Team KEEGO: Luka Wraber
Today we start a series of interviews about our Team KEEGO athletes. We'll give you the inside scoop on their beginnings, obstacles, successes and failures, their nutrition and the people behind the scenes without whom our athletes wouldn't be who they are.
The first on Team KEEGO - Luka Wraber. He started playing badminton at the age of 8 and became a member of the Austrian national badminton team in 2008. He participated in the 2015 and 2019 European Games and also in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am 30 years old and have been playing badminton since I was eight. I grew up bilingually in Wiener Neustadt (my father is from Ljubljana) and attended a classical grammar school.
Luka with his father getting his first badminton racket
After graduating from high school, I started playing badminton professionally and still do today!
Why are you so passionate about badminton?
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by sports, but mostly ball sports. I love to play and always face new challenges. Every match is one of those and I still enjoy the moments of exciting games. In my opinion, trying to achieve my best daily performance over and over again is only possible if you really play with passion.
When I play not to win but to actually play the game with all its facets, I almost always play best.
What does your training look like?
Besides many hours in the badminton hall, sometimes five a day, I have had my own mental coach for over 10 years and my own fitness trainer for about a year. In addition, I have been investing a lot of time in physiotherapy in the last few years in order to have as long a career as possible.
I think it's very important to have people around you who, on the one hand, always challenge you, but on the other hand, see things similarly in terms of their basic attitude.
For example, are there guidelines for the amount of water you want to drink per day? Are there any foods that you particularly like to eat, but never on competition days?
I weighed myself one summer 5-6 years ago before and after each training session to see if I was drinking enough. Since then, I know that I have to drink between 1.5 and 2.5 litres in a badminton practice session, depending on how hot it is. I have a weakness for chocolate and before a match I avoid anything that is heavy on the stomach.
What do you think is a crucial difference/advantage you have compared to other athletes?
I think my work ethic, my head and my enjoyment of the game could be an advantage compared to others.
What are your goals? - What keeps you going?
My biggest result goal was to participate in the Olympic Games, in general I always set myself short, medium and long-term goals.
Having recently returned from Tokyo, I'm using the holiday to map out my next goals. In the future, I will probably focus on the European Championships and the European Games!
Please tell us something about the most difficult moment in your career and what you learned from it or how you overcame it.
The most bitter moment in my career was the one-year Olympic qualification for the Rio 2016 Games. I played a sensational qualifying year, but in the end I was just not the best Austrian on the world ranking list and therefore did not qualify.
But it made me realise that my goal was always the path and that in the end it is only half as bad not to reach the final goal if you have given everything and enjoyed the journey. That's how it was, so I was able to look ahead again quickly.
Why does KEEGO inspire you?
Already during the first talks, it became clear that KEEGO's main concern is to create a partnership at eye level in which we can grow together. Moreover, the KEEGO bottle is exactly the solution to the problem that I have not been able to solve since I started playing badminton - a bottle that is not made of plastic, is not too heavy and does not quickly become smelly!
Is there a person in your life who has had a decisive influence on your career as an athlete or your life in general?
There is a lot to mention here: my parents, my brother, my fiancée Ana Marija (soon to be wife), my coaches over the years (John Dinesen, Oliver Pongratz, Krasimir Yankov, Kent Madsen - all badminton; Johann Weitlaner - mental coach; Luke Couture - strength/fitness coach; the LSA physiotherapists and Dominik Jessenk, my sports doctor Lukas Brandner, my sponsors/supporters and many more.
Luka and his team.
KEEP GOING Luka!
Team KEEGO
