Carola
Bott - badminton, not war
2003 Bitburger Open,
on 04.12.03, by Dille Andersen, DilleSport
She
is tall, slim, has long blond hair, wears a sexy outfit on court and
is just 19.
Is
she the German badminton answer to Russia's Tennis star Anna
Kournikova?
Her
name is Carola Bott, Bismischeim. Unlike her Russian counterpart she
is not affected at all. Nor has she any million euro sponsor
contracts to fill her bank account.
 But
all that can change if this young talented girl lives up to National
coach Asger Madsen's expectations of her being one to wave the
German flag in the future. She has been playing badminton for 7
years, the last 3 she has received the best training in Germany.
National coach Asger Madsen says "I almost literally found her
in the woods in North Bavaria 3 years ago. She is a natural runner,
and if I hadn't discovered her and gotten her involved in the
Saarbruecken Olympic Sports centre (1 of 15 regional Olympic Sports
Centre throughout Germany) the Athletics Association would have
taken her under their wings".
When
Carola started in the Saarbruecken Olympic Sports centre she was
offered a 3 year education as an Office Assistant and when she
finishes that in the summer of 2004, the plan is to enroll her to
the military!
 Confused?
Well, it's quite simple - and very unique for Germany - that the
German Badminton Association has 8 places at their disposal. How can
that possibly benefit Carola and the German badminton? The players
chosen to go the military way will be given 2 months basic military
training (not badminton training in that time!) and then a limited
number of days a month they will be given other military training.
The
rest of the time is then free for badminton training.
 Carola
loves to play badminton and her clear goal for the future are to
qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
At
the moment she is on an up going learning curve. This year it has
taken her to Hungary Open, Bulgarian Open and German Open. She hopes
to go French Open in the spring of 2004. But this week she is here
in the 2003 Bitburger Open when she partnered Karin Schnaase in the
first round of the Women's Doubles event.
They
were up against the Bulgarians Boteva and Nedeltcheva. Although
performing well, the German pair lost 15-4, 15-2. Disappointed? "Not
really" Carola says "they were very strong. We played well
but couldn't beat them."
In
Women's Singles Carola was up against Elena Nordzran, Ukraine, but
lost in two games.
 Carola
has a very good attitude to training, and because of her ability to
run and her great height she has the basics for making it to the
top.
If
she gives up her little screaming outbursts when she's on court she
will most definitely be seen – and known - as "the German
Carola Bott - known for her talents"
|
