Watch out for Neslihan Yigit of Turkey – she could be one of the top European women’s badminton star in the making. The 19-year-old, who was the first Turkish badminton player to qualify for the Olympics last year, has vowed to break into top-10 bracket soon.
The 180 centimeter tall lass was world No 35 in June last year, but her progress was halted due to a leg injury. She has not been competing actively towards the end of last year which caused her ranking to drop. Yigit, who started playing the sport at the age of nine and idolises Chinese ace Lin Dan, is currently ranked 101st.
Yigit's goal is to reach world's top 10
“I must make up for loss time and try to get back to where I was, or perhaps higher,” Yigit said. “My aim is to be among the world’s top 10, which I think is possible as I’m young.”
Yigit has won three International Series tournament in Surinam and Iran (twice) but her best achievement to date was finishing runner-up at the European U 17 Championships in 2009.
She was also the semi-finalist in the 2013 European Junior Championships in March in her home country.
“I think I have made good progress this year although I failed to win the European junior title in Ankara. My injury is no longer a concern and I’m raring to go now,” she said.
Article by Tan Min Wei from our partner Sports247. Photo by BadmintonPhoto.