After no German champion could be determined in May of this year and in the two years before the 1.BC Bischmisheim had been able to dispute the title of TV Refrath, TV Refrath wants to attack again this year.
The Irish Chloe Magee was replaced by the youth national team player Leona Michalski, the rest of the team stayed together. “Of course there are teams with a nominally stronger squad, but we trust our team spirit, which has grown over the years, and the motivation of all players to give everything for another championship title,” says Heinz Kelzenberg.
In fact, other clubs have put a lot of money into their hands to finally be successful with players from all over Europe, but in Refrath they continue to rely on continuity.
In addition to some professionals, led by the only two Irish Sam Magee and Nhat Nguyen, it is mainly ex-internationals such as Carla Nyenhuis, Max Schwenger and Raphael Beck who make the team special.
The currently injured top player Jan Colin Völker as well as Lars Schänzler, Brian Holtschke, Kilasu Ostermeyer and Ann-Kathrin Spöri are all German national players and complete the TVR squad.
Not least because of Völkers’ injury, the season is now expected to be different than last year, when they could easily reach 2nd place in the table and direct qualification for the Final Four.
At least 6th place in the final table should be, whereby 4th place would mean a home game in the quarter-finals.
Right at the start of the season, the team travels to the far north to BW Wittorf Neumünster and hopes to score points there. Due to the current travel restrictions, the composition of both teams will probably only be decided at short notice.
The TV Refrath has tough jobs
Travel restrictions, bans on accommodation, hygiene regulations – all of this will occupy the clubs of the 2nd Badminton Bundesliga more than the actual sporting events for the coming weekend.
Many clubs completely do without international players, others rely on staff from surrounding countries. At the moment, the TV Refrath is happy that there are no problems in this regard, as all the players arrive from close by.
The 2nd team of the TVR receives the 1st BV Mülheim on Saturday at 6 p.m. and the BC Hohenlimburg on Sunday at 11 a.m. The Refrather team includes Kai Waldenberger, Christopher Klauer, Mark Byerly, Elias Beckmann, Bennet Peters, Ella Diehl, Jenny Karnott and Iya Gordeyeva.
After the first four points that you could bring with you from Berlin at the beginning, more are to follow in front of your home audience.
