This week, the very heart of the badminton world will beat in Calgary as the Super 500 Yonex Canada Open welcomes top players from across the globe.
St. Albert's own Ty Lindeman will be among the competition, partnering with Edmonton's Josephine Wu, as they aim to punch their ticket to Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
To appreciate the formidable demands of Lindeman's journey to the Open, one need only look at his rigorous training regimen.
"Training has certainly been very intense ever since I began training full-time a couple of years ago, but during the Olympic qualification period so far, we have played a lot of tournaments, which has made it difficult to maintain a proper training schedule," Lindeman said, detailing the gruelling schedule he follows in pursuit of top physical form.
"From May to June, I spent seven weeks abroad competing... the last two weeks that I've been home have been a real test of how much I can push to get my physical condition back to top form and even push above and beyond."
Lindeman's journey in badminton started young, which has moulded him into an elite player and specialist in doubles events.
He's drawn to the faster pace, the team spirit, and the special bond that forms between teammates.
"There is nothing better than to win as a team, so I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to partner with two of my closest friends and experience both the highs and the lows with them," Lindeman said, reflecting on his partnerships with Wu and also Calgary's Kevin Lee.
"I have trained and competed with both Kevin and Jo since I was very young, maybe 12 years old, so we have grown up seeing each other play, seeing our strengths and weaknesses, seeing our habits, and this has led to partnerships where we know the others' play-style very well, which is key to being a good team."
The Yonex Canada Open is a pivotal stepping stone on Lindeman's path to the Olympics. The Olympic qualification period is brimming with competitions, with each event offering opportunities to amass crucial ranking points.
"The Olympic qualification period runs from May 1, 2023, until April 30, 2024, and within this timeframe, we will need to play at least 15-20 tournaments, if not more, in order to gain enough ranking points to qualify," Lindeman said.
"Playing this many tournaments means we would be spending more than half the year abroad at competitions, so training quality will be very important when we are home… Ideally, when the dust settles after playing all these tournaments our world ranking will be around 25 in order to have a good chance to qualify for Paris."
For Lindeman, a perennially fierce competitor, smashing this target is the default mentality.
"Of course if we achieve that, we won't stop trying to push into the top 20, or 15, or as high as we can go!"
Lindeman is not just chasing his own dreams, but also the hopes of a nation.
"Representing Canada at the Olympic Games is a dream come true for every athlete," he said.
But for him, it's more than just personal fulfilment; it's about inspiring the next generation of Canadian badminton players and challenging the global badminton powerhouses.
"Qualifying for Paris 2024 would not only validate all the hard work I've done, and all the sacrifices I've made on this journey, but hopefully it would also inspire the next generation of Canadian badminton players to also pursue their dreams. I would be so proud of myself and the rest of the Canadian badminton team for showing that despite our country's relative lack of history with the sport, we can still compete with the badminton powerhouses in Asia and Europe."
