Badminton Europe - BEC 2010 Interviews

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BADMINTON EUROPE Interview with Peter Gade

13 April 2010

Gade: 'I'm looking forward to Manchester'
Denmark's four-times champion Peter Gade is the man to beat at the Yonex European Championships starting in Manchester on Wednesday. Badminton Europe speaks with the 33-year-old about his dominance in Europe, his main rivals in Manchester and about the meaning of a European title.

BADMINTON EUROPE: Peter, you have never lost a single match at the Europeans. Are you unbeatable in Europe?
Gade: Well, during the past 15 years I maybe lost only five matches against Europeans at all. It's not something specifically with the Europeans. I think the reason why I have never lost a single match at Europeans is if a player want to beat me he has to be on the peak of his form while I must have an off-form. This will not often happen. But I am very happy with the four titles I already have won and I am going for the 5th from next week on.

BADMINTON EUROPE: Which players are your main challengers in Manchester?

Gade: Jan Ø. Jørgensen must be the main challenger. Then Joachim Persson (Denmark), Dicky Palyama (Netherlands) and Marc Zwiebler (Germany) and maybe others. On a good day they can make troubles for Jan and me. What you shouldn't forget is, it was a tough first part of the year for me. A lot of mental energy was used to reach these results. For me it's all about keeping the motivation high. Maybe it's enough to play with 90-95 % percent and still win games but maybe not. You'll never know. But I want to be as professional as I can.

BADMINTON EUROPE: Five title - a record forever?

Gade: It's a possibility, yes. It could be a record forever. I wasn't able to take part in the Europeans in 2002 and 2008 because of injuries. So I could have won two more titles (laughs).

BADMINTON EUROPE: What does a title at the European Championships mean to you?

Gade: Often it depends on the season. Of course this title is great to achieve. A lot of prestige. But it is not a disaster If I don't win it. I do whatever I can to win it again.

BADMINTON EUROPE: We all know, you are a big FC Liverpool fan and you like listening to english music. Are you looking forward to go to Manchester?

Gade: I am in the enemies town (laughs). I have been traveling to Manchester many times because I was often in Liverpool and you have go trough Manchester. I really like to play in England. And I am sure I am gonna enjoy Manchester too. I haven't been to the city center yet and I am looking forward to experience the city of Manchester.

BADMINTON EUROPE: So you don't know the arena?

Gade: No, but I have heard many good things about it. The English players in my Club Team Skælskør-Slagelse told me about it. So I am looking forward to play in the M.E.N. Arena.

BADMINTON EUROPE: Your recent results have shown that you are still at the top of the world - able to beat any player. No signs of tiredness?

Gade: Not at the moment. But these things could change. Because the competition in the Men's Singles event is quite high.
Two years ago I would be very surprised to see me playing that level I have recently shown. I don't feel I have reached my outmost best at the moment. This is a good sign to go on. As long as I am feeling this I keep on playing. Maybe one or two more years. Maybe I am going for the Olympics 2012. But this is not for sure.

BADMINTON EUROPE: Did you and the Danish team prepare specifically towards the Europeans?

Gade: It's a matter of priority. Of course we all want to do well in Manchester and getting European titles. But at the same time the Thomas Cup finals may have a higher priority. And we have to accept it's not always possible to play at the peak all the time. Of course the All-England Championships and the Swiss Open were good tournaments for the Danish players - and we want to continue with that level at the European Championships too.

BADMINTON EUROPE: Peter, thank you for this interview.

http://ec.badmintoneurope.com/news_item.aspx?id=33043

 

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Five questions to … Robert Blair (England)

The Yonex European Championship has started. Badminton Europe will ask five questions to badminton stars every day during the Continental Championships in Manchester. So here is our first part with England's Robert Blair who is taking part in the Men's Doubles event with partner Chris Adcock.

Robert, what's your goal at the Yonex European Championships?
A quarter final would be nice. But I have stretched a muscle in my stomach at the Yonex German Open. So I wasn't able to attend the practising regulary. If we get through we will probably playing Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen of Denmark in the quarter finals. They showed a great form recently – winning the All-England. It would be a big challenge for us.

Playing at home …
… is a nice experience. We normally have that feeling during the Yonex All-England – which is always very exciting. I hope a lot of people will come and support us.

The M.E.N. Arena is …
… a very nice hall. I never been here before. But it looks great. Seems to be good for the players and for the spectators too.

