Former top ranked national badminton player Bradley Graham is on the comeback trail after taking a four-year break to complete his studies in the United States.

The 32-year-old Graham, who earned a career-high world ranking of 75, won the Racketeers singles and mixed doubles crown recently in his first competitive tournament since winning the men’s singles title at the 2006 All Jamaica Senior Championships.

Graham’s astonishing triumph against all odds on July 18 has reignited the old flame deep inside him.

“During that time the focus was on my education and badminton took a backseat and then after that I went out job-hunting. I’m back in Jamaica full time just waiting to see how things will play out in terms of work. The last tournament was just a warm-up for me… Just to give me an idea if I should really further it or not,” he informed the Sunday Observer on Thursday while attending the XX Pan-Am Junior Badminton Championship at the National Indoor Sports Centre.

He showed real class against top-ranked junior player Anthony McNee at the Racketeers men’s singles final, rallying from a set down to win 27-29, 21-13, 21-11, before teaming up with Carla Grant to overcome Mikaylia Haldane and Gerald Isaacs 21-17, 23-21 for the mixed doubles title.

Now the holder of a degree after studying computer and advertising at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Graham says he has already set sights on a few local and international tournaments, as he hopes to attain enough ranking points for a shot at the 2012 Olympics.

“It was always there,” Graham said of his desire to return to the sport. “So now that I have played that tournament it gave me a gage where my fitness level is, as well as shot selections; and it really stirred up that old fire in me to want to come back. There are a couple of tournaments that I do have in mind that I’m very interested in playing in, not just locally, but internationally. So the answer is yes I am back.

“The mental side of my game took some time. The hall was a factor, because I didn’t get the chance to practise in the hall before the tournament. But as the tournament went on my game slowly came together. Every match I had to work for it a little harder than I would before. But at the end of the tournament I realised that in everything, there’s a process. It wasn’t that easy but the effort was worth it,” he added.

According to Graham, local fans have been very receptive of him since he returned. And he sees himself as the man capable of bringing some glamour to the sport domestically and lure more people to watch badminton.

Said Graham: “A lot of spectators were drawn back to the tournament when they heard that I was playing. Over the years I want a lot of people to enjoy that style of badminton that I would play, and they were happy to see me come back.

“The juniors were very receptive. The hall was packed when I was playing. But there was always something in me not to impress them but let them be able to see another level of badminton. And for me that was most satisfying.”

Prior to his self-imposed break, Graham dominated the local scene and was the beneficiary of two-year scholarship which afforded him the opportunity to train in China.

The exposure to the high standards in China propelled him to the pinnacle in the Pan-Am region, which interestingly now lists as the top Guatemalan Kevin Cordon, who was behind the Jamaican at the time. Cordon is currently ranked 36th in the world in singles.

Graham’s inactiveness means he’s without any ranking points, and is behind compatriots Charles Pyne and Gareth Henry, but a few good results in a couple of tournaments would see him soaring into the spotlight yet again.