General

"I work hard to get a European medal"
Date: 1/30/2012 11:30 AM
Published by : Manuel Røsler

Pi Hongyan recently won the Swedish International Challenge and sent a strong signal to her opponents. The 33-year old French is ready to make the final steps in her badminton career as she announced her retirement from international badminton in 2012. We spoke to the Paris-based Hongyan about the tournament in Sweden and her future plans.

Pi Hongyan, are you happy with your performance in Sweden?

I'm happy with my performance in Stockholm, yes. It's has been a long time since I won a competition. It's good for me to play and win some matches this year!

Will you play other BE-Circuit events in the near future?
I may play the Finish International Challenge as well.

What would you like to achieve at the 2012 European Championships in Karlskrona?
I would like to get the medal. It will be perfect if it's the gold one. But I know also it’s even more difficult than before. It's important for me to have the goal to work hard.

Will be the Olympic Games 2012 your last tournament?
The London Olympics will be my last important competition, but it will not be my last tournament. I will continue to play for a few months or more.

Do you have any plans for the future? Will you stay in France?
I would like to coach in the future, maybe also work for the development of badminton. I think I'll stay in France and I hope I'll get a job there.

What is your impression of the young European women’s singles players? Can they beat the Asians in the future?
For the European woman single, I think there are not many young ones coming up like Asia do have. There is Carolina (Marin) who is good already at the age of 17, but most of the European girls are getting professional after they become 20 and even only getting better at 25. First, I think it’s because of school they don't have much time and energy to play badminton. But that's how it is in Europe, we cannot ask the players to give up their studies - only if they decide to do so.
 
What do they need to level with the strong Chinese players?
I think when they are ready, they can beat the Chinese but they have to believe it. Maybe there will not be a mass of girls that can reach the top level. But I think there will always be someone like Camilla Martin, Tine Baun, Juliane Schenk or Petya Nedelcheva to challenge them.

I think the difficulty is to get different good level training partner. For the younger generation, it's would be good for them to have more training camp organized by Badminton Europe, together with the 2 or 3 best players from each country to train together.

Thanks for the interview!

Photo by BadmintonPhoto

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