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Saturday, 17 May 2008  
PROFILE - Jeanine Cicognini - The Swiss Hope PDF Print E-mail
ImageAs the Super Series moves on to Switzerland Badzine takes a breath and takes a look at the life, loves, sacrifices and dreams of the Swiss hope Jeanine Cicognini as she prepares for her home tournament. We don’t have to go to far back in time to recall her remarkable journey through the qualifying rounds and on to the second round in Malaysian Super Series 08 from which she gained may new friends and admirers.

By Mark Phelan Photos : Badmintonphoto

Badminton Baby : Jeanine Cicognini, the current world number 44 hails from Brig on the Swiss/Italian border. She is the second oldest of four children and she was spotted as a youngster by her local sports centre manager Hans Fux and it was he who encouraged her to take up and pursue a career in Badminton. She primarily took part in the sport for fun for those first few informative years but it was when Thomas Iversen noticed her at the age of 14 that her real talent for the sport began to develop and by the age of 16 she had already claimed her first Swiss Senior Women’s National title. Jeanine also gained her first international senior cap a year previous at the tender age of 15.
Yet another IBA Graduate: It was Iversen who convinced the young Cicognini that her future in badminton was promising and after discussions with parents Robert and Patrizia it was decided that the child protégée be sent to the world renowned International Badminton Academy run by Danish legend Michael Kjeldsen.
It was here like so many good European players that the young Jeanine really developed her obvious badminton talent. She studied at the IBA for 3 years and she recalls how her it really shaped her development. “My technique improved so much in the years I was at the IBA and it made a huge difference to be playing and training against top players such as Anna Niemien, Nina Weckström, Anna Rice, Linda Zetchiri and Käthy Tolmoff”

ImageIBA to BWF: After 3 years at the IBA Cicognini decided to accept an offer she just could not refuse to go and train at the BWF’s High performance centre in Saarbrücken Germany. This was a dream move for Jeanine as it allowed her to continue to develop her skills and at the same time it released some of the financial burden on her parents as they like most badminton parents had financed her complete career to date. Being in Germany meant that Jeanine was also closer to home as home and family means so much to the bubbly and likeable Swiss athlete. “The BWF’s high performance centre has improved the mental side of my game. I can now go for longer in any given game, something that I was not capable of achieving before” Cicognini explains
She plans to stay in Saarbrucken until after the Beijing Olympics which is now only 6 months away and she is almost virtually assured of her place on the Swiss team for the games in China.

Life on Tour: Cicognini has been on tour for over 6 years and she recalls “that it was really cool and exciting at first but after a while living with 10 rackets and a Yonex bag becomes hard at times”. She says that her friends on tour are so important to her as they are always there to support her in her times of need and they are a continuous source of fun and laughter. “The constant travelling is very tiring sometimes but the chance to see and visit so many countries cancels out most of the bad points.” Her favourite place to visit when competing is LA. “When I visit LA I just love to go to the beach and in general the city just really appeals to me”

Malaysian Surprise: Cicognini travelled to Malaysia earlier this year to take part in the opening Super Series event of the 2008 season. She powered through qualifying by beating Elizabeth Cann of England 21-17 21-9 then surprised so many with an emphatic win in the first round proper over current world number 27 Li Li 21-15 23-25 21-18 to eventually lost to world number 8 Wong Mew Choo 21-14 21-10 in the quarter finals. She vividly recalls the events of those few days
Image“My Coach Kim Ji Hyun and I went out 10 days early to Malaysia as she felt I needed plenty of time to adjust to the climate and time difference. There I had the great opportunity to join and train with the Korean Team.
The first two days were extremely difficult and it was very hard to cope with the time difference and the hot and humid climate in KL. I played a lot of practise matches before the start of the tournament. My coach planned a perfect combination of very hard training and playing sessions and time off for regeneration and relaxation. The time off was almost like being on holiday. The atmosphere in our little group (also Larisa Griga from our training centre was there) was excellent and very relaxed. This I feel was some to the secret to my success in Malaysia.
First day of qualification I remember we were in the hall from 9 a clock in the morning to 10 a clock evening. A full day of playing with hard matches, only resting once on the massage bench. It was a very very hard day for me.
But finally when I finished my last match against Elisabeth Cann from England I felt like a big weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was extremely happy with my achievement but my whole body was very sore and I was so tired.
Ji and I talked about my next match against Li Li from Singapore. My goal was to go out there to give my best and just enjoy playing in the Super Series main draw.
Everything worked out just fine in that match against Li Li. And finally I won and what a great feeling it was. The next day I had to play Mong We Chew, the local hero. Ji and I already knew that it will be an extremely hard match. Again my goal was to play to my best and enjoy playing in that great arena with the huge crowd, who were obviously supporting their home player. I know I had nothing to lose as she was the favourite. Again I played my best but could not win this time. After the match I was very happy with my performance but was also glad to have an opportunity to rest for a few days before leaving for Korea”

Beyond Beijing: Like the majority of players out there at the moment the young Swiss player has her sights set firmly on Beijing this year but what lies beyond the Olympics for Cicognini? Her immediate goal and ambition is to break into the worlds top 10 female single players but she also has one eye on London in 2012. She hopes to continue playing on the big stage but would dearly love to claim her first major EBU ranking event after already finishing runner up in the Portuguese and Bulgarian Open in 2005 and the Hungarian International in 2007. After years of sacrifice and commitment to her sport surely this dream will become a reality for the modest Swiss girl.
To find out more about Jeanine Cicogini log on to her website here and her English blog here
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 03 April 2008 )
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