THE allure of an Island Games so close to home was enough to pull Caesarean Matt Bignell back to the sport of badminton.
The 29-year-old teamed up with fellow Jersey star Alex Hutchings at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, where the duo defeated Uganda in the opening round, prior to falling to Sri Lanka in round two.
After his Australia trip, Bignell decided to take a step away from the sport, but confessed that seeing his teammates compete in Gibraltar in 2019 stoked the fire to bring about his return.
He said: ‘The Commonwealth Games was such a full on three or four years in preparation.
‘That really took its toll and I needed a little break before taking the rackets back up again.
‘But I did really miss Gibraltar in 2019 and seeing everyone come back and hearing all the stories from the week. There was no way I could miss the Games in Guernsey.
‘The atmosphere there will be electric and the rivalry between the two islands is strong.’
The Jersey hopefuls will have their work cut out for them in the team competition, having been drawn alongside defending champions and number one seed Greenland.
The world’s largest island claimed victory in Gibraltar, but the fifth-seeded Jersey outfit could be ‘dark horses’ according to Bignell.
He said: ‘We certainly feel like we have an outside chance at medals, but we will have to get through Greenland to do that, which is a tall order.
‘We have been training up to five times a week since the side was picked back in April.
‘We always love going away to compete for Jersey – the team atmosphere is brilliant and probably stronger than previous years.
‘Most of us have known each other a very long time and there is a strong bond because of that.
‘The team contest comes first in the schedule, but it is always the main priority of the side also.
‘Any of the individual events come second to that and our focus is certainly on the team competition.
‘Everyone is just really excited to get going and be involved in a Games so close to home.’
