PETALING JAYA: A friendship forged in training could provide both inspiration and a formidable hurdle for national junior shuttler Lucas Lee at the Dakar Youth Olympic Games.
The 17-year-old shuttler is Malaysia’s sole representative at the Games and he hopes to put lessons learnt from sparring with France’s rising prospect Mady Sow at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara to good use in Senegal.
"I trained with Mady Sow when he came to Malaysia in February," said Lucas.
"It was fun but I also learnt a lot training with him. We became friends after that."
Now, Lucas hopes to make his own mark on the international stage, believing a podium finish in Dakar could help him take the next step towards the senior level.
"My target is to win a medal for Malaysia. I know it won’t be easy because everyone here is talented and has worked hard to qualify for this event.
"But I’ll fight for every point and do everything I can to get that medal," added the top-seeded national junior who won the Jaya Raya Junior International Grand Prix singles title in 2023.
"I want to continue improving my game and gain more international experience.
"I know there’s still a lot for me to learn, and I’m ready to keep working hard to become a better player."
Previous Youth Olympic medallists have gone on to establish themselves among the world’s best, including China’s former world No. 1 Shi Yuqi, who won gold in the 2014 Nanjing Games, and India’s current world No. 14 Lakshya Sen, the silver medallist in Buenos Aires 2018.
Cheam June Wei and Goh Jin Wei remain Malaysia’s only gold medallists at the Games, having triumphed at 2014 and 2018 respectively.
For Lucas, however, the immediate task is to negotiate a challenging group before a possible meeting with his French friend in the knockout rounds.
Ranked 39th among Asian junior shuttlers, Lucas has been drawn in Group F alongside third seed Riyan Malhan of the United Arab Emirates, Greece’s Ioannis Sarougiannidis and Sweden’s Felus Ding.
Only the group winner will advance to the knockout stage.
"I think Riyan Malhan will be tough to beat in the group. But Sow is the favorite overall."
"Every match is important, so I need to stay focused, play my own game, and take it one match at a time."
The group stage began yesterday and runs until Tuesday, with the quarter-finals scheduled for Wednesday.
