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Michal Rogalski is looking forward to his road to Tokyo (Photo: Mark Phelan)
Michal Rogalski: The Road to Tokyo
Date: 5/14/2018 8:12 PM
Published by : Alan Raftery
In just a little over 800 days, we will be watching the world’s best athlete’s make their dreams come true and compete to be crowned the greatest in their sport. The journey to get there is tough, emotional and filled with sacrifice. Badminton is no exception, with the Olympics being the pinnacle of success in the sport. 

2020 can be the best organized Olympic Games in history
Here we speak with and discuss the road awaiting  Michal Rogalski of Poland, who like many others, holds the Olympic dream close to his heart.

Rogalski was in fact in the Japanese capital of Tokyo recently. The very place that the long road will lead to. When asked about the city, he said

-Tokyo is an amazing place; colourful, loud, ultra-modern and stylish. I am very impressed. I think 2020 can be the best organized Olympic Games in history. Mostly because of the people who are fully committed in everything what they do and pay great attention to details.

And of course it goes without saying, Rogalski having walked the streets of Tokyo, absorbed the atmosphere and breathed in the air, he can almost feel the anticipation of what will happen there in two years time.

-I’ll do everything what I can to qualify for the next Olympic Games and come back here to Tokyo to experience this amazing atmosphere again.

Really looking forward to the upcoming challenges 
However, Rogalski is very aware that it will not be easy, and that there will be a lot of hard work and dedication needed to accomplish this goal. Rogalski explains how he has battled to be where he is now, as Poland’s national champion, and how he feels prepared to go to the next level.

-After 2 very hard years for me with a lot of injuries, now I feel much better and healthy. So I am really looking forward to the upcoming challenges in next 24 months. The biggest goal is the Olympics, but I prefer to focus on everyday improvements as a player and also as a person.

And it is this bettering himself as a person that catches the eye. Rogalski, finds time to not only focus on improving himself as a player on his path to success, but also helping others on there’s as well. As he explains

-I am also an ambassador of a Para-badminton foundation in Poland, and together with Bartlomiej Mroz (founder and also current Polish national champion), we launched a project called ‘TokioDream’. It is a very important project for us, aiming to promote Para-badminton, especially as it debuts at the 2020 Olympics.

We love hard work
Rogalski is enjoying himself greatly at the National Centre in Warsaw, training with is fellow Polish team mates who too have to same dream of reaching their first Olympics. And drawing on the experience of the coaching staff who can share their knowledge of how they did it. Rogalski describes his training

-We train almost every day and we love hard work, supporting and motivating each other. When we play together, it is much more fun. We also go to physical training camps together, and invite other players to work hard with us. 

Rogalski also is reminded of his fond memories of practising at Centre of Excellence in Holbæk, Denmark, and says 

- I am sure I will come there again for some sparring and training. It helps me to be more creative on court and learn how to adjust to players with different styles from all over Europe.

You never know what will happen tomorrow
All of this training will no doubt begin to pay off. And Rogalski is already setting a big goal to achieve half way between now and Tokyo.

-My target is to qualify for the 2019 World Championships in Basel. And it is also great for the sport that Para-badminton is together in the same place, at almost same time!

In the meantime, Rogalski will take things step by step and focus on every day challenges as he says

- I really enjoy the ‘the road’ towards my dream, so I have no expectation about anything in my life. I do everything as good as I can. Injuries teach me to enjoy every single game and training session, because you never know what will happen tomorrow.

-But I am ready for big things and I believe I can.

©badmintoneurope.com. All rights reserved.

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