Antonia Schaller wants to "come out of the lockdown stronger"

Nürnberg / Geretsried - Having just turned 17, Antonia Schaller is one of the greatest hopes in German badminton.

"She has the talent to win," says TuS department head Uwe Eckhoff.

The student has been playing in Geretsried since 2019 and has made it back to the 2nd Bundesliga South with the team.

In the same year, Schaller, who started badminton at SV Petershausen in the Dachau district, also moved to the Bavarian state base in Nuremberg.

There, the junior national player and two-time German runner-up in the U17 is visiting the 10th grade in the secondary school branch of the Bertold-Brecht-Schule, as she reported in an interview with sports editor Thomas Wenzel.

Ms. Schaller, how are you now during the corona lockdown?

Thank you I'm fine.

I am part of the Bavarian national squad and, unlike my teammates, I can continue to train in Geretsried.

Apparently you have a tight schedule during the week.

There was hardly any time for an interview ...

That's true.

The first training session takes place in the morning at 7.45 a.m.

It lasts until around 9:30 a.m.

Then I go to school or, of course, it was only homeschooling recently.

And what is the rest of the day?

Classes usually last until 3:30 p.m.

Then there is another two to three hour training session.

Then you come home tired, maybe you have to prepare something for school.

So there is not much free time left.

But doesn't it sound like you've regretted your decision?

No, it was clear to me at a certain point that I wanted to play badminton as a competitive sport.

That is why the move to the base in Nuremberg was logical.

Training isn't everything - are there any tournaments taking place at the moment?

No.

We therefore direct our full concentration on the training.

The lockdown is therefore also an opportunity to improve.

What were your last missions?

With TuS we played five more point games in the 2nd Bundesliga South in September and October, then the lockdown came.

And apparently the round game operation will not continue.

But you yourself competed for the U19 national team at the European Championships in Finland?

Right, that was at the end of October / beginning of November.

However, I was eliminated in the first round against Simona Pilgaard from Denmark.

In doubles, I and Julia Mayer were also left behind against a duo from Denmark.

But things went better with the team?

Yes, I won my individual against Miriam Grotinum from the Faroe Islands.

In the end we finished fifth.

A conciliatory conclusion?

Certainly.

For me it was the greatest success so far that I was nominated for the European Championship.

Were there any other missions?

I was already at the start of an international junior tournament in Slovenia in September.

I made it to the quarter-finals in the singles.

Sounds like you're on the right track?

I hope so.

Right now the main thing is to improve my game.

What exactly is meant by that?

I have to get stronger tactically, be a little more aggressive.

We have resolved in the training group that we will all emerge stronger from the lockdown.

And what sporting goals do you have in the medium and long term?

I now have three more years in the junior division.

I would like to make the leap to the federal performance center in Mühlheim / Ruhr, where Ann-Kathrin Spöri from TuS Geretsried is also.

And of course participating in the Olympic Games is a very big dream.

Which year are you aiming for?

2024 may be a little early, let's say 2028.

In the “How are you?” Series, we ask people from the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district how they experience the unusual Corona times.

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