Vladimir Ivanov

Vladimir Ivanov, the 31-year old Russian who was born on 3rd July, 1987 in Chelyabinsk, Russia began playing the sport of Badminton in the year 1995.

Uncanny as it may sound, the 6 ft 6” athlete pursued the sport because he saw it on the television and decided to try it out himself.

In an interview, he mentioned that his memorable sporting achievements were winning Gold at the "Russian Championship Men’s Singles Champion” for the years 2008, 2011 and 2012). Furthermore, another accomplishment was winning the bronze at the European Team Championship for the years 2009 & 2011.

Background

Ivanov has a training regime of 6 times a week, wherein he trains for two sessions per day - on court and at the gym. He had his International Debut in 2002 in Ireland at the age of 15 and went on to make his professional debut in 2003 where he represented his club in a national league. Apart from being an athlete, his hobbies include reading books and listening to music.

Debut

Vladimir Ivanov played for Russia in 2002 in Ireland and further went on to play professional in 2003. Ivanov bagged a silver and a bronze at the European Junior Championships which was held in Den Bosch, the Netherlands in the mixed team and mixed doubles categories respectively.

Rise to Glory

Vladimir Ivanov has been a consistent player since the time he started playing professionally. Having an affinity for hunting and shooting alongside Badminton, Vladimir fancies an array of different sports.

From bagging the silver in the 2013 Kazan games in the Summer Universiade to the gold in the Russian Championship Men’s Singles category for 2008, 2011, 2012 was his rise to glory.

Some significantly impressive stats to show you his career span this far:

Career Singles: In the 239 games played, he won a 141 with a win percentage of 59%. In the doubles category, he played 401 games and won 268 with a win percentage of 66% and finally, in the mixed doubles category he played 64 games and won 42 with a win percentage of ~65%.

With a sporting ambition to win an olympic medal, Ivanov has borne some commendable accolades for his nation.

A team player by nature, with the stance and attacking style, the partnership of Ivanov - Sozonov have soared over the past decade.

High Points

A few high points for Ivanov, namely:

#1 for me has to be winning Gold in the Men’s Doubles category by winning the prestigious All England Open in 2016 on the dramatic victory over Japan’s Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa with a set score of 21-23, 21-18, 21-16. Nothing short of a miracle for the both of them as they called it, it brought them immense joy because they defeated one of the best pairs of the world. To end it, they practiced and performed their ‘Haka Dance’ like the one which we would find at the end of a rugby match. A country united over this victory.

Ranking as World #28 in 2013 in the Men’s Singles category and breaking the Top 30 barrier.

Ranking at #7 with Sozonov in the Men’s Doubles category in the December of 2017.

The Russian Open - A tournament held in Russia since 1993 that is a continuation since USSR, wherein he bagged gold in 2008, 2011 and 2012.

Low Points

The biggest setback for Ivanov has been that Russia has never given the sport as much love as the remainder sports. To play for your nation and not having the kind of recognition from the home crowd can be gruesome for personal motivation. They (Ivanov and Sozonov) said in an article that Badminton in Russia isn’t as popular as it is in India but they are fighting for it.