OLYMPICS : The Polish Threat in Beijing

Thursday, 07 August 2008 23:49

Przemyslaw Wacha is one of Europe’s good chances of bringing home a medal from Beijing, in spite of coming from a non-badminton country. Our correspondent Janusz Rudzinski met with him to talk about his goals, and his future after Beijing, just before the Polish wonder boarded the plane for China.

Report and photos by Janusz Rudzinski (www.badmintonzone.pl).

BZI: In December 2006, you told www.badmintonzone.pl that you lacked experience, frequent matches with good Asian players. Is it still the case?

PW: Definitely, yes! First of all, I lack training matches, even though our training is as good as that of the Asians or the Danes. Robert with Nadia, Michal with Robert and myself all lack experience playing with the Asians. Unfortunately, we can play them only during various events in Asia and Europe, for example at the All England and the Swiss Open. This is, unfortunately, not enough. If we had sparring partners (I mean, not necessarily on a daily basis), like the opponents we have in tournaments - I mean, the best ones, the world top players - if we could just train with them one or twice a week, it would be really great.

BZI: Yet, on the other hand, you have played really well against the Asians, the Chinese, even on their home turf...

PW: I talked to FC Langenfeld’s Chinese coach, Xu Yan Wang, and he told me that he couldn’t explain that. How is it possible that we, Poles, can compete with the world leaders, and beat them? I know why! Above all, it’s because we work hard and that's all we do. When we get better training match opponents, the situation will be even better. We may not only reach the semis, but also win in Grand Prix tournaments.

BZI: Even though in Europe you have reached the highest position in your career, substantiated by a bronze medal at the European Championships and the third highest world ranking among the Europeans, you can find no solution to beat Peter Gade or Kenneth Jonassen. Admittedly, you were close to beating the latter in November 2006...

PW: I think that Gade and Jonassen are namely the world’s top players. Playing them is as hard as the Asians. I have played Kenneth 4 or 5 times and I have won a set only once. They can be compared to the Asians, in a way, as they have similar training bases. There are numerous players there that can compete with one another on a daily basis. Here, in Poland, there is in fact only me, the only singles player, and there is no second or third one.

And that’s what it’s all about: they have Gade, Joachim Persson, previously they had Peter Rasmussen; there are many outstanding Danes... We practice as hard as they do, but it's difficult for us to beat them because they play such matches everyday and we play them once or twice a month.

BZI: When you prepared for the Olympic Games, you were in quite a comfortable situation, guaranteed of qualifying for the Olympics quite early. Did your preparations run smoothly?

PW: They followed the assumed plan. I was sure about my going to Beijing as early as in January. Therefore I was able to prepare very well for the European Championships in April and this resulted in my good playing in both the team and individual tournaments. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough power to beat Persson in the latter tournament.

As for the Olympic Games, we’ve been preparing for a very long time. In particular, after the European Championships, after a one-month break, I was able to prepare really thoroughly for it. Two players came to spar with me: Kestutis Navickas and Vladislav Druzchenko. It was a very good move, because we had really hard one-week training session with Navickas and then another week with Druzchenko, which produced an effect.

BZI: You also went to Korea...

PW: I was there only for 10 days and practiced just for one week, so it was not so significant in practical terms. I definitely noticed certain strokes and some multi-feeding exercises. Now coach Kim Young Man and I are practicing these strokes and introducing them into my playing. A week is too short a period. If it had been 2 or 3 months, we would have been able to notice a great leap. Well, it was still worth going there. It was definitely a very good lesson in Korean badminton.

BZI: Who is the men’s singles favourite in Beijing?

PW: There are two: Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan. And if I were to choose only one, it would be Lee Chong Wei. I would like him to win, after me, of course! If I were eliminated, I would like Lee to win. I really like this player and I like his style. His playing is similar to mine; he is very good in defence and very fast. His style – as that of the opponent – is not my favourite, but I like him anyway. I admire his speed and effectiveness. I also like him because I have played him most often; I even took one set from him, in fact, on his home turf in Malaysia.

BZI: What’s your opinion about the draws for Beijing?

PW: I’m satisfied as there were, in fact, only 8 players to draw from and it was possible that I would play the best ones only in the first match. For example, Sony Dwi Kuncoro meets Boonsak Ponsana in his first match and Kenneth Jonassen plays Lee Hyun Il. Meanwhile, I am not the one to worry; I try to concentrate on my first match.

BZI: Bao Chunlai is the first shuttler that you may have to play with...

PW: Indeed, Bao is third on the list of players I would like to avoid playing in the first round. Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei are the remaining two players that I would prefer to avoid even more. However, at this stage of the tournament, I have to play some top players whether I like it or not.

