A childhood passion

Malte started playing badminton when he was 7 years old. At the time, he was also juggling football, but his love for badminton won out.

Today, he plays at an elite level in doubles, with the goal of traveling the world and making a living from the sport. "It's achievable," says Malte, "but the competition is tough!"

Only one elite player per year group makes the cut, so it requires a lot of self-belief and discipline.

Balancing sports and education

After a year at a residential sports school, Malte will start at Niels Brock Business College in Copenhagen in the summer of 2024. Here, he has the opportunity to combine sports and education through the school's elite sports program, which is a huge help for the young badminton player, who has also been accepted as a Team Danmark aspirant.

In practice, this means his schedule is more compressed than a standard upper secondary education and is structured to accommodate his many hours of training.

"I go straight from school to training four times a week and have morning practice twice a week. On weekends, I'm often at team matches or tournaments around the country," Malte explains.

The extensive training routine consists of more than just badminton practice. Twice a week, he does strength training to help prevent injuries and improve his performance on the court.

Making room for a social life

With education and badminton on the calendar, free time as an elite athlete is limited. This is also where Malte faces his biggest challenge, as time for friends and leisure activities is limited.

"There really isn't time for a part-time job, so for me, sponsorships are a huge help," says Malte, explaining that the financial support is used to cover expenses such as transport and travel.

Big experiences and dreams

Malte dreams of making a living from the sport and traveling the world to play tournaments against the very best.

He is already starting to live that dream. Most recently, he was on a training camp in Guangzhou, China, where badminton is a national sport.

Together with 15 other players, he participated in federation training, where they had the opportunity to train with Chinese players and experience their culture. Malte describes the trip as the best experience of his badminton career so far, and we suspect there will be many more to come.

Reportability is cheering from the sidelines

Malte's story is an inspiring tale of dedication, hard work, and family support. At Reportability, we are thrilled to support his passion, and we look forward to following his journey from the sidelines.