Badminton player has revenge in mind (From This Is Local London)

Badminton player has revenge in mind

4:58pm Thursday 19th January 2012 in Sport

By Ben Baker

PETTS Wood badminton player Carl Baxter is determined to make it fourth time lucky at next month’s English national championships and dish out some well overdue revenge.

As the 26-year-old gears up for the domestic showdown, he will be hoping the new venue of Bolton as opposed to the familiar scenery of Manchester will bring with it some new luck.

The Canadian-born player has reached the final the last three years running only to see training partner Rajiv Ouseph standing in his way, last year going down in straight sets.

And with Ouseph this year looking to post a record fifth-straight singles title as he builds towards the Olympics, Baxter knows that his latest attempt will be just as difficult.

But that won’t stop Baxter from giving it his best shot, insisting that a few months out from London 2012 is as good a time as any to finally turn the tables.

“I am hoping that this year is finally my year after losing to Raj in the finals for the last three years,” said Baxter.

“I can’t see anything else happening than me and Raj in the final so I am preparing for it and hoping that it is my year.

“Raj seems to have got the better of me the whole time we have been training together but there is no shame in it because he is a top player and has beaten some of the top players in the world.

“But it will be nice to finally get the better of him and I sort of owe him one after all the times he has beaten me.

“You never know, this could be my year and it would be a great time to finally break my duck with the Olympics right around the corner.”

Despite seeing Ouseph as a brick wall in his domestic hopes, Baxter ended 2011 on a high as he claimed the Yonex Canadian International Challenge title.

And it is these successes that give Baxter hope that his time will come, he added: “Last season’s disappointments don’t make me any more determined as I know that I have the talent.

“I don’t think that I have anything to prove to anyone. I just want to play my best all the time and right now I am pleased with how I am performing so long may it continue.”

Watch the English national badminton championships live by buying tickets at nationalbadmintonchamps.co.uk or by calling the box office on 08445 811424.