For someone in her mid-teens, Kaja Ziolkowska has a remarkable attitude towards adversity.
Hailing from Poland, Ziolkowska’s determination to pursue badminton came as an 8-year-old, after she’d lost 21-0 21-0 to an older opponent.
More recently, after her right knee “popped out” at match point at a tournament, the All England Junior mixed doubles runner-up recalls being relieved it was only a dislocation, and not an ACL (anterior crucial ligament) rupture.
Kaja Ziolkowska
Having won the Cyprus U17 International last December, Ziolkowska performed well in early 2024. She was in three finals at the Polish U17 International, winning the singles and mixed. Shortly after this, at the VICTOR JOT U17, she was leading 21-4 20-4 in the second round of women’s singles when the knee gave way.
There’s a detached objectivity in Ziokowska’s voice as she describes the moment after her right patella dislocated.
“I was in Belgium and I was winning 21-4 20-4 and then it happened,” the 16-year-old says. “It was the last point. I was going backwards and then it just popped out. I felt I broke my ACL, but then adrenaline kicked in and I was like, I don’t think I’m that injured. I thought it was something else and it was, so I was happy about it because the ACL injury is terrible.”
Ziolkowska says the injury had its positive aspects as she got stronger while working her way back. At the All England Junior, her first tournament on her return, she made the mixed doubles final.
“I think the injury gave me a lot,” says Ziolkowska. “I lost a lot of weight, I became stronger in my legs, because I have to start processing my muscles because my right leg was terrible after the injury as I was going on crutches.
“I was at the All England and I got a silver in mixed doubles. I’m really happy that I didn’t crash after the injury because I was thinking that’s going to be the end. And I was so sad, but I’m here and I’m really happy.”
This ability to look at the positive side of adversity has been a prominent feature of her mindset. The 21-0 21-0 loss as an eight-year-old, she says, gave her “a lot of confidence. I told my dad, can I play like her (opponent), and he told me you have to train. I was eight and she was 14. So that’s why I kept going… When I’m losing, I’m more positive about it. I think there’s something to work on, to improve.”
Now she’s at her first BWF World Junior Championships, and while she hasn’t set lofty goals, she’s keen on making it count.
“Here I’m hoping for another one or two rounds. I came here for experience, rather than to win, and that’s what I’m going to work on in my mind.”
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