Daniel Fan of Karawara is expecting tough but exciting competition at badminton’s 2019 Australian Open.
Camera IconDaniel Fan of Karawara is expecting tough but exciting competition at badminton’s 2019 Australian Open. Credit: Supplied/David Baylis www.communitypix.com.au d493529

Dream comes true for Karawara badminton Fan

Nadia BudihardjoSouthern Gazette

A KARAWARA athlete says he has ‘nothing to lose’ by playing against the world’s No.4 ranked badminton player next week.

Daniel Fan, who has a 166th world ranking, will be facing Chou Tien Chen from Taiwan at the 2019 Australian Open that starts Tuesday in Sydney.

Fan said he was excited to play against someone at that high level and knows the challenge will represent a good step forward towards his goal of representing Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

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“It’s my childhood dream to play against the top in the world and to do it on home soil, I’ve got the Australian crowd supporting me,” he said.

“I’ve got nothing to lose against this guy, he’s the world’s number four for a reason and I’m going to find out why.

“I’m just going to go out and enjoy it.”

Fan said he had a lot of people to thank for his progress since picking up a racquet at 12 years old, including family members and the City of South Perth which has provided community grant assistance.

“My dad had invited me down to play badminton, I had no idea what he was doing and I initially thought badminton was table tennis,” he said.

Fan has been training at Perth Badminton Arena in Redcliffe, George Burnett Leisure Centre in South Perth and Curtin University in Bentley.

He said he would like to inspire the next generation of Australian badminton stars and give the sport the popularity it has in Asia and Europe.

“If I can bring that gap closer to Asia and Europe by me playing these tournaments or inspire the next generation to play these tournaments, I’ve done my job,” he said.