Jamaica’s number one badminton player, 29-year-old Charles Pyne, says he is “in good standing” to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Pyne, who just won the All Jamaica Senior Badminton Championships last weekend, noted that with “roughly six months before the Olympic qualification period begins” he has been on the journey for London “almost two years ago”.

Despite falling short of his goal to be ranked in the world top 100 by the end of this year, Pyne will target 12 tournaments next year starting with the Puerto Rico International in April.

Currently ranked 136 in the world, falling from a ranking of 112 nine weeks ago, Pyne noted that he spent the last few months competing with an aim of improving on the points gained from tournaments in 2009.

“I have been training mostly on my own. I recently moved from Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario to Vancouver, British Columbia to further my preparations.

“I have begun training at the Clear One Badminton Academy. With a lack of financial support other than from what I earn from coaching, I can only afford to play some of the tournaments in the Pan American region.

“A big part of the preparations is one’s budget. Currently my budget is dependent on how much I earn. So whilst training over the next 6 months I will also be doing my best to save to fund the next series of tournaments I aim to compete in,” Pyne said in response to e-mailed questions from overseas.

Born in Ontario, Canada, Pyne attended Stella Maris Prep and Wolmer’s Boys’ High School, before going on to the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.

He won six of the 12 singles matches he played this year, to bring his career record to 38 wins 52 losses.

Pyne earned the bulk of his ranking points this year at the XV Peru International, the Atwater Canadian International Challenge, and the Guatemala International, but did not perform as well as expected at the XVI Pan American Badminton Championships in Curitiba, Brazil in October.

Seeded number nine at that PanAm Champs, he got a bye to the second round but was beaten by 11th seed Lino Munoz of Mexico. Consequently, he grabbed only 1,170 points from the competition.

Pyne admits that he needs to go further in tournaments, having beaten players in the top 100.

“Having defeated players that are ranked higher than me should have a great feeling. However, what is even more rewarding is going far in the tournament or better yet winning, as one gains more points the further one advances,” he explained.

Though competing internationally since 1999, Pyne said his win-loss ratio has improved significantly since 2009.

“Having coached throughout my university career, coaching has helped me to evolve as a player. I have gained much more perspective on the game and sport as a whole, and discovered new depths into my potential as an athlete.

“As with most things in life, the more time you spend with it is the more mature you become; hence, I’ve learned to be a more effective and efficient player,” he stressed.

By summer next year, Pyne hopes to be “well within the top 100”.

Now living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Pyne also hopes to compete next year in the US Open, Canadian Open, Pan Am Champs which will take place in Jamaica, as well as tournaments in Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Suriname.