'Every tournament is crucial', says Olympic chasing SA badminton star Laurens

JOHANNESBURG – Deidré Laurens and her doubles partner Amy Ackerman are currently dominating Africa’s badminton scene as a team.

The duo is the number 1 women's doubles pair in Africa after winning the Algerian International Series.

“We need to keep the intensity at the same level as we did before the Algeria International Series. Each tournament is a blank page and we need to perform at the same level, if not better than previous tournaments. Every tournament is crucial because only the best 10 tournament results will count towards our Olympic qualification. Every single tournament is a make-or-break. We have to try to remain consistent throughout the qualification period,” said Laurens to Eyewitness News.

Along with other badminton players from South Africa, the pair is trying to qualify for the 2024 Olympics. This comes after the country's disappointment of having no players at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

The duo needs to be ranked in the top 50 women's doubles pairs in the world by 28 April 2024. They are currently at number 58, with around 6 months left until the qualification period ends.

“Mental health is incredibly important on a journey like the road to the Olympic Games. I invest just as much time into mental preparation as I do into physical preparation. You are put to the test when you travel, circumstances aren't always ideal and there is a lot of pressure to perform as well.

"I think the way Amy and I both protect our mental health is through healthy, open communication and supporting each other on this journey. You learn to control the things you can control and to let go of the things that are out of your control.”

The Olympic qualification period is between May 2023 and the end of April 2024. In the singles category, the South African players must secure either the first or second position among African players on the world ranking list by May 2024. Their top 10 international tournaments will play a crucial role in determining their world ranking.

Speaking on their partnership, Laurens told Eyewitness News: “Each player has their style and you can very quickly pick up if your styles complement each other on the court or not. In our case, I am a very physical person and do the running and covering, playing and controlling more from the back, whereas Amy is more of a net player and thrives in overturning defence into attack and taking the opponents on at the net.”

Laurens picked up the sport at a young age due to her father and grandfather’s interest in badminton and has since represented the country internationally.

“My father and grandfather used to play badminton. I grew up walking around next to the courts on league nights with a racket that was bigger than me at the time. It was more of a social sport for me during my years in school and I only decided to pursue it full-time after school when I attended university. That's where the love for the sport really settled in, and I started dreaming of achieving bigger things in badminton.”

Laurens is also chair of the BCA Athletes’ Commission and is working closely with two other members, Tejraj Pulto from Mauritius and Adham Elgamal from Egypt, to represent the interests of African badminton players and promote the development of the sport in the region.

“More exposure would be a good start. More recognition on bigger platforms in order to get more people interested is a good way to get more feet on the courts, and as with Padel that has taken the world by storm, once you play badminton chances are you will always return in one way or another.”