Dynamic duo: Denmark men’s doubles shuttlers - William Kryger Boe (left) and Christian Faust Kjaer having a wefie with the fans after beating Malaysia’s Chia Weijie-Lwi Sheng Hao in the qualifying round of the Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil on Tuesday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Danish shuttler William Kryger Boe dreams of following the footsteps of his famous uncle Mathias Boe.
The 22-year-old announced himself on the world stage in style when he and Christian Faust Kjaer stunned several big names to reach the Thailand Open final before going down fighting to Malaysia’s 2022 world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in Bangkok on Sunday.
Boe-Kjaer upstaged Indonesia’s world No. 5 Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto and another Malaysian duo, world No. 8 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun en-route to the pair’s first World Tour final.
Boe said that he was inspired by his uncle Mathias, who formed a legendary partnership with Carsten Morgensen during his playing days.
The pair reached world No. 1 in 2010 and captured silver in the 2012 London Olympics.
"I was born into badminton. Mathias Boe is my mother’s brother and he’s been a big influence in my career," said Boe.
"I’ve been to the All-England in Birmingham when he was playing and watched him.
"I started playing badminton at the age of five because of him. I always wanted to be like him and hopefully, one day I can play in the big events just like him."
Just like Boe, Kjaer’s uncle Kasper Faust Henriksen was also a badminton player.
Having uncles in the sport has forged a strong friendship between Boe and Kjaer from childhood.
"My uncle Kasper also played badminton but he was not as good as Mathias. He did play in some big tournaments like the Denmark Open," said Kjaer.
"William and I knew each other since we were five. We both started playing badminton as soon as we could pick up a racket and hit the shuttle.
"We are really good friends off and we also spend time off court. This helps our communication on court.
"Sometimes, we are harsh with each other but in a good way. We encourage each other."
Boe-Kryger leaped 25 spots to No. 50 in the latest world rankings after their exploits in the Thailand tourney but the duo do not want to stop there.
"We train on a daily basis with some of the best pairs in the world like world No. 1 Kim (Astrup) and Anders (Skaarup Rasmussen)," said Boe.
"Our biggest goal is to emulate our seniors. Right now, we just want to focus on our game and in the coming years, we hope we can step up.
"We want to win as much as possible. We will take it slow and work hard. Last week in Thailand was crazy. We didn’t expect anything like that.
"At the highest level, it’s about playing more matches and gaining in confidence when we manage to beat the top pairs," added Boe.
Boe-Kryger got off to a good start in the Malaysian Masters when they easily beat homesters Chia Weijie-Lwi Shenghao 21-9, 21-16 in the first qualifying round at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil on Tuesday (May 20).
The pair will face another Malaysian pair Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing in the first round on Wednesday.
World junior champions Aaron-Khai Xing defeated teammates Bryan Jeremy Goonting-Fazriq Razif 21-17, 21-17 in their qualifying round match.
