Former world champion Rasmussen makes comeback
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Guangzhou, China
The 1997 World Champion Peter Rasmussen of Denmark deserved a place in the country's Thomas Cup badminton squad, replacing compatriot Peter Gade Christensen who had to stay home due to injury, after struggling for two years to recover from the problem in the ligament of his left ankle.
Rasmussen was sidelined for two years after he injured his ankle during a match against Chinese Dong Jiong at the 1999 Chinese Open. The doctors needed 10 months to find the problem.
"The key to my recovery and come back was to keep thinking positive and focus my mind to find solutions instead of wasting time and energy weeping on the problems," he said after a training session at the Badminton Hall of the Tianhe Sports Center here.
"If you think positively, your body will produce certain chemicals to speed up the healing process. It has been scientifically proven," he said, while quoting a scientific experiment.
Rasmussen recalled the first days of his injury as the most depressing.
"The doctors told me that it was such a very rare injury. It has been reported that only 20 people around the world get it each year," said the lefthander. "I had the surgery in the summer of 2000."
"My recovery was a long and painstaking process. I could walk but couldn't play badminton. Which really hurt me as a shuttler."
As the cliche goes, every cloud has a silver lining, and Rasmussen had his own.
"I started to attend medical school while I was injured. I have been taking classes for two years but I still need four years more to go," he said.
"It's important for me to take my thoughts off the court for sometimes. Once I did it, I could make the return to the court easier."
Born on Aug. 2, 1974, Rasmussen began to play badminton at the age of seven following in the footsteps of his parents, Ike and Vita Rasmussen. Later he joined a local club, Nykobing Falster.
Once he regained his strength and form, Rasmussen proved his quality as a former world champion by clinching the men's singles title at the 2002 European Championships in April with only some four months of preparation.
"At first, I must admit that I had difficulties after being off the court for some two years," he said. "To add the problems, I had to adapt with the new scoring system."
"It took some time to get my feeling back of the sport. But finally it will return when you play your game."
As for his future, Rasmussen aims to reclaim his position as one of the world's greatest shuttlers in a year's time.
"It is my intention to continue my career in badminton a little longer. I will do my best to improve my ranking and I hope I can reach the top next year," he said.
"Then I must finish my medical study."
"I also plan to marry my long-time girlfriend. I want to get married this year but have yet to propose her.
"You reporters are the first to know," he added with a laugh.
Rasmussen, who has been with law student Josephine Jacobsen for five and a half years, considers settling down to start a family to be important, and that it is necessary to commit full time to it.
"It is a tough job being parents as they ought to be there for the children whenever needed."