Pascal Cheng is considered one of Austria’s greatest badminton talents. The 17-year-old Weener is currently in China, the country of his ancestors. While he was training in the country’s training centers and could visit his grandmother for the first time since Corona, he heard on the internet about the tragic death of a friend on the badminton court.
The past few days have been an emotional rollercoaster for Pascal Cheng. The Austrian badminton hopeful has been in the country of his ancestors for a few days now and is visiting his grandmother in China for the first time since Corona. “I’m really looking forward to it, we haven’t seen each other for so long,” the 17-year-old said with anticipation before leaving.
However, he was taken aback when he heard about the death of Zhang Zhi Jie in the Chinese media – while he was still in Vienna. The 17-year-old Chinese, who was considered a great talent, died a few days ago during a tournament in Indonesia. “We knew each other well and met at the World Championships and the Dutch Open, among other places. “Terrible,” Pascal was shocked by the scenes in which viral videos showed the young athlete collapsing on the court during a match and only receiving medical attention after what felt like an eternity of more than half a minute.
This will also be a topic of conversation as Cheng trains over the next four weeks – in addition to visiting family members – with coaches from the Chinese team that has produced numerous world and Olympic champions.
“It’s all about the physicality,” says Manuel Rösler, who looks after Pascal at the WAT Simmering club in his hometown. “Pascal is good with the racket, but he still lacks the physicality to prevail in tough three-set matches. I told him to come back as a physical monster,” jokes Rösler. Pascal will return from China stronger physically and mentally.
Source: Krone
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