BZI: Do you worry about partiality of technical officials?

PW: No, I don’t. The technical officials will be from all over the world. The group of line judges will not be limited to Chinese people. I don’t think there will be any problems as sometimes happen in Asia - China or Korea. The situation will not be similar to that of the China Masters tournament, where the line judges are recruited only from among Chinese people.

BZI: What to you think about the new scoring rules introduced two years ago?

PW: The results show that it’s more favourable for me than the old system. It may sound funny but the matches are less exhausting. Matches played to the score of 15 were very exhausting as they sometimes lasted for over 2 hours. An average good match was an hour long and now it is 40 minutes long, i.e. it’s 20 minutes shorter, which is significant for such players as me, who jump a lot, who play very fast and, therefore, become exhausted faster.

The new rules are also better in terms of television and advertising. There are more breaks, which are not as long as with the old system, where we even had a 5-minute break before the third set.

BZI: What’s the role of playing in the Bundesliga in your career?

PW: It’s not as big as it used to be, when I was, say, 19 years old. At that time, when the best shuttlers in the world played, it provided a chance for me to play the world’s top players. These were very stressful matches. The spectators amounted to several hundred. I had to cope with that and I did it well: it now brings results.

BZI: It’s true you have many supporters, but isn’t it sad, when you play in the countries in which badminton is far more popular than in Poland, that the situation is not so perfect in your homeland?

PW: We would all like badminton to be more popular, for the media to be more interested in it, but certain obstacles cannot be overcome so easily, some time is needed and, above all, results. Far better that the current ones. Maybe the Olympic medal will increase interest in badminton, but I think we are moving in the right direction. It’s getting better and better. Badminton is increasingly more popular.

BZI: Do you think that recent release of the song entitled “Badminton” on the record of famous Polish musicians (Waglewski, Fisz, Emade) had something to do with publicity about your successes in sport? The lyrics seem to be somehow related to your popularity...

PW: I’m not the one to judge... Someone wrote a song I had the chance to listen to. I am pleased with it. It certainly doesn’t bother me. If people like it, I can only congratulate these musicians...

BZI: What are your plans for the nearest future?

PW: As for my plans after the Olympic Games, I definitely need some rest. I will have to cool down a little bit. I’m going to spend some time at home. The holidays will be short since on September 29, the Bundesliga starts again, so I’ll have to go back to work. I will have to prepare for it.

BZI: What will you place the greatest emphasis on, in your further work?

PW: As for the tournaments, similarly to last year, I will surely take part mainly in the Super Series or Grand Prix Gold tournaments. And I hope I will at least maintain my position in the world ranking. I have long hoped to break into the top ten. I have recently been very close to achieving it, but on the other hand, very far from it, for there was a large point difference between the 10th and the 11th position. Right now I am the 13th player in the world ranking, which is two places below the position I used to occupy. Persson is right on my heels. It makes me work harder, and there is a lot to work on.

First of all, I have to improve my speed and endurance, which I’m lacking when I play the best shuttlers. During the Swiss Open, when I played Lee Chong Wei, it was 14-14 in the first set and in the end I lost 14-21. In the second set, the Malaysian player quickly scored many points as early as when it was 8:8. Endurance, speed and concentration were the elements I lacked the most. I have to work a little bit on concentration. That’s why I’ve recently talked to a psychologist. After the Olympics, we have to push things forward, so that there are no surprises in London in terms of psychology.

I think that everything is moving in the right direction and things will be fine. I am hoping that the Central Training Centre will remain in Warsaw. As for the next European Championships, I count on reaching the finals, at least.

BZI: What will you do once you’ve finished your professional career?

PW: I’ve done a lot of thinking about what to do after Beijing. I decided to keep on playing, for sure, up to London in 2012. At least everything suggests that, for so far I’ve suffered no injuries and that’s how it should be. As for long-term plans, I am thinking of establishing badminton schools in Opole and Wroclaw (Poland). As for working as a coach, I’m sceptical about it. It is a very difficult job. I would have to devote the next 20 years to trips abroad, just like I have to date. And, honestly, I’m a bit tired of it: that’s what I’ve recently been feeling when we travelled a lot in the pre-Olympic season. That’s why I think of establishing badminton schools in Lower Silesia, Poland, and managing them to do something good.

BZI: How do you spend your leisure time?

PW: First of all, music, a good book and... in fact, there isn’t much free time, but when there is some, I go to the cinema or a pub with my friends. As for books, it’s most important that they are good. They may be thrillers, e.g. by Harlan Coben – great books, very cool and easy to read. As for music, I listen to various genres, e.g. dance, hip-hop.

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