NEW DELHI: Gustav Bjorkler fought tooth and nail against Ade Resky Dwicahyo of Azerbaijan but it went all vain as he lost to bow out. Originally from Sweden, where the sport is virtually non-existent, it was a missed opportunity for the 24-year-old. That meant his latest World Championships journey lasted just 55 minutes. He was quite critical of himself after the match. However, given that he's a cancer survivor, he quickly turned towards the bigger picture, expressing his gratitude to be playing in an event of this magnitude.
"I was not satisfied with my performance today (Monday). I was too impatient, made too many mistakes. Overall, I made it too easy for him. That's how it is sometimes," Gustav, who squandered a one-game advantage to eventually lose the contest 21-14, 17-21, 18-21, told this daily.
"Really good to be part of this. I also played the Thomas Cup earlier this year. I think it's very important to play these matches and to get the feeling of it and try to come back better. I have been in these kinds of situations."
Gustav was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer when he was just 18 before he was cleared of the disease in 2019.
"I had blood cancer, not really leukaemia, but pre-stage to that. So I had to do my chemotherapy and I was really sick," he said. "I didn't have any muscle on my body at all. I was the same height, but almost 15 to 17 kilos less. So I didn't have any physicality at all. It took some time to get these things back," he recalled.
The experience completely changed his outlook towards life. "You think of life in another way. You're quite happy just to be healthy and to be able to live a normal life," Gustav said.
The challenge on the court continues for him as the sport is barely taken seriously in his country of birth. He has now shifted to Copenhagen in Denmark in a bid to get quality training. Gustav had gotten a rare chance to put his skills to the test earlier this year when he faced the likes of Chou Tien Chen and Anders Antonsen at the Thomas Cup.
"Badminton is of course not that big in Sweden so I made a move to Denmark. I live in Copenhagen, I practice there. Not so many youngsters play badminton. They play football, ice hockey...these kinds of things. We have to find solutions to get the right sparring and the right training."