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Toby Penty is one of England's top talents (Photo: Mark Phelan)
Toby Penty: “The last two years have been the toughest in my career”
Date: 9/20/2018 11:59 AM
Published by : Annika Langrock
Toby Penty had to deal with plenty of injuries during his badminton career. This year the English player had his come-back in April. Since then, the 26-year-old is trying to reach a spot in the top of the world ranking. Badminton Europe spoke with him about his next steps and future goals.
 
Toby Penty started to play badminton when he was nine years old. Choosing a badminton career was a good choice, as he is one of England’s badminton talents nowadays. The player from Walton-on-Thames is currently world ranked 54. 

- Regarding the rankings, it is a bit hard for me at the moment. I want to push myself into the Top 50 of the world and furthermore, getting into the 750 tournaments. I hope to play in Hongkong this year.

A tough way to the top
The English player just recovered from an injury this year, and he is working hard to reach his goals:

- My body is feeling ok right now. Since April it has been tough, I had a lot of tournaments and I can feel that. I had so many injuries over the years, so I have to do a little bit extra training than everybody else. But I am feeling good in my head and my lungs so far. 

- Honestly, the last two years have been the toughest in my career. The way to the top is longer for me now. But I am looking forward to reaching it and am willing to work hard for this.

A break for more training
This year, Toby Penty already brought some titles home. The men’s singles player recently won the Belgian International one week ago and was second placed with the English team at the European Men’s Team Championships in Kazan. The next tournament for him is the Dutch Open. 

- What I need right now is a break for having a bit more extra training. I am going to the Yonex Dutch Open soon, in the middle of October, so that is what I am training for right now.

The Yonex Belgian International and the Yonex Dutch Open are not the only European tournaments that the English player aims to attend:  

- For me as an English it is a dream to play at the All-England championship. I was watching the tournaments in Birmingham since I was 11 years old, so I would love to go there.

Around 7 years ago, Toby Penty participated in the World Championship in England. So, he knows the feeling of participating in a big tournament in his home country: 

- I was lucky to play the World Championship in Wembley. The energy you get before going to the arena is incredible and I would love to have that feeling again. So, I try to keep pushing and training hard so that I am able to go to the All-England Championship next year. 

Being the best he can be
In the long term, Toby Penty has one big goal: 

- I want to be the best badminton player I can be. I have not been one of the players that went easily from the Juniors to the Seniors, it has been a lot of hard work for me. All my injuries forced me to think step by step every year. 



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