There is a lot of positivity around the French camp at the moment, with improvements happening everywhere you look. In women’s singles, Marie Batomene has reached a career-high of 87 in the world rankings, but the 25-year-old does not want to stop there.
Batomene told us that her short-term goal is to train harder and improve more in order to climb up the ranking even further. Her ultimate target is to reach the top 30 in the next few years. With such an upward trajectory in French badminton, the sky is the limit.
The French ladies received a boost in women’s singles when Qi Xuefei started representing France. Qi is currently at 37 in the world. In the absence of this move, Batomene would still be in with a fight for Olympic qualification. Answering the tough question of how she feels about knowing that now it is almost impossible to make it to Tokyo, Batomene states.
- First I was saying to myself ‘it is okay, this is life’ and I had to be better than her if I wanted to be qualified, so I kind of accepted it easily. However, honestly, in the middle of this season, it became more and more difficult to stay focused and motivated because of my foot injury and the fact that she's an excellent player, and she made a lot of good results this season compared to me. So, I was a bit frustrated. But after all, I will try to see this situation in a positive way and use it as a motivation to improve more and try to be better. But I wish her lots of success.
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Everything is possible
Batomene was victorious in the Belarus International in 2018 and the Algeria International in 2019. Wondering which tournaments she has her eyes on in 2020 to make it a ‘hattrick’, she says.
- Actually, I would love to win a challenge, I'm saying to myself ‘step by step’. But If I can do better, I will be super satisfied.
Batomene was a part of the French women’s team winning the historic bronze medal in Liévin. Explaining what that means to her she proudly stated.
- This medal means a lot to me. Because we knew it was possible, but we also knew it will be very challenging. Firstly, we played against strong teams and secondly, almost all of the girls were injured. So, it was amazing because we gave everything we had to make it happen. Our team spirit is very strong, so we showed to ourselves that everything is possible. And
Lastly, now that France is off the mark in European Women’s Team Championships, Batomene thinks ahead to the Uber Cup later this year in Denmark.
- I think It will be amazing to have the chance again to play against the best players in the world even if I know it will be difficult. However, as always, we will give everything to play our best level and to try to win our matches.