Both are in their 30s, but still going strong. The veteran Danish pair of Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen, currently ranked World No. 2, is considered one of the best doubles combinations in the history of the sport.
Mathias, the 37-year-old, feels that 2017 has been the duo’s best year, winning two titles — Singapore Open and Korea Open — and reaching three finals.
“Of course, reaching five finals is a major achievement. We have never done that. We have reached four finals before. It’s been a remarkable season,” said Mathias in an exclusive chat with The Hindu here on Monday.
Turbulent times
However, it has not been all smooth sailing for the Danes.
For, in early 2016, Carsten fainted at his hotel during a tournament and was later diagnosed as having been caused by a ruptured brain aneurysm. He underwent major surgery and was back on court within seven months.
Recalling those days, Mathias said it was obviously quite tough, but the best thing was that they won a title after his partner’s comeback.
“It is never easy to see somebody being close to dying. He (Carsten) got through it. It took him six months. He was back on court, ready for the Rio Olympics. We won the French Open in 2016, it was remarkable. We have played for so long. We know each other so well,” said Mathias.
The two-time All England Open champion said difficult times make you realise how small sport is.
“Just thankful that he was able to recover and we could continue our career. In such situations, badminton is secondary, as it is more about survival,” he said.
Mathias attributed the pair’s success — 16 Super Series titles, an Olympic silver (2012) , two All England titles (2011 and 2015) and 11 Grand Prix titles — to pure hard work. “It requires a lot of work as the competition is extremely tough. Badminton is one of the biggest sports in the world.
“Winning 16 titles is remarkable. We are still hungry for more, even though we are not young anymore,” he said. Mathias also does not believe doubles is being short-changed, but admits that things are in favour of men’s singles, as it was in other sports, too.
Biggest names
“The best paid are male players, it is how things are. It is also because in this era, we have some of the biggest men players: Lin Dan, Chen Long, Lee Chong Wei and now rising star Viktor (Axelsen). The rivalry in singles is, of course, great” he said.
Mathias said the pair was looking forward to competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “Time travels fast. 2020 is just around the corner. It is something that excites us,” he said.
The writer is in Dubai at the invitation of Sportzlive
