Badmintonner Jacco Arends (28) stopt ermee
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Foto: SCS/Sander Chamid

Badmintonner Jacco Arends (28) stopt ermee

Robert Hüsken • 17:04, 17-07-2019 / Laatste Update: 22:37, 12-12-2023

Jacco Arends beëindigt zijn topsportloopbaan. De 28-jarige badmintonner heeft niet het idee dat hij zich nog veel verder kan verbeteren en is toe aan nieuwe uitdagingen, meldt hij op sociale media.

,,Het was zeker geen makkelijke beslissing. Maar ik heb mezelf altijd beloofd te stoppen als ik geen progressie meer zie”, aldus Arends, wiens hoogtepunt zijn deelname aan de Olympische Spelen van 2016 in Rio de Janeiro was.

Arends blijft nog wel actief op clubniveau, meldt hij.

Dit bericht bekijken op Instagram

After thinking and contemplating over the last weeks, I have decided to quit my professional badminton career. Ever since I was a young boy I have always set high goals for myself. But my ambition has always been insatiable and pushed me further and further. It has helped me in everything I achieved, but it also forces me to take this difficult decision. Over the last period I have gradually lost my believe that I will be capable of and/or given the right opportunities to further develop my game. I believe it’s paramount to have the right conviction and perspective, which I simply don’t have / see anymore. I have always promised myself that I will not hang around if I’m not able to improve my game any longer. Therefore, I’ve decided to quit and focus on new challenges. It certainly hasn’t been an easy decision. All I know in my life is being a professional athlete in a sport I love and was – and still am – crazy passionate about. Happily working hard towards specific goals, day in day out. In a way, that made life easy. That’s now over and I suspect I will have a tough time adjusting to a new way of life. Besides that, I feel that I haven’t reached my full potential as a badminton player. I’m only 28 years old and have a lot of good years still left in me. It is this feeling of being unfulfilled that’s bothering me the most... Check out my Facebook page: Facebook.com/ArendsBadminton if you want to read the rest of my story. Thanks guys.

Een bericht gedeeld door jaccoarends (@jaccoarends) op