a close at the Swiss Open 2021. Ireland’s Sam and Chloe Magee explain what it took for them to even step on court in Basel. 

It has been a bit of a wait for the Magee duo to get back to competitive badminton with their last outing being the Denmark Open last year. Their training, however, has not been affected by the restrictions in Ireland. 

-We’ve been quite lucky as we have been able to train pretty much as normal. Other badminton activity in Ireland completely stopped and a lot of people are struggling with the long wait, so we are actually very blessed that we can continue.

Talking about the length of time between the Denmark and Swiss Open, Sam describes how they felt coming into this week. 

-I think we needed to figure out if we can still do it. It has been a long time since we’ve played. This week I was quite anxious, not having that feeling, even just going to an airport and going for a match. So, it was nice to get on court and play. Once we got back in the old instincts kicked in thankfully. 

We were very aware
Their opponents today were the young English pair of Callum Hemming/ Victoria Williams. The two showed what they can do at the 2021 European Mixed Team Championships in Finland two weeks ago. After the first game going to Ireland, Hemming/ Williams were 12-7 up in the second game. 

-I think they started playing a bit faster. Callum [Hemming] was quite effective around the back. Especially in Finland, he showed that he can play quite well, so we were very aware of that and we knew if we can give them the game, they can really come at us with good things, Chloe explained. 

Sam and Chloe Magee used their experience and did not panic, turning the game back to their favour and ultimately winning the match 21-12, 21-16.

-We just had to go back to the way that we were playing. We had the tactics right in the first game, we strayed a little bit, but we are quite pleased that we could get it back on track in the second half of the second game, Chloe added. 

The tough journey to Basel
These past few days players have been sharing the long and hard journey’s they have had to take to even just get them themselves to the tournament.
  
-The hardest part was actually just getting flights to come here. We could not get a direct flight to Basel. It’s the things that you don’t think about because normally it’s so easy. It’s taken us a long time, a lot of paperwork and a lot of flights, Chloe shared. 

-You see a result on the computer, but you do not realise all the stuff that you actually have to do to even stand on court now, Sam pointed out. 

It has been a great triumph to get badminton played in Switzerland for fans to enjoy, however, the Magees have highlighted the sheer amount of effort behind each player’s story. 

In the next round, Sam and Chloe Magee with face number seven seeds Mark Lamsfuss/ Isabel Herttrich. 

For the full results and fixtures, click here.
©badmintoneurope.com. All rights reserved.

Related news
29/03/2024
Europeans ready for quarterfinals in Madrid
European favourites out of the...

27/03/2024
EOC Executive Committee awards 2027 European Games to Istanbul
The European Olympic Committee...

27/03/2024
Madrid Spain Masters day 2: Victories, upsets, and excitement on court.
French siblings sweep to victo...

26/03/2024
A first action-packed day unfolds at the Spain Masters
The Madrid Spain Masters 2024 ...

26/03/2024
Spain Masters begins today with an unexpected withdrawal!
Madrid is buzzing with excitem...

25/03/2024
Lane/ Vendy and Marin, victorious at Swiss Open
The Swiss Open concluded this ...

More news