International Para badminton tournaments have been held since the 1990s and the first World Championships were staged in the Netherlands in 1998. More than 230 athletes representing 35 countries competed at the tenth World Championships in 2015, while the game is now played in more than 60 countries across five continents.

In Tokyo this summer, players are divided into six classes, two wheelchair and four standing classes. One of Europe’s top stars to keep an eye on is Poland’s Bartłomiej Mróz, who plays in the SU5 category. Mróz was born without his right forearm, but he has never let this hinder him in his pursuit of greatness.

For all Para badminton players, this special milestone will be an unforgettable one. Mróz shares his personal feelings on this.

-All my life I have wanted to be a champion and to be the best. Therefore, I always look towards the Paralympic Games, which is undoubtedly the highest level that is possible to achieve in the sport. The fact that I am able to be a part of this is already going towards fulfilling my dreams. I was very happy with this news, as I have been playing since 2005, and from that moment I have been dreaming of this, and 2021 is the year that it will come true.

The penultimate qualification tournament was in Dubai, UAE last month and the Spanish International in May completes the Olympic qualification period. But the hard training up until now is just beginning. However, Mróz makes clear that he is not alone on this journey.

-All together with the Polish Badminton Association (PBA), my coaching team and everyone who supports me, we plan to choose the right path in order to be in the best form. There is a great effort to structure the training around my individual needs. There is a lot of hard work going towards this, we have top support from our sponsors and backing from my town, Kędzierzyn-Koźle, where I was born. The PBA along with the Ministry of Sport help me in my journey as much as they can. So, everyone is working together to maximise my development during training and preparation for my opponents who will be waiting for me at the Paralympics.

There are less than twenty thousand Paralympic medallists in the history of the games. To be part of this club would be an incredible feat and a distant dream for many. But Mróz is taking strides towards this goal and says.

-Getting a medal at the Paralympics would be highest on my list of sporting dreams. Achieving this milestone for Poland would make me very proud, and I feel that it would have a positive impact on the growth of Para badminton in Poland. I believe that it would be held in higher regard as a professional sport.

Getting to this stage has not been without its sacrifices and has, in fact, changed the Pole’s relationship with the sport. Mróz, whose surname means ‘frost’, explains how the cold hard road to Tokyo has been for him.

-The road to Tokyo has been very stressful and psycho- logically demanding. It has been the toughest period of my life. Before, I really played for my self-satisfaction without any pressure. But this year there is a lot of pres- sure and expectations, which has sapped some of my nerves and energy. However, I hope that the fruits of my labour will be seen in my performance in Tokyo.

Mróz became the youngest player ever to win the Para badminton European Championships at 19 years old. As he has risen through the ranks, there has always been an expectation for him to achieve. However, Mróz shows that he has a unique ability to look through this and see it for what it really is, a historic celebration of sport. Speaking about the way he is approaching the games, he states.

-I hope that I will be in good form and will be able to have fun. I set the bar high in my target to win an Paralympic medal, but for me I am very much looking forward to having a great time at the ceremony, taking in the special Paralympic atmosphere and being present at a huge unforgettable life event. 

Here we are in 2021, discussing the impending debut for Para badminton at the Paralympics, with a player who has a legitimate claim to bring back a medal. But how did it all start for Mróz?

-For many years I have played badminton since 2005, where I played national and international tournaments. At one such tournament in Germany, I was able to contact an old coach on the subject of Para badminton. In 2012, we embarked on our first major tournament, which was the European Championships, where I achieved the silver medal. Since this moment, I mostly focus on Para badminton, but I do not forget about badminton as I am all the time with a badminton club and compete in the Polish ‘Ekstraklasa’ league.

Mróz is a great ambassador of the sport in Poland. He finds time to be a Shuttle Time tutor for the promotion of grassroots Para badminton in his country. With this selflessness on his part, it is no surprise to learn that many people want to help him on his journey to the very top. When asked about who inspires him, Mróz responded.

-I am inspired by the people around me, as I have some brilliant former players and Olympians beside me. Amongst others, I have former world number one in mixed doubles, Robert Mateusiak, and also Przemysław Wacha, who was a brilliant singles player and has coached me for a long period of time, so I find a lot of inspiration in him. Mróz also mentions a project dear to him that has helped propel him forward towards Tokyo.

-I have many talented and intelligent players around me. I can place into this group current player Michał Rogalski, who together with me, is working to build the two-person project called ‘Tokyo Dream’, which has the aim to qualify both of us to the Tokyo Olympics through training together, inspiring and supporting one another, which continues to this day.

-When standing on court in Tokyo, you will, of course, have in the back of your mind the people that have been a part of all the hard work to get you there, but you will also hold the key memories of winning moments. These will remind you that you can and have done it before, so you can do it again. Remembering some of these moments, Mróz says.

-I have been lucky enough to have many great moments in my career. I have some good wins and even some ‘good’ losses which I remember very well. Of course, a key milestone for me was in 2018 when I won my first gold medal at the European Championships in singles. Also, two bronze medals in 2017 and 2019 were also important ones.

-I also remember some of my earlier years from 2013 to 2017, where I played singles and doubles with Turkish player, Ilker Tuzcu, where we won many good tournaments. On the world stage, there were not many pairs who could stand in our way, so I have warm memories of this time. 

This positivity and appreciation of the long grueling journey he has come on is likely to put Mróz in a great position to impress on the big stage. At the same time, demonstrating what an exhilarating sport Para badminton is to the world.

Read more articles on the latest edition of the BEC magazine here.