‘Privileged to be Playing Badminton’, Says Selena Piek
Like her peers, Selena Piek had limited competitive opportunities once the pandemic disrupted the circuit. Yet, the Dutch world No.16 believes the time spent away from competition has seen her make many gains. For…
· DEV SUKUMAR
Like her peers, Selena Piek had limited competitive opportunities once the pandemic disrupted the circuit. Yet, the Dutch world No.16 believes the time spent away from competition has seen her make many gains. For one, it gave her a deeper appreciation of the game.
“I became more relaxed, I think,” Piek says. “Normally you plan towards your goals, and you can see now that you can prepare as much as you want, but if something like this happens, there’s nothing you can do. I tried to think of the positives, instead of the negatives and the things I couldn’t do. At one point I actually liked being home for a longer time.
“Mentally it has been very good, but with badminton, I miss competing and playing other people and missing the tournament life, which is a good thing. It made me realise that I really like to play badminton and I’m privileged doing what I do because in the Netherlands we are still able to practice, compared to many other sports. So it made me grateful and humble.”