It is an unorthodox approach, but Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen is hoping his decision to go without a coach will help him win badminton gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The world No. 4 has flourished since parting ways with a full-time coach in 2019, with his physiotherapist Victoria Kao filling the role of mentor, cheerleader and critic.
With Kao in his corner, Chou won his first Super 1000 title at the 2019 Indonesia Open, and lifted the Taipei Open trophy for a record third time.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
Now Chou, who reached the last eight at Rio 2016, has set his sights on winning Taiwan’s first Olympic badminton medal.
“Taiwan’s strength has increased a lot, and there is a very good chance of winning,” Chou, 31, said in an interview.
“I’ve grown and improved a lot since 2016,” he added. “I feel I have the chance to win a medal, even the gold medal.”
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
Chou is to be heading to Tokyo alongside women’s world No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying and doubles duo Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin, who are ranked third globally.
Despite a strong badminton pedigree, Taiwan has yet to bring home an Olympic medal, but the team are to arrive in Tokyo at something of an advantage.
While so many other governments failed to adequately prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan stopped its initial outbreak and kept infections out for a year, allowing its athletes to live largely as normal.
“I feel God has given Taiwanese athletes a psychological advantage here,” said Chou, a devout Christian. “Athletes in some other countries have to stop training, or take coronavirus tests before they can attend any trainings.”
After a year of calm, a surge in cases over the past month prompted the government to raise the pandemic alert to level 3 and tighten social distancing rules.
As a result, Olympic athletes have been secluded in the national training center in Kaohsiung since the middle of last month.
However, Chou said living at the training center has made him more focused.
“There’s a feeling of fear and insecurity now because of the recent coronavirus outbreak, and I want to give a healthy dose of optimism,” he said.
Kao said that the pandemic is a problem facing everyone at the Olympics.
“The pandemic is also a rival, it’s part of the challenge for players,” she said. “Those who can adjust and perform better under this pressure have higher odds at winning.”
Chou’s world ranking rose to a career-high two after his winning streak in 2019. Even if he does not have a coach, he can still tap into the expertise of Taiwan’s state coaching setup.
“It’s not like I am so great that I don’t need a coach or I don’t have anyone to teach me,” he said, adding that the arrangement suits him well.
“Everybody has something I can learn from... this method works best for me,” he said. “God is my coach.”
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
The Edmonton Oilers on Thursday defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 to book their place in the Stanley Cup Finals, setting up a repeat of last year’s NHL showpiece against reigning champions the Florida Panthers. The Oilers, bidding to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL’s championship series since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, head to Florida for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series set for Wednesday. Florida, who are to play in the NHL showpiece for the third straight season, won last year’s title 4-3 to extend Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Connor McDavid led Edmonton back to the championship series on
RSS