The English players at the European Championships will …
… do well. Hopefully. At least one or two pairs will have a good chance to get a medal – if they perform well. Of course the Danes are the big favourites in almost all disciplines, but I hope we can challenge them. But our players have to play above the standard. At the moment we don't have so many top pairs as we had in the past. But I hope we can get some medals at home.

How long you'll keep on playing?
I don't really know. I want to play at the Olympic Games in London. But I have to see. Right now I don't have any plans to step down.

http://ec.badmintoneurope.com/news_item.aspx?id=33133

 

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Five questions to ... Marc Zwiebler (Germany)

Yesterday the third seeded German Marc Zwiebler started with a straight victory against Welsh Raj Popat into the Yonex Badminton European Championships. For Badminton Europe the German answered five questions.

Marc, did you see anything of the city centre in Manchester yet?
Yes, I have been here a couple of times before. I like the city very much very much. It's quite nice.

My match in the opening round …
… against Raj Popat of Wales was much easier than expected. Everything worked well. I felt very good and court and I was able to control the match.

My goal at the Europeans is …
… to win a medal. That's my dream. But I have to take each match at a time. I am going to play local Andrew Smith today - which is not an easy task. In my opinion the chances are 50/50. It'll be a tough match. And what you shouldn't forget is he is playing on home soil. Which will probably give him some special energy.

The M.E.N Arena …
… is a very nice arena. Very big but perfect to play. Furthermore it's a very professional organised tournament. It has the same standard the All-England has.

The Germans at the Europeans …
… started well into the tournament yesterday. We only lost one match. Dieter Domke lost a very close game which he almost had won. We will try to reach the second spot behind Denmark in the medal rankings.

http://ec.badmintoneurope.com/news_item.aspx?id=33141

 

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Five questions to... Petya Nedelcheva (Bulgaria)

Together with her partner Anastasia Russkikh, Petya Nedelcheva of Bulgaria is seeded No. 1 in women's doubles. The 26-year-old answered five questions to Badminton Europe.

The tournament so far …
… runs as I have expected – both in women's singles and women' doubles. Today we will play a strong danish pair. This match could be the final too. My main target is to win a Medal.

Winning a Gold Medal in the Europeans …
… would be a big dream. But it doesn't matter which colour the Medal is made of. These are my 5th European Championships and I have always lost in the quarter finals. So this would be my first Medal ever.

How often you can practise with your double partner Anstasia Russkikh?
Maybe once a week. We often practise together when I am in Denmark playing for my club. She is also playing in the Danish league.

Badminton in Bulgaria …
… increased a lot in the last years. But it is still a small sport. Not so many people are playing Badminton in Bulgaria. And we don't have much money at all. In Bulgaria they support a lot of sports but not badminton. Maybe a Medal in the Europeans could change the situation.

The M.E.N. Arena …
… is a very nice arena. I like to play here. In my opinion it's actually better than the NIA in Birmingham because there is no wind. The only difference compared to the All-England are the spectators. But hopefully there will be some viewers form the quarter finals onwards.

http://ec.badmintoneurope.com/news_item.aspx?id=33199

 

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Five questions to ... Carsten Mogensen (Denmark)

Tomorrow Carsten Mogensen will have the big chance to grab his first Gold Medal in the European Championships. Together with his partner Mathias Boe he will face Jonas Rasmussen/Lars Paaske in an all Danish affair. But before that Carsten Mogensen answered five questions to Badminton Europe.

A Gold Medal at the European Championships …

… would be a good thing to have. But this tournament is not a big one for us. Of course we want to win here. We will have a re-match against Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen in the finals. We have lost to them at the All-England earlier this year. So we are going for the title.

We are playing in pink shirts because …

… we wanted to wear some different colours. I think it's a quite funny colour. But in the semis we have played with black and blue shirts, because we always lost important games when we played in pink. Tomorrow we are going to wear these blue-black shirts again.

Mathias Boe …

… is my partner of course. We are very different from each other. And I think that is the reason why our partnership works so well. We are friends but we are not hanging out together. Also when we are on tournaments we are not staying in the same rooms.

My biggest dream in badminton …

… is winning the Olympic Gold Medal. Of course winning the World Championships and the All-England would be a dream too. These are the three biggest tournaments in the world. I guess there are four to five men's doubles at the moment which can win these events. If we push ourselves a bit more we'll belong to this group of players.

Denmark is Europe's best nation …

… not only because we have such a lot of players. England and Germany for example have some as well. I think the key point is our high professional training system. And a lot of good coaches. Some of them were former top players. We can profit from their experiences.

http://ec.badmintoneurope.com/news_item.aspx?id=33227