Call me crazy

SARASOTA — Sandor Jakovics is always up for a challenge.

There’s just something about going head-to-head against an opponent or battling the clock that motivates the Sarasota resident to give it his all.

And this weekend, Jakovics’ biggest challenge to date could land him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Jakovics, along with fellow Sarasota resident Krisztina Ihaszy, Orlando’s Watkins Fessal and Lakeland’s Sue Dickson, will attempt to play badminton doubles for 34 straight hours to set a new Guinness World Record for continuous badminton doubles play. Four players from the Netherlands hold the current world record of 30 hours of continuous play.

“The four crazies,” as they call themselves, will begin batting the birdies at 7 a.m. July 25, at All People’s Life Center gym in Tampa. If all goes well, the challenge will conclude at 4 p.m. July 26.

“We like a challenge,” Jakovics says. “We thought, ‘Why not? This is fun. This is a good idea.’”
The quartet began training for the challenge a couple of months ago. They started out with a six-hour training session and have gradually worked their way up. Their most recent training session was 21 hours.

A native of Hungary, Jakovics played badminton a couple of times in his native country, but it wasn’t until about seven years ago that he started taking the game seriously. He joined the Badminton Club of Sarasota, which meets every Wednesday evening, at the Arlington Park Gym for a three-hour practice.

The Badminton Club of Sarasota was founded by Sarasota resident Roger Long about 15 years ago as a way to bring people together who have a passion for badminton. Today, the club is home to about 30 members with as many as 11 different nationalities represented at one time.

“I like everything in badminton,” Jakovics says. “It’s fast. You have to know the tactics. It’s a smart sport. It’s very complex.”

Ihaszy agrees.

“It’s a very good and fast tactic and condition game,” says Ihaszy, who has been playing badminton for 17 years. “Everybody is looking for something where they find (themselves). I am lucky because I find myself in badminton.”

Jakovics has been playing with Ihaszy, also a native of Hungary who won a pair of silver medals at the 2012 Sunshine State Games badminton tournament, since he began playing badminton. The two have developed chemistry on the court that they hope will carry them throughout the challenge.

During the challenge, which will be filmed in its entirety, the four competitors will have a five-minute break every hour. They can elect to not take a break and stockpile their time for later in the challenge, but all four members must agree to do so.

“She’s a good player and we’ve had a lot of training sessions,” Jakovics says. “We’re really just playing against the time.”

“I want to (test) myself,” Ihaszy says. “I did two other long challenges, but this one is the craziest.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].