Paris 2024 will feature Para badminton for the second time – it made its debut in Tokyo 2020 – but there will be one Para badminton athlete competing in his fourth Paralympics. Wojtek Czyz, four-time gold medallist in the 100-metre, 200-metre and long jump at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, achieved his three-year project of qualifying to Paris 2024.

An aspiring professional footballer who turned to Para sport after an on-field collision, Czyz’ exploits in athletics have made him an inspiring figure. He has seven Paralympics medals overall, besides three gold at the IPC Athletics World Championships and five gold at the IWAS World Games.

After his athletics career, he spent five years sailing around the world with his wife Elena-Brambilla Czyz, donating prostheses free to leg amputees. After settling in New Zealand and rediscovering badminton, Czyz resolved to compete at Paris.

The 42-year-old talks to BWF about his experience of Para badminton and his unique experiences that will stand him in good stead in Paris.

You were a sprinter, long jumper and footballer. What would you say are the unique demands of badminton?

Badminton is a very challenging sport. When you run 100 metres for instance, you have your 12 seconds and then it’s over. You push yourself to the limit and full of adrenalin and you give it your all and then it’s over. Badminton is a completely different story. First, sure, you need to be fit, you need stamina, and you need to move fast, but you need to be technically superb when it comes to your skills.

I’m always the fighter and worker, but technique is not something you can learn because you need to learn. Technique is a patient thing, you need time, and a lot of shuttles. So it’s something challenging for me, because I don’t have time. I spent a lot of time abroad, a lot of time in Malaysia for instance, to better my skills. It’s a very challenging topic. At the same time, to bring everything together, and to stay calm. I’m a very emotional person. Badminton is more like chess. I would like a full court, because it’s a better balance between technical skills and movement. You can see the better players, they nearly don’t move. They reach all the shuttles far behind and it’s tricky to move them. I would be more happy to challenge them in the full court.

As a world-class athlete, were you comfortable with the physical demands of badminton?

Everything that needs hard work, I’m at home. It’s a physical game and I like that.

Physical elements are absolutely fine with me. You have to work hard and that’s something I like. It’s more the fact that you have to be patient on court and as you’re playing only half-court you have to be very precise, and precision comes with time. I need two-three more years to get the shuttle every time in the corner I want, and this is the challenge for me.

I see myself as one of the players who is fastest on court. You put me with whoever you want, I’m definitely one of the fastest. Athletics helped me a lot, in order to cover the court and to be explosive. At the same time, it’s a bit tricky to challenge people with two legs, because it’s a different story. Over time, more and more competitors are with two legs, and prosthetic guys are falling back.

I had to face these challenges and I’m used to them.

In what ways are training approaches in badminton different to other sports?

I’m a sports scientist, so I have knowledge about general preparation. So I know what you need to do to get your stamina and to get sports-specific strength, so I understand some approaches. But athletics or football, there’s a much bigger focus from the science point of view. And when I started with badminton, I was surprised that there are very… when you ask what are you doing for strength and conditioning and what’s the plan, the whole approach is different. That surprised me a bit. Because in athletics you discuss every small thing with your coach and the plan is perfectly (made) and you have your sports scientists around, your biomechanics experts, you’re doing a lot of examination in your movement… and in my case, nothing was done, like how do I cover the court with my prosthetics, is it the same as the able-bodied… so to a lot of questions I had, people had no idea. So definitely there is big potential in disabled sport to progress with a better scientific approach.

Is that because in badminton, coaching systems rely on traditional approaches, with players turning coaches and imparting what they were taught?

It’s difficult to say it’s a problem. It’s new to me, I have first to find out if it’s better. Why this approach? With my knowledge and my background, it is not good because you want to think about the next generation. All that I’m doing is providing help and support for the next generation, especially in Oceania. For me, to have a better structured approach is much better, to help in the grassroots sector to bring better badminton players.

In Asia, in India, you have so many people playing badminton and in disabled sport. For sure there is so much talent and it’s easier in these countries to find the right people and then they continue under coaches. But in regions with not so much badminton enthusiasm, it’s more difficult to bring new badminton players into the right place, and there it would be better to have an approach that makes sense, scientifically supported, and gives you better basics, so you can have better work in the grassroots sector.

What does it mean for you to qualify to Paris 2024?

I’m absolutely excited. it’s definitely something very beautiful. I started Project 24 three years ago and to be here now and be able to represent the country the first time ever at the Paralympics in this sport makes me incredibly proud and it’s the first time also that I’m not the hunted one, so I can really enjoy and go out there. I’ve always had this pressure: I always had to win. Here, no one expects me to win; they’re happy that I’m there. Now’s the time to go out there and deliver the message that everyone can achieve what they want if you go hard for it.

You’ve excelled at past Paralympics. What chances do you see for yourself in Paris?

I know how it’s in the Paralympics. I know that you have to stand massive pressure and it’s not only about being the best player, it’s about being a champion, and there’s a difference.

Badminton is in the Paralympics since Tokyo, and Tokyo had no spectators. If you’re coming into a hall with 8000 people… you have massive pressure… dozens of photographers watching every step. You have to deal with that. It’s not easy for everyone to deal with that. So you can be the best player in the world at every tournament, but this is not a tournament. This is THE tournament. So you have to have the mindset to bring you a gold medal in these circumstances.

What memories stand out from past Paralympics?

Every Paralympics had something special. My first Paralympics was unforgettable, the second in Beijing I jumped to gold with a broken leg, something incredible. London was fantastic, I won a silver. Every Games was special. But for sure, the first Paralympics was very intense after my backstory and to come back on that stage was immense.

Have you set any goals for Paris 2024, or are you just happy to be there?

I achieved my goal to participate in the Paralympics and now everything is possible. I’m lucky I don’t need to have this hard pressure of needing to win. I’m looking forward to enjoying this Paralympics. The outcome is always a big question mark, many things can happen. So I’m looking forward to it.

Catch Wojtek with former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in this cool video!