NEWS

Sean Vendy has revealed the ‘champion mindset’ he has built up ahead of the YONEX All-England Championships in Birmingham.

The next few months will be crucial for Vendy and men’s doubles partner Ben Lane as they hope to secure qualification for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.

But Vendy is embracing the pressure and hopes he has developed a mentality that will allow him to achieve his dreams.

He said: “This is the big picture of why we play badminton. It’s what gets you out of bed in the morning on the days when you’re not feeling it.

“To get into that champion mindset, you need a long-term goal which for us is the Olympic medal.

“Over the last 10 years, it’s all been leading up to this, all the work we’ve put in, this is why we do it.”

Vendy and Lane recently won the men’s doubles title at the English National Championships for the third successive year.

The 27-year-old believes this will help the pair heading into the YONEX All-England Championships, when they open up against sixth seeds Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in the first round.

“It’s one we want to win every year. National champions are something we want to be so that’s another box ticked.

“We won all four matches, which is something that we need to work on if we want to go deep into these bigger tournaments because, in the past, we’ve performed for one or two matches, and then dropped off.”

But playing at home will help the Commonwealth Games silver medallist, who had high praise for British badminton fans.

“It’s massive for us,” he said.

“We had the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 and we probably did better than we expected. We beat the world champions in the semi-final and having a home crowd that helped us get over the line was massive for us.

“It really helps lift us when times get tough out there. So it’s something that we really look forward to, big time.”

The support from British fans will be paramount to the national champion as he hopes to put together a run of games which will seal his place in Paris.

“There’s always pressure because we want to do our best and it does count in such a big tournament which is only once every four years. It’s something that we want to not just qualify for, but also go and do our best in.

“It’s nothing that we haven’t dealt with before and I wouldn’t say it’s affecting our game. It’s just something that comes with it.”

But with a support system in place, Vendy welcomes the pressure heading into this tense qualification period.

“We’re supported well by everyone around us,” he said. “We’ve been doing this high-pressure sport for eight years, so we’re kind of used to it.

“But we’re also grateful to be in a position of pressure, because if we weren’t, then that would mean we’re not really in for a shot at the Olympics.”

And Vendy was adamant that, should he be successful in achieving his dream of winning an Olympic medal, credit must be given to his support network for helping him get there.

He said: “The pressure is on us to get the medal because we’re the ones standing on the court but behind us, there’s so many other people that it would mean the world to if we got a medal as well.

“We are doing it for ourselves but I think to get a medal would just be great for friends, family and everyone around us.”