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Soraya de Visch Eijbergen is currently second ranked in Europe (Photo: Mark Phelan)
Soraya de Visch Eijbergen: “Sometimes, I have to be more happy on court”
Date: 9/26/2018 10:44 AM
Published by : Annika Langrock
Soraya de Visch Eijbergen is currently ranked 65 in the world and second in Europe. Badminton Europe spoke with the Dutch player about pressure and how important it is to have fun on court.

Born in Papendrecht, The Netherlands, 25 years old and a professional female badminton player, that is Soraya de Visch Eijbergen. And the Dutch has big goals for 2018: 

- My big goal for this year is to be better ranked. But more important for me is to be more steady in my matches. The first half of the season was good, the second was not as good.

A badminton break
Playing badminton on a professional level can be stressful, one reason for the winner of the Dutch Open in 2015 and 2016 of doing a badminton break this summer:

- If you play a season without any breaks, you are done with playing badminton at one point. You do not have that much pleasure with playing your matches and you will be tired of badminton at one point, physically as well as mentally.  

- The breaks give me the feeling of missing badminton and wishing to come back on court. Then, I am willing to work hard for that. I had a lot of training sessions this summer.

Missing the pleasure of playing badminton
The women’s single player’s first tournament of this winter season has been the Belgian International in September. And De Visch Eijbergen’s participation was successful: She reached the semi-finals.

- If I look back to the season 2018/19, I intend to see that all my training was worth it, that I am more steady and that I like playing my matches. I lost having pleasure with playing badminton sometimes in the past. 

Thinking about Tokyo 2020
Looking forward to the Olympics 2020 in Tokyo, De Visch Eijbergen has a chance to represent her home country.

- I am not focusing that much on the Olympics. I want to do my best in every tournament and focus on that. If I do well, there is a big chance for me to go there. But if I think about it now, it is too much pressure for me. I want to play tournament for tournament and do training for training. 

A good competition 
Regarding the qualification for Tokyo 2020, the 25-year-old can get the one spot as women’s single player in the Dutch national team. 

- I do not think too much about it right now. The one who is playing the best and doing the best, is the one that is supposed to go. You do not have to look at each other for that, you go your own way to the top. I think the competition is good, we make each other better.  

- Honestly, it will be tough for me to go to Tokyo. Of course, I might have a chance, but I have to be more steady to keep up on this high level and I have to play more tournaments before. But if I would not believe in it, I would not play a lot of tournaments now. 

Regarding her performance on court, Soraya de Visch Eijbergen has made up big goals for herself: 

- I want to be more happy on court. I am too tense at the moment, that is what I have to learn. But I have a mental coach and a good environment, such as good people around as well as behind me, who help me to improve that. I play the best, when I am happy

- Winning tournaments makes me happy, I have not been winning any so far, so I would be very happy to achieve that. 

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