Now, two months into 2019, Mark Caljouw has outlined his intentions after he managed to win his first tournament of the year in Austria.
Mark Caljouw has said that his attention is fully on the Olympic Games qualification, which begins in May.
- The most important thing for me to focus on over the next year is the qualification for the Olympics which starts in May, Mark Caljouw said.
- I want to make some good results and try to get into the top 20 of the World Rankings, the Dutchman added.
European Mixed Team Championships review
The Bronze medallist in the European Mixed Team Championships also spoke about his feelings after the team competition.
- I think we played really good as a team. we showed that we compare with everybody, Caljouw said.
- For sure the match against Viktor was good, but I was really hoping for a surprise and then the doubles could also play, but I am really proud of this team, Caljouw continued.
Happy to be in first place
Caljouw was happy to win the International Challenge tournament in Austria but also knew that he had to win the tournament due to the level.
Caljouw won in three games against his opponent Liu Haichao in the final, (19-21 21-17 21-7)
The 24-year old believes that the tournament was his to win and that he showed the level that he needed to in order to win.
Read the review of the Austrian Open here
- It was a good win! But especially, when I play the challenge level, I feel that I had to win it. Because I play in a lot of the bigger tournaments and also did good in them, he said.
You can watch all of last week's Austrian Open on our YouTube channel, including Mark Caljouw's thrilling final match.