From today, Jérôme Pauquet and Kim Schmidt, both fallen into the pot, enter the running.
They are only 19 years old and clearly represent the future of Luxembourg badminton. They are Jérôme Pauquet and Kim Schmidt.
When you are a young boy or girl in Luxembourg and want to take up a sport, badminton is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind. And yet, it was to this discipline that the two Grand Ducal representatives in Krakow immediately turned: “I accompanied my sister who was going there. It was in Kehlen, five minutes from the house, it was convenient. The first time, I was four years old. And, at the beginning, I could only play a little with my mother, I was too small, I could not hit the steering wheel. But it won’t last long: “After a year, I was training with children aged 9 to 11.” And the meteoric rise continues for those who will never practice another sport. He enters the national framework before his 10th birthday. In short, he comes to Krakow “with 15 years of badminton behind me”.
His compatriot Kim Schmidt has experienced much the same type of journey. Even if she started a little later: “My parents played badminton and I always watched their matches. I started at the age of 7 and I liked it straight away”, confides the young girl, adopted at the age of 4 months: “My mother was very young and could not keep me. I haven’t started looking for her yet, but I’m interested in doing so.” And for her, too, it goes very quickly: “The coaches saw that I had talent”, notes the player, who has unfortunately suffered from her back for a few weeks.
What Jérôme likes is the complete sport side: “There’s not just one thing to do. You have to show agility, speed, tactics, creativity. There are several aspects to combine. You have to analyze the opponent. It’s a new situation every time,” sums up the young man, who describes himself as an attacker who still has to work a lot on his defense: “I still make a lot of unprovoked mistakes. I really have to reduce them, ”says the senior first year, 496th in the world and who is quickly aiming for the top 250, in order to integrate the elite framework of the COSL.
Her compatriot is already much more advanced in terms of ranking. She joined the COSL elite team this year and is currently ranked 213th in the world after climbing to 189th. And she knows she still has work to do: “I have a lot of variations in my strikes and speed in my legs. However, sometimes I don’t really know how to use them. I have to improve tactically,” said Kim Schmidt, who reached the final of a tournament in Botswana last year.
Three matches to gain experience
And for these two young people, these European Games will undoubtedly be a great accelerator. They will have the opportunity to play against some very high-level opponents and are in any case guaranteed to play at least three matches, at the rate of one per day, since the tournament takes place in pools of 4, of which only the winner continues on its way. Jérôme Pauquet inherited an Israeli seed, a Norwegian and a Slovenian: “The goal would still be to win a match. I think I have a chance against the Norwegian and the Slovenian, if I’m on a very good day and they are on a less good day, it can do it.
Whatever the result, he already knows the rest of his program: he is waiting to know the mention he will have in the baccalaureate, will leave for Aruba and Mexico for two international tournaments and hopes to start basic training in September in order to integrate the framework of elite sportsmen of the Luxembourg army. Then, to go on an internship: “In Belgium, France, Indonesia, wherever I can have training partners.” With a very clear objective: the Los Angeles Olympics: “You have to be in the top 70-80 worldwide. Robert Mann (Editor’s note: the best Luxembourg player in history) had reached the top 150.
An ambition he shares with his compatriot who, too, has her sights set on California: “It’s my biggest goal,” she confirms. And it is with this idea in mind that she decided, also for her mental health, to no longer take face-to-face classes and to split her year: “I do the classes at my own pace. It also allows me to do more badminton.” In Poland, she will notably find herself facing the Danish Mia Blichfeldt, 16th in the world, as well as a Slovenian and an Austrian: “I may have a chance against them”, indicates the young Luxembourger. It’s all the harm we wish him.
2023-06-26 09:45:00
#Jeux #européens #driving #kids #dream
