New Delhi: World No.4 women’s singles player, Juliane Schenk, the tour de force for Pune Pistons in the IBL, says she is overwhelmed by the response she got in the auction and described the world’s richest badminton league as a concept “that could bring new perspective to badminton in general”.
The 30-year-old German who is training for the World Championship in China next month with an acclimatization programme in Hong Kong, said, “For the first time in badminton history, there is a league where teams can buy players and bid for them at an auction. The IBL opens up the market and brings new perspective not only to players, but also to the sport in general.”
The 2013 India Open runners-up added, “The concept of auctioning players is common to soccer and cricket, but the IBL has introduced an interesting dimension to badminton by creating a new value for players in the market.”
Commenting on the challenges ahead for Pune Pistons in the IBL, Schenk, who has often been pitted against India’s Saina Nehwal, said, “I think one of the biggest challenges will be to form a strong team with different players coming from different countries.” To that, she added, “As you have five matches in each team encounter and almost each two days, getting the team into the rhythm with hectic travelling will be the key. The team which can connect the players and the coaches well with each other will stand a good chance of winning.”
The 2011 World Championship bronze medalist shrugged away any question of being under pressure in the IBL. “I have many good memories of playing in India and I’ll simply try my best to enjoy each single match and also help my team-mates to perform. But yes, playing Indian players on home soil will always be challenging as I guess they won’t lack any motivation.”
Schenk also hailed the development of badminton in India and said the new League could set a new benchmark. “Badminton has huge potential and the IBL is setting new standards. Gopichand (India’s chief coach) is doing a great job with the players and an increasing number of Indians are now emerging into the world tour and challenging the more established and experienced players. PV Sindhu, Srikanth, Sai Praneeth and HS Prannoy are all doing well lately.”
