As was witnessed in Thailand, European players can reach the top, however, the long-standing question remains, how can Europe consistently compete with Asia? Perhaps a new emerging initiative can find the answer?
Viktor Axelsen and Carolina Marin, two European Champions, proudly stood upon the top level of the podium at the Thailand Open. These successes are greatly celebrated as a big win for European badminton, a catalyst perhaps for further growth of our sport across the continent.
The new World Class Project aims to tap into this high performance with its core driver being to create opportunities for cooperation between national teams towards the common goal of developing world class players.
Learning a thing or two
An early glimpse of what this would look like is the practice and sparring organised between various European nations under one umbrella that has taken place at the Thailand Open. One such player taking part in the sparring is Germany’s Marvin Seidel, the world number 23 in men’s doubles. Sharing his initial thoughts, he states.
-The project is really good. We do not have as many top players as Asia and we should use every possibility to get better. This is definitely a good tool to use and we will try to do it as much as possible.
The early feedback is positive and there is an appetite to come together more often, as players enjoy the fresh feel the training sessions have.
-It is nice to get some change in feeding and I believe that everybody can learn a thing or two from the qualities every different pair brings into the training, Seidel adds.
Seidel sums up the essence of the project well. By coming together, sparring with the top players in Europe, each bringing their own strengths and know-how, everyone will be gaining something new each time. As a result, all of the gains will accumulate into significant all-round improvement in performance at the highest level.
Only 75 minutes
Marvin Seidel, playing with Mark Lamsfuss in the men’s doubles, is preparing for the second Thailand Open in Bangkok. Commenting on where he feels his form is and how he is dealing with a very different World Tour event, he explains.
-To say something about the current level is very difficult. I feel that we did everything we needed, and we can step on court well prepared, although we only get 75 mins of training time a day on court here in Thailand. Which is not a lot... but tournament matches are always a little different from training.
To learn more about the World Class Project, click here.