A few months ago, Lino Muñoz, the first Mexican man to qualify for the Olympic Games in the badminton competition, announced his retirement from the badminton courts, leaving behind two Olympic participations, Pan American medals and various international achievements as a badminton player and person.
“It was a very difficult decision because badminton has been my life driving force, it has been what has inspired me every day to get out of bed with energy, with hopes, with goals.“
How did you make this decision?
“It had been a year now, after the Olympic Games I already had that thought of wanting to turn the page, change things, because the sacrifice of being a high-performance athlete is difficult. Since I was 16 I’ve been traveling everywhere, training in different parts of the world and all of that was already tiring me a little. I think I could have done this Olympic cycle (Paris 2024) but I wanted to do it in a different way, I wanted to be a little more at home and with the methods I could have there but it was not enough because we did not have the necessary conditions to think about qualifying. All of that came together now and I had been thinking about it for a while so I just had to say goodbye to this part of my life. It has been difficult, but I am calm and happy with what I did and for everything the sport gave me. Now I have to turn the page and get excited about the new thing that I now have on my doorstep.”
What are those upcoming projects?
“Last year I incorporated a company. It is a German company that we have brought to Mexico and that is dedicated to the marketing and rental of interactive screens for sports. Little by little it has been gaining more popularity and positioning in the market, and that is something that excites us very much because it is within the sports industry and the company’s intention is to see people moving. Furthermore, I am finishing a master’s degree, an MBA in business, and at the moment those are the plans I have. Of course I still play in my club from time to time and I will always be helping the kids in one way or another.”
Do you have any plans to be a coach in the short term?
“Right now I have not thought about being a coach, but if there is an opportunity to contribute as a coach I will evaluate it and see what is best for me.”
We have seen your foray into television, how did it come about?
“At the beginning of this year they invited me to enter a new season of a reality show, it is sports, it consists of doing circuits and you score points for a team. It is a fun format and I had already been there in 2018, that was very good for my sports career because it gave me a bit of projection, more people learned about badminton and learned about my sports career and that helped me get more support and sponsorships.”
What has been your best sports result?
“Without a doubt, qualifying for the Olympic Games holds a very special place in my heart. Not only because I was the first Mexican man to qualify, but because it was a dream that I had since I was very little. Since I picked up that racket I thought about having fun, but as I grew and improved I always had the desire to represent my country in the Olympic Games and that will always hold a very special place.”
How did you come to achieve your goals and continue growing athletically?
“Thanks to my parents and the desire that I had to transcend, to improve, to achieve my goals, I did not get lost on my sporting path. My parents understood the situation of badminton in the country and told me: ‘Why don’t you play another sport that is better known?’ The club had a coach, but with basic notions, not enough to take you to the next level. So I started to find out, to make friends in international tournaments, and that’s how I went up, I grabbed my suitcases and started traveling. I managed to get accommodation in different places and the more you know the more you want, so it was like that, I started training with people, seeing other players, talking to coaches about badminton and I became obsessed with the sport and improving.”
How have you thought about influencing badminton in your country?
“Undoubtedly I have a lot to contribute, especially to Mexico, in terms of the motivation I can give to the players, the technical and tactical knowledge that took me a long time, etc., but I think that for now, being able to transmit my experience in as for what I enjoyed or suffered as an athlete, it is a very important added value.“
What is the best thing that badminton has given you?
“Beyond the sporting achievements that badminton gave me, I greatly value the friendships I made along the way. I met invaluable people who inspired me a lot, people who today I can call family. Getting to know other countries and cultures is something that badminton gave me and that I never expected to experience like this. When I first started playing I never thought about what I could achieve and little by little the doors opened. Everything was a path of improvement and many mistakes because I did not have a path to follow, I always had help but I had to trace that path little by little, and if I could go back in time, I think I would do everything almost the same, I would continue playing badminton but I would do some different things, things that could have saved me time or mistakes I could have made because when we are young we think we have all the time in the world but an athlete’s career is very short. Without a doubt there were many lessons, but I would stay with the people and places I met.”
What would you say to young players who have followed your career and would like to follow in your footsteps?
“The message I would tell young people is about obsession. Obsession is what will lead you to fulfill your dreams. You may be talented or good at what you do, but I think the differentiator is going to be how obsessed you are with something. Obsession was what led me to do those things, to go everywhere to train, to continue researching, to look for ways or means to continue improving, that love for badminton was what made me transcend.“
Who do you thank for getting to where you got to?
“The list of thanks is endless. Whatever success you have had goes to many people. The fact that I can be here today is thanks to a lot of people that I wouldn’t even mention because from the person who helps you at home, your teachers, from the people who give you towels at the club, they all play an important role, although be small, it is vital in the growth and development of any person.”
“I thank my parents for all the support they gave me, for the understanding and love, and above all for the audacity and daring to let me experience a sport that was not known, had no support, did not have a path or a guide. I start thinking about how difficult it would be for me to let my son go to the other side of the world to hit a rooster. That is what I appreciate the most, because without the support and understanding of my family I would not have even gone to the corner.“
I thank my first coaches, everyone, Vicky Garrido who started me in the sport and helped me, she trained me, and among many others. There are so many to thank.
How do you define Lino Muñoz in one sentence?
“Lino Muñoz is someone dedicated, tenacious with a lot of love for sport and what he is passionate about.”
