The past year has been a tough one for everyone. With the cloud of uncertainty weighing on every single aspect of our lives, the postponement and cancellation of many events, and all the difficulties this all implied for badminton players, it would not be easy to get back on track when everything would start to open up again. And yet, Anna Mikhalkova has managed to make her way amongst the hardships.

The 24-year-old Ukrainian player was 363 in the world ranking. Just a year later, she had escalated to 239 and today, she is at an all-time high of 220. It seems like Mikhalkova is not going to let anything stop her, but she knows that it’s important to keep your feet on the ground when reflecting on her aims for the Championships.

-To be honest, I feel like it’s a bit hard to set a certain goal for these Championships. I have had such a long practice phase without playing tournaments so I want to do my best on court and see how far I can go, Mikhalkova stated.

Mikhalkova now lives in Denmark, living and training in the Centre of Excellence since November 2019. She has dabbled in women’s doubles but is almost entirely focused on women’s singles, now ranking 68 in the European rankings. Up until now, it has almost been entirely about practising and no games, but the exhaustive preparation has been a confidence boost for Mikhalkova.

-I’ve had a great preparation here at the Centre of Excellence. We’ve been working hard on a few things and I feel I am developing technically, physically and mentally in my game, and this feeling is important for me. I have become more and more convinced that joining CoE was definitely a significant step for me, Mikhalkova explained.

The Ukrainian player was selected as a wild card, a list whose goal was to represent a great selection of both established players and upcoming talents from the Championships’ host country. Mikhalkova is part of the younger, fresh wave of players in Ukrainian badminton, and so she took a spot amongst the women’s singles.

Hailing from Kharkiv, a city located in the northeast of Ukraine and the second-largest city in the country, Mikhalkova will be playing one of the biggest tournaments and certainly one of the most important ones in her life in her native country. She will get to represent Ukraine in Europe’s biggest event and memorable one since the Olympics will be taking place in the same year. Mikhalkova feels privileged to be taking part in such a special moment in the history of Ukrainian badminton and sports as a whole.

-I am extremely proud that Ukraine is a host of such a big event as the European Championships. It is always been a pleasure for me to play at home. I am just so happy that I’ve got this opportunity and of course, it is very special to me to play European Championships in Ukraine, Mikhalkova stated.

She will be taking on the challenge in a women’s singles list that features some huge names. Carolina Marín will be trying to become champion for the fifth time, but players such as Kirsty Gilmour or Mia Blichfeldt could stop her from becoming the reigning champion once again and, of course, many others who are also there to fight for a medal.

Mikhalkova will not be the only Ukrainian trying to get her hands on the prize in her category, as Maria Ulitina and Natalya Voytsekh will also be there ready to compete. So despite all the difficulties, be it the pandemic or the big rivals she’ll be facing, Mikhalova is rather excited to be playing in her native country at such an extraordinary event.

-I expect it to be a great event. I know that the Ukrainian Federation has done a great job of holding an event at the highest level and make it safe for everyone considering the situation with the pandemic. I know it might be challenging with all the restrictions, but I am really looking forward to enjoying fighting on court again!

The 2021 European Championships will take place in Kyiv, Ukraine from 27 April to 2 May. For more information about the 2021 European Championships, click here.

All matches can be watched at www.badmintoneurope.tv.