Scott Evans admits he was starting to lose the love for badminton when he decided the time was right to bring the curtain down on his career.
The Dubliner will bow out after the European Team Championships, which takes place next week in Russia.
He made history in 2008 when he became for first Irishman to qualify for the Olympic games. He then went on to fly the flag for Ireland in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016.
It was in his third outing at the games that the Dubliner registered his best finish, he became the first Irishman to win a badminton match at the Olympics.
After bowing out in the last 16 of the competition when he was beaten by Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in straight sets, he finished 9th overall.
Evans was a guest on OTB AM on Wednesday morning, he told Ger Gilroy that his decision to call time on his career was enforced by an upcoming business opportunity outside of the sport, and aging body and injury:
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Scott_Evans1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Scott_Evans1</a> on his decision to retire from badminton; recalls most memorable career moment<br><br>Full interview on this morning's OTB AM: <a href="https://t.co/TM93ieX52R">https://t.co/TM93ieX52R</a> <a href="https://t.co/QozFxZLeTd">pic.twitter.com/QozFxZLeTd</a></p>— Off The Ball (@offtheball) <a href="https://twitter.com/offtheball/status/961229106410131457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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“My body hasn’t been great the last while, I’ve had a couple of injuries on and off which has been hampering my training quite a bit.
“In November I got a decent opportunity when I got asked about being involved in something in Copenhagen (where he is now based) that was another part of it.
“Due to having a lot of injuries I’ve lost that kind of desire and that love to go down to the training hall every day and give that same effort that I know I have to and that I loved doing.
“I’ve lost that the last couple of months and I know there is no point in going on with it if I’m not 110% because I need to be at 11% if I’m going to play my best badminton.
“It’s a very difficult decision to make but I really feel it is the right time to take a step back now.”
Evans spoke about the reasons behind his decision, his career highlights, whats next for him and where the sport of badminton can go from here.
