German number one men’s singles player, Kai Schaefer, reflects on the best player he has played against to date.

Currently ranked 70 in the world, Schaefer, 26, has played many of the elite players around the world, but which player did he say he had the toughest time against. 

- Definitely Kento Momota! His playing style and especially his lift quality is outstanding. He does not give you many opportunities to attack. 

Schaefer played the now world number one at the Czech Open in 2017, with the score ending 21-13, 21-17. This was during the period when Momota was playing many tournaments on the European circuit to climb back up the rankings following a ban from the sport. Momota went through the end of 2017 and the whole of 2018 losing only 9 times, so it is clear that he is causing most players the same problems described above. 

Analysing his own strengths and weaknesses in his game, Schaefer states. 

- I am happy with my general defensive control, but to beat more world-class players I need to step up in being more aggressive and try to play more unexpected shots for my opponents. 

Read: Seidel: My motivation has dropped

Refresh your mind and body

Schaefer was in a great position to represent Germany at his first Olympic Games this year. With the recent announcement of its postponement, he shares his thoughts about this period with no competitive badminton.

- On the one hand, it feels good to have some weeks to refresh your mind and body after some intensive months in the Olympic qualification. But the feeling to compete and show my game against opponents increases every day. The tough part is that nobody knows when we'll start to compete again. So, periodisation in training is the most difficult part now.  

- Our coaches are doing a great job. They try to support us in the best way. We do have a lot of Skype sessions about our training, we have mental training via Skype etc. It is hard to look in the future at the moment, so we did not talk through a set plan B, but anyway, the big target will still be the same: Qualifying for the Olympics and playing my best badminton there.