One of Europe’s top players, Germany’s Isabel Lohau, is one of the recipients of the World Class Elite scholarship — an initiative that is part of Badminton Europe’s World Class programme which aims to support the continent’s best players and talents in their quest for medals at top level competitions.

 

The German star has partnered with an important figure in European badminton, former player Christinna Pedersen, Denmark. The two world-class players have worked together in the last month, a period with important BWF tournaments and in the lead up to the World Championships, starting next week.

 

Pedersen travelled to Saarbrücken, Germany, where reigning mixed doubles European champion Lohau has her training base with other fellow top German players. Lohau had some on-court sessions with the two-time Olympic medallist, exchanging some useful tips.

 

“An example of a piece of advice I got was in a training situation. I am often on court with the best three or four guys — a situation she also experienced very often. You tend to do more and try to give more than you maybe are capable of. The best you can do is to stick to the things you can do and do them as best as possible without risking mistakes,” Lohau explained.

 

Besides that, the German player also had video sessions, online match preparation talks for Japan Open and Australian Open, and mental and mentoring talks. “It is really helpful to exchange thoughts with a former world-class player. She experienced so many things I am going through and would like to go through in the upcoming year. I could talk with complete honesty to her and get honest feedback.”

 

The fruitful exchange of ideas between the two legends of European badminton has proven to be a success. “In general, it is a very valuable project for me. The weeks together in Saarbrücken as well as the video analysis and talks via video calls are precious times for me as I receive new input,” concluded Lohau.