Former World No 1 men’s doubles badminton player Mathias Boe of Denmark announced his retirement on Thursday after a two-decade-long career that saw him win a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics with Carsten Mogensen.
The 39-year-old also won a silver and bronze medal in the BWF World Championship and played an important role in Denmark’s Thomas Cup triumph in 2016.
Boe and Mogensen also won 16 Superseries titles together. However, the former had teamed up with Mads Conrad-Petersen since last year and attempted to qualify for another Olympics.
But in February this year, Boe had announced that he would be retiring after the Thomas Cup or the Olympics but both the events have now been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“After announcing in February that the Thomas Cup or Olympics would be my last tournament, I thought it might give me the motivation to give a hundred per cent over the last few months, but unfortunately, it has had the opposite effect.
“I have noticed that I have not been there completely. Neither for training nor in matches. I have not had my thoughts in the right place. Mentally, I am simply too exhausted,” Boe was quoted as saying by badmintoneurope.com.
“I made my decision before All England. So thankfully, my career does not end because of the virus. I am relieved because it would have been a strange way to end my career. Anyway, I would never be able to get started again after a month away from the hall.
“I am no longer as lithe as a panther, and once you have reached my age, something special needs to be done to keep up. I told my coach Jakob Høi and my partner, Mads Conrad, about my decision immediately after All England. I think they were a little surprised, but I also think they both understood my decision,” he added.
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