THE 2018 Commonwealth Games may be badminton player Alex Dunn’s first major tournament but his lack of experience has not reduced his ambitions in the slightest.
The 19-year-old from Motherwell has only made the transition from the junior to the senior ranks in the past two years but his progress has been such that he believes he could get his hands on some silverware at Gold Coast 2018 next month.
Dunn is in the eight-strong badminton team that will be a part of Team Scotland and will compete in both the team event and partner Adam Hall in the men’s doubles in the individual tournament. It is in this discipline the pair, who are ranked 47th in the world, believe they could grab a spot on the podium.
“Me and Adam are currently progressing through the rankings well,” Dunn said. “We're trying to get into the top four seedings - we are currently sitting in the fifth position but not too far away from the people ahead of us. If we were to be seeded in the top four, that would give us the best chance to have a smooth ride to the semis and from there anything can happen. When we’re playing our best, I don't see why we can't challenge any of the top pairs. And we’ll have less pressure on us, so I don't see why we can't win a medal.”
Dunn and Hall have previous when it comes to winning silverware together. They won bronze at the European Junior Championships in 2015 but in the aftermath of that achievement, the partnership was split up, with Hall moving to England to become part of the GB squad while Dunn remained in Scotland.
However, when GB badminton had all their funding withdrawn last year, 22-year-old Hall returned to Scotland and was reunited with his old buddy, which has proved extremely fruitful in the year since they resumed playing together.
Three senior titles in the past few months suggests Dunn has moved into the senior ranks effortlessly and with the help of Hall, he has matured significantly over the past year or two.
“I have always kind of looked up to Adam as I was growing up because he was very successful,” he said. “He's given me a lot of confidence and kind of mentored me through some tough situations so it's been good to have him there.”
Dunn is in his second year of studying Sports Science at Strathclyde University and while he admits that juggling his university work and his heavy travelling schedule is, at times, tricky, there are aspects of his course that he finds hugely beneficial to his game which he hopes he can put into practice in Gold Coast.
“I enjoy the sport psychology classes,” he said. “Of all my courses, that one is actually really relevant to what I do every day in my badminton. So, I'm learning how to cope mentally with things and that’s really helpful. I like learning about what techniques are useful for athletes to use. How if you're an athlete, using imagery can be a really good thing to work on. And also things like taking your time, focusing and how to do that effectively - all of that kind of stuff, has been great.”
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