Joakim Oldorff will be excited for the next few weeks, whether one of his dreams will come true in the summer. “It’s disappointing if I don’t make it, but I don’t think this is my last chance at the Olympics,” he says.
Handshake is stout and sharp-eyed. It’s 9:20, and Joakim Oldorffin the two-hour training is coming to an end. He goes to introduce himself before the last inning of the batting practice, which makes even the most fit player lean on his knees.
Oldorff’s eye for the game was sharp and his condition was on point last weekend, but his grip on the stick was a bit more relaxed than the reporter’s hand. The result was accordingly.
Oldorff, 21, won the adult EC bronze medal in badminton as the second – and youngest – Finn of all time. He knocked out two clearly higher ranked players in the tournament and lost in the semi-finals to the future winner of the tournament, Denmark’s fourth in the world ranking Anders Antonsenille.
“French Alex Lanier in the quarterfinals… Belgium Julien Carragi there is also a good player from the round before, and I beat him quite clearly (21–9, 21–10). Those were two good matches from me.”
“I stuck to the tactics very well and was present on the field. That’s when I get the best out of myself.”
Antonsen won the semifinal 21-11, 21-11, but Oldorff also had his moments, as the video below shows.
Oldorff from Espoo is the Finnish singles champion for the years 2021, 2023 and 2024. In addition, he has an under-19 EC bronze medal in his trophy cabinet. The medal for adults still shines clearly brighter than others. You probably wouldn’t have believed that from the first reaction, when Lanier fell 21–12, 21–19.
When the Frenchman’s last shot stopped in the net, Oldorff stood with his back to the net and just looked around.
Didn’t feel like airing the confirmation of the medal?
“I’ve never vented terribly. But it was that moment that maybe I realized what had happened.”
“It was Joakim’s ventilation”, the coach sitting next to him Anu Nieminen says and laughs.
During almost six years of working together, he has gotten to know his protégé.
The match that secured Oldorff’s medal starts in the video below at 3:54:00.
Oldorff is almost always very non-gestural on the field – sometimes even too much so. In order to gain a mental upper hand, one could sometimes vent and puff one’s chest even after a lost point.
“It’s a really big part of the game and I currently have a clear development target.”
Breaking the opponent’s rhythm with, for example, small delays is also an area of the game that could be improved.
“If you feel like you need a break or want to concentrate, you can change the ball more often or throw yourself into a situation and ask for a break.”
Mastering the mental game is one part of the overall package. The nature of the player has a lot to do with where the line is drawn, but certain basic tricks should be mastered. Although Oldorff has the basics, not all Finns do.
“If you look at the Danes, they are much better in that kind of mental game. They take their time. Maybe we are a little too nice in Finland,” says Nieminen.
Anu Nieminen is a former top player and current coach.
In addition to the mental aspect, Oldorff lists gaining strength, improving body control and increasing tactical competence as development targets. The list of strengths is longer: security on the ball, few mistakes, defense, movement.
“In the games, the arcs of the lifts and the frontcourt game also worked.”
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“It really makes a big difference if you go to bed at nine or if you don’t catch up on sleep until eleven.”
Its characteristics Oldorff shapes for better about 35 hours a week. He hones his sports skills twice a day for two hours, six days a week.
From Monday to Friday, practice starts at 7:30 a.m. at the Meilahti sports center. There are a total of 12 athletes in the group, most of whom are between the ages of 14 and 19. Because of school, the rhythm is early, but the fact that the young people are usually there at seven to warm up and do side exercises speaks volumes for their motivation.
“The hall opens at 6:45, and I’m often there then.”
Discipline has led Oldorff to become an EC medalist at only 21 years old, but the goal is much higher. The next few weeks will show whether one dream will come true already three months from now.
“I go to bed at nine and wake up at 5:45. On Fridays and Saturdays, I go to bed 1–1.5 hours later,” says Oldorff.
“Yes, you can see that sleep is really important. There’s a really big difference between going to bed at nine or falling asleep at eleven.”
Physics exercises is three times a week and mobility and body control 14 hours a week. Physical trainer Jaana Mäkelä participates in sport practices once a week so that physical development can be monitored through badminton.
Oldorff has been playing badminton since he was 6 years old and has avoided injury, even though the sport is one-sided and really grueling.
Low balls are always reached with the foot of the hitting hand first, and there are a lot of landings from jumps. Mobility and especially mid-body control are vital qualities.
Body control is vital for performing technical performances and avoiding injuries.
Oldorff is a light-built and fast-moving player, and he intends to remain that way. But stronger.
“Joakim has developed a lot in the use of force. Movement is not very tiring, but he is able to play long ball rallies without freezing,” Nieminen praises.
Although the aim is not to gain muscle mass, when increasing strength you must also focus on eating. Oldorff should eat a little more than before, and a nutritionist will help with that.
“Yes, it (eating more) is possible. It has been considered that I eat a little more with snacks, so there is no need to increase the size of food portions terribly.”
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“I was the best in the Winter Games, and I ran about 3,450 meters.”
If Oldorff is fast on the field, gets up quickly even when running. Jogging is not part of the badminton player’s training range, but during his military service he was able to – or had to – run a 12-minute running test, i.e. Cooper.
He was at the Kaarti Jääkärirykment’s Sports School in Santahamina, Helsinki together with representatives of winter sports in 2022.
“I was the best in the Winter Games, and I ran about 3,450 meters.”
Otherwise, the time in the army left much to be desired.
“If you think about how it went on the badminton court, it could have gone much better. The time in the army really affected badminton.”
Now there are no slowdowns, and Oldorff has risen during the year in the loudest world ranking. The sports fund Sport Fund has played a significant role. Oldorff is one of the fund’s supporting athletes, and the fund invests 100,000 euros in the joint athlete company of Oldorff and Sport Fund during the first four years of the partnership.
Oldorff feels that he has received much more from the cooperation than financial support. Discussions with former professionals of various sports, such as Jyrki Louhen, Hanna-Mari Seppälän, Tanja Poutiainen with have been remembered.
“It has given me a lot when I have been able to hear from them, for example, about sports and the entrepreneurship of athletes.”
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“I want to be at the Olympics with medals.”
When the focus remains on what is essential, the result will come.
Badminton doesn’t offer a wide life very easily, but experiences and self-learning have slipped into Oldorff’s toolbox.
“I’ve noticed how bad I am at going into my comfort zone. For example, I was at a tournament in Uganda. There were a little too many things to think about and it felt difficult, even though it didn’t have to be. The games could have gone better.”
In different ones succeeding in the circumstances is one of the prerequisites to rise to the top. And that’s where Oldorff is going. In the coming weeks, however, he will be worried whether the performances will be enough for the Paris Olympic machine.
Oldorff rose to 59th place in the world statistics thanks to the brilliant performances of the EC tournament. Kalle Koljonen is two notches higher. One of them will represent Finland at the Olympics in July-August. The situation is exceptionally even in Finnish badminton.
“It would be really great to get to the Olympics, but Anu and I have made the competition calendar taking into account the different options.”
“It’s disappointing if I don’t make it, but I don’t think this is my last chance at the Olympics.”
And just participating is not enough. The goal for the following years is to increase the ranking in the world statistics by 10–15 places per year. It would make for a tantalizing setup for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
“I want to be at the Olympics with medals.”
The ball obeys Oldorff, who started the sport at the age of 6.