World No.5 Jorgensen targets World Championships medal

New Delhi: Danish World No.5 shuttler Jan O Jorgensen, who is recuperating from a thigh injury, on Wednesday said his main target is to win a medal in the World Championships at home as well as the Thomas Cup Final which will be held here next month.

"My main target this year is the world championships in Denmark. It is happening in a city called Ballerup, which is just 20 minutes drive from Copenhagen where I live. Thomas cup is also very important for me. It is a special event and I hope the Indian crowd supports me, it is a significant tournament," Jorgensen told PTI. Jorgensen had suffered a toe injury, a hamstring pull, an inflammation of the heart valves and also lost his mother in the summer of 2011 but it could not derail his ambition. He recovered from the tough summer to become the World No.3 early this year. But he suffered a thigh injury after the Malaysia Open in January and had to pull out of a few tournaments. Despite the hurdle, he reached the semifinals of the Swiss Open, before heading here for the India Super Series. "It has been a tough year so far, I played too many tournaments and have been injured for most part. I managed a lot of quarterfinal and semifinal finishes but it is taking a lot out of me. I had to pull out of Danish nationals and European championship qualification for Thomas cup," he said. Asked about his schedule, he said: "I quit Singapore because of the schedule. I will train and then get ready for European Championship in Kazan, then I will play in the Thomas Cup." For many years former All England champoin Peter Gade carried the Denmark flag but now that the badminton great has retired, Jorgensen has been carrying his country`s expectations on his shoulders. Asked how difficult it has been to deal with the expectations, Jorgensen said: "I`m the flag bearer for Denmark now and of course, it is a lot of pressure but then we live with it, right. You are always facing the expectations of fans, whether you are winning or losing. So there are questions which comes in mind like `am I good enough` but it is same for all sportspersons." Talking about the summer of 2011, Jorgensen said: "At that point, I don`t even remember how I pulled myself out of it. But I guess things just time. You just fight your way back and it gives you a good feeling. When time goes, things heal, that is what I can say about things I went through. I don`t care about a thigh injury but when you face something like what I faced in the summer of 2011, that is something big and you learn from it. "I loved badminton right from the first hit and I love it even now. When I get out of the bed in the morning, it is tougher then it was five years back. I am 26, so I will play this Olympics and probably another one after that," he said. Jorgensen on Wednesday defeated India`s Anand Pawar 21-10 19-21 21-6 in his campaign opener to reach the second round. Talking about the match, he said: "Anand has been living in Denmark and I have been training with him. He is a tricky player. He has got some very good flat shots. That is kind of difficult to face and he was kind of lucky in the second game, so I knew it will come back to me, because things come around," he said after the match. Jorgensen won a bronze in the 2008 and 2012 European Championships and a silver in the 2010 edition. He won Denmark Open in 2010, French Open in 2013 and the invitational Copenhagen Masters in 2009, 2011 and 2012.