Hmm... I was wondering, what is life after badminton. I mean in the future, when you are in your late 30's, early 40's, and you are no longer top in the world, what do you exactly do? My assumption is that pro badminton players spend most of their time playing badminton and not exactly accumulating a lot of work experience. Especially around 40-ish, it woudl be hard to get a job.
Some of the pros I've heard of when past their prime either continue playing in seniors' tournaments, coach or start some kind of business... maybe a combination of these. I guess they could go back to school too if they really felt like it.
As in other sports, if you are good enough and in the right country, you may be highly regarded enough to be offered a "cushy" job by someone just for good public relations. Otherwise, probably the best thing to do is be very social and make lots of friends during your career--fellow players, umpires, tournament directors, badminton federation representatives, etc. Then, when you retire, you have a huge network available to help you. Otherwise, you may have to take over your father's business or go to work for your brother-in-law selling insurance while you give private badminton lessons and string rackets for extra money. I don't know if this is done or not, but I think national federations should help national team players with such things as health insurance, retirement benefits, and job training & placement. In the old days, participating in sports like this was something you did on the side--like a hobby--while you held at least a part-time job. Now, training and playing and traveling are full-time jobs in themselves. If national federations want top players, they need to take care of them.
Cushy job is the right word to use - the great Rudy Hartono became Indonesia's cultural (?) ambassador to the UN!
Life after my career!! I´m studying english and communication now. I hope to get a job within this area when I´m finished playing badminton. It´s definitely not too early to start thinking about what to do after your career. I´ve got two strong partners and I intend to play with them permanently from now on. Jonas
