Given the predicament she’s in, Polina Buhrova’s self-assurance is remarkable.
The Ukrainian junior world No.9 had set high goals for herself at the BWF World Junior Championships 2022. Despite her third round loss – a hard-fought 21-18 22-20 result to China’s Sun Zi Chun – the Ukrainian had lost none of her confidence, unhesitatingly predicting that she’d be world No.1 one day, and not just in the juniors.
“I still think that I’m one of the strongest here because I’m a bit different, I’m a bit quicker and I’m more confident, more emotions, so I think this is a good part of me. And I can be number one in the world due to this.
“Of course I’m a bit upset with my performance because I was ready to take the title here, but it’s good performance for me in totality. Some moments of course were not good but I will go on and on and we will face these players on the World Tour and then we will see who is stronger.
Buhrova after winning her second round match over Korea’s Park Seul.
“Inside me it’s different emotions now because some part of me said everything’s okay. It was not such a bad performance. So yes, of course I could not win but at least it was not such a bad game. But another part of me is so sad and so upset because I felt that I was stronger but I just could not finish this match. So I will keep working harder and we will face the senior tournaments, so no problem.”
Buhrova left home in May due to the war at home, with her training base in Malaysia under coach Salim Samion. And while the 18-year-old does speak with confidence, she admits that the situation at home adds to her pressures on court.
“Now it’s so complicated because, as you know, I have such a bad situation in my country. So I don’t know what will be after a few months, so I know only about upcoming weeks and upcoming months. I will go to tournaments, and then I will practice somewhere in Europe, then we will have European Games 2023. After this I hope I can go to Asia to practice with my coach.”
Yet, like the other Ukrainian players, she sees her on-court performances as a statement of resolve of her people.
“I want to show that Ukrainians… are strong people and we will fight until the end. And I want to see the highest performance for my country, especially for me and my parents, and for those who support Ukraine. I play for all of them.”
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