Evans's almighty effort

HOME AND AWAY SCOTT EVANS Seán Kennytalks to a young man who moved to Denmark in his pursuit of Olympic glory and more in Badminton

THE PRESSES were not jammed in their tracks by the news. No back pages were held. Badminton simply cannot command that kind of attention in this part of the world. But Dubliner Scott Evans' recent qualification for the badminton competition in this summer's Olympics was big news for the game in Ireland. Not news in the sense that it was unexpected. The 20-year-old had been on a trajectory that looked set to take him to Beijing for some time prior to his official qualification. Evans, though, is the first ever Irishman to make it to the Olympics in his sport.

"It's been a hard four years, so I'm pretty glad I've qualified now and that everything's paid off. Getting to the Olympics is a goal I think most badminton players will have whenever they realise they could be pretty good at the sport. It's always been one of my goals and obviously I want to do quite well there as well. But you have to take one step at a time and getting there is the first."

His point of embarkation on the road to Beijing was Terenure Badminton Centre on the Whitehall Road. Taking up the racquet as a six-year-old, he slipped seamlessly into the sport. Little wonder, with two badminton-playing parents and a father whose trade was in sports shops specialising in racquet games.

Winning came easily to him as he cut a swathe through underage tournaments, revelling in the winning reflection he saw in each new piece of silverware. Playing was fun, and victory fuelled his desire for further success. At just 15, he won the Leinster U-19 championship. The victory helped crystallise his already hardening resolve to pursue his sport with total dedication.

"I think I've always been quite serious about all the sports I've played. I played football for quite a while and I played hockey for Leinster and had Irish trials. So I was always pretty into my sport. Whatever I decided to do, I always wanted to do as well as I could. I never really said 'Okay, right, now I want to take badminton seriously'. I always took it seriously from the start. When I was 14 or 15 I realised that, if I had the right training, I could be very good at badminton. And that's when I decided to move away to Denmark."

That country is the beating heart of European badminton, a western counterpoint to the Asian powerhouses of the game. His decision to base himself there meant leaving Wesley College in his fifth year. Throughout secondary he had performed a balancing act between school and sport, but the scales had long been tipping decisively towards a full-time career in badminton.

"I missed a lot of school because of travelling to tournaments. Then I started gradually to skip school because I wanted to train. By Christmas of fifth year I said I wasn't going in anymore. My parents were supportive, but obviously I think they'd have preferred if I'd stayed and done my Leaving Cert.

"But then I wouldn't be as good as I am now if I hadn't moved away. I had to choose one or the other; if it was going to be school, I could never take badminton seriously. So I chose to take badminton seriously and I left."

Evans made Denmark his base as a 16-year-old in January 2005, landing right at the icy heart of the Scandinavian winter. He would head off for training at the International Badminton Academy early on brutal Copenhagen mornings, whose glowering blackness was rivalled only by their biting coldness. Naturally, homesickness gnawed at him.

"The first year was quite hard. It was a big step up. And where I lived with some other young players was quite isolated. There was nothing around. All I did was train, eat and sleep. You'd nearly get sick of it, and you don't want that because you've left school and badminton is your life now."

They were rough days, but he took them stoically as part of the path he had chosen, and the transition to life in Denmark would become smoothed with time. He is now coached by Jim Laugesen, a former world number one. Apart from supervising his technical improvement, Laugesen has also helped hone his mental approach to the game.

"I think that's important because a lot of Irish badminton players have a different attitude to people from other European countries. The psychology of it is a huge thing in badminton. If you've got a good head, you'll do well. Jim has helped me big time with all that."

His progress over the last three years has seen him climb to a world ranking of 41. This is high for his age, 20, given that most European players do not hit their peak until their late 20s. The years ahead are an ocean of possibility. For now, though, he is content with his placing in the badminton world.

"I am happy with the ranking. I said to myself at the start of the year that if I was going to qualify for the Olympics I wanted to be as high as I could in the rankings. I didn't want to qualify and be 79 in the world. I wanted to be the best I could. I think 41 is okay."

He views Beijing as a stopping-off point rather than a destination in itself. The horizon of his ambition stretches four summers hence. He likes the look of London 2012. Not that he will be holding back in China. "It depends on the draw I get. I could be up against the world number one in the first round. But my goal would be to win at least two games. That would be perfect. I've set long-term goals. For London 2012, I want to give it everything. Of course, I want to give it everything in Beijing too. But London is another four years of experience and training and I would love to win a medal there."

Before Beijing, and in between training stints in Copenhagen, he will compete in major tournaments in Singapore and Indonesia in June as well as the US Open in July. The long-haul life can be wearying but he is settled now in Denmark, where he is sinking deeper roots by learning Danish.

His time in Copenhagen has already seen him make great strides. He will not be found wanting in ambition for the future. Ultimately, he is thinking gold at Olympic and world level, top five in the world. Is it really achievable? "I think it is. I have to think it is to keep going, so I do think it's possible."