Badminton player Kalle Koljonen dominated his opening match in Paris to his heart’s content. The next place requires a huge surprise from the Finn against the reigning world champion on Wednesday.
Jussi Vainikka,
Janne Karinkanta
At the interview point of the Paris badminton arena, you could find a happy and enthusiastic person Kalle Koljonen. And why not, the Finn started the Olympic tournament with a sovereign victory over Mauritius By Georges Julien Paul batch 21–9, 21–10.
The match lasted only 33 minutes.
– It started moving right away. I got into a good flow state for the entire match and my concentration never broke. A couple of small falls, but there were no very bad moments, Koljonen summed up for Urheilu.
Koljonen is now playing in the second Olympic tournament of his career, but the experience in Paris has been completely different from the emptiness of Tokyo in the Corona Games three years ago.
– I get fired up with this atmosphere, which is here in the hall. 8000 spectators and a lot of noise. This makes me angry. This game was as under control as can be. At no point did I feel pressure, or was like oh well… well I won’t say any swear words here, Koljonen put on a smile.
– After all, Tokyo was a special moment when it came to my first Olympics. This is just in a different perspective when the hall is full. It got a little more exciting when the name was announced and the whole hall started shouting and clapping. And it continues!
Koljonen’s games continue on Wednesday, when the bet is winning the group and a place in the next round. However, the opponent could not be more difficult. On the other side of the net sits the reigning world champion, Thailand Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
Sports expert Ville Lång was convinced of Koljonen’s balanced performance against Paul. His expectations for Wednesday’s challenge rose.
– Kalle’s playing was versatile enough today. In that way, the match was easy, because Kalle was better than the opponent in every area. A perfect start to the tournament, Lång said.
Vitidsarn offers Koljosen, ranked 60th in the world, the toughest possible challenge on Wednesday. What kind of match can we expect?
– Kalle is naturally an attacking player. Vitidsarn is again more defensive and can play even half a day. It will be exciting to see how Kalle’s endurance and range of punches will be enough against the Thai, says Lång.
– There is a big difference in the ranking. Asian players are under a lot of pressure from entire nations at the Olympics, as badminton is a national sport in quite a few countries. If anything, at the Olympics there is a chance to surprise even if you are lower in the ranking.
If you try to find a small advantage for Koljones from the statistics, the Finn gave Mauritius’ Pauli two points less than Vitidsarn in his own game on Saturday.
A tongue-in-cheek question puts a familiar grin on Koljonen’s face.
– Not me now… I remain in the position of the underdog. I bet Vitidsarni still has a gear or two for that game. I’m starting from putting him in a tight spot and trying for a surprise win, Koljonen said.
The deciding match between Koljonen and Vitidsarni will be played on Wednesday at 10:10 Finnish time at the earliest.