The best men’s singles player in Austria, Luka Wraber, enjoys badminton now more than ever. 

Wraber has played on the circuit for a little less than a decade, and through that time the circuit has of course changed. Talking about the biggest changes from the day he entered to now, he says.

- I feel that tournaments in Europe are getting stronger year by year, probably as a result of more Asians travelling all around the world. On top of that, I can see that more and more countries started working professionally and have players who can play at a high level.

The future for Austrian Badminton

Wraber has been one of the ambassadors of Austrian badminton over the last ten years. Asking how he sees the future and also if Austria could be a medalling country in the future, he says. 

- Austria developed very well in the years during and after my junior time. The federation set up a national centre, we had two coaches, a high-level sparring partner and managed to have a really good training group. Along the way we had three men’s singles in the top 100 and other players achieving remarkable results. In more recent years we lost players due to injuries, some decided to quit and the group shrank over time. We are a rather small group now, but the federation is putting in enormous efforts to create better structures all over Austria and the situation at the senior national centre is still excellent. It might take some years and our states will have to work together even better in order to create a better and more lively club structure, but if that happens everything is possible!

Could there be a chance for Wraber to take part in the development of Austrian badminton in the future?

- A few years ago I would have definitely said no, but now I’m open to everything. I would still like to try something else first after my own career to broaden my horizons and see things from a non-badminton perspective, but my love for badminton is big, so I can imagine returning and giving back to badminton in Austria.

Studying and badminton

Wraber also studies next to his badminton. With the studying, a lot of badminton practice and being 30 years old, will Olympics in 2021 be the final Olympics he goes for or will Paris 2024 also get a shot?

- At times I have studied law next to my sports career and I’m missing about a third to finish it. I took a break from studying two years before Rio and the last two years as well in order to fully focus on badminton, but I will get my degree sooner or later. As Tokyo is moved to 2021 and in case I am qualified, I will adjust my original plans a little bit. I used the spare time we got, due to the corona crisis, to reflect on my future and decided to continue playing professional badminton. Not only until 2021, but as long as I can still develop, still enjoy playing and won’t have serious physical problems. At the moment I have a feeling that I’m in my prime years and I enjoy badminton more than ever.