Clive Luna and Roanne Apalisok are two up and coming badminton stars whose sporting success will amaze you. From just taking up the sport for the pure enjoyment and euphoria that it provides, to now solidifying their places in the top 2 rankings in badminton singles in the country.
After attending trials for the under 15 national squad Clive and Roxanne were among 5 girls and 5 boys to be handpicked and given the chance of a lifetime travelling to Sydney, Australia with the squad to compete in the Under 15 Badminton trans-Tasman test series.
Our reporter Shontelle Matano had the pleasure of catching up with Clive to chat with him not only about his rise in badminton and his experience in wearing the silver fern but also to cover some things that people may not necessarily know about him, including his pre-match rituals.
Clive spoke about the feeling he got when he was playing saying, “It is really exciting because the courts that you play on are where the professional players play as well, and it’s just a completely different feeling than what you get in training because there’s lights and everything and people are watching when you play against another country.”
Clive also spoke about his motivation and what helps him to go out on the court and be at his best every single game. He said that remembering all the hours that he spends training has led to that very moment helps him to want to win even more. And winning is just what he did.
Through the team competition, he was a part of a dominant Kiwi campaign in which New Zealand beat Australia 12 games to 4. In the singles, mixed doubles and boys and girls individual doubles, every player did a tremendous job. Although the individual boys didn’t do too well, losing 4 games to 1, the individual girls were able to come out on top and Roanne played a significant role in their triumph.
Like anything in life, there is always a story behind the success and for Clive it all began, believe it or not, by accident at the age of 10 when he was supposed to go to a holiday programme but it was too late to enrol. So he was put in badminton and participated in a club competition. Ever since then, he has never looked back.
When asked about whether he ever thought he would be in the position he is today, being ranked no. 2 for boys in New Zealand and being able to travel to another country he replied saying, “No not at all, I just wanted to be good at badminton. I never expected myself to be top of New Zealand or have the chance to go overseas to compete against other players from other countries.”
Something that Clive makes sure he does before every match is to take time alone to do a good warm-up and prepare his mind with positive thoughts. The most exciting thing about badminton for him is that it’s a fast game, and is action packed as it contains a lot of jumping, diving, smashing and pretty much everything.
Although Clive is still young, being a Year 10 student, he’s already got big dreams and aspirations for the future. He wants to play badminton as a career and he sure has the goods to back up that dream.
Shontelle Matano.
