Taiwan badminton star treads coachless path to Olympic glory
TAIPEI: Chou Tien-chen is taking the unusual step of gearing up for the 2020 Olympics without a coach, with his longtime physio and confidante shepherding him towards Tokyo gold.
The soft-spoken and boyish 29-year-old, known for pointing to heaven to thank God at the end of a match, parted ways with his trainer early this year.
Since then the world number two has been on a hot streak, winning the men’s singles at July’s Indonesia Open to claim his first title in a Super 1000 level event.
“I do a lot of homework a coach does before a game and spend more time analysing opponents and what I should do under what circumstances,” he told AFP at a recent practice session in Taipei.
Cheering him on from the sidelines has been physiotherapist Victoria Kao, who has shouldered some of the traditional roles of a coach by acting as Chou’s mentor, cheerleader and chief critic.
Kao accompanies her charge on and off the court, handing him drinks during match intervals and chaperoning him at charity events.
She says her main job is to “maintain his health and character” in a training regimen that includes pilates and belly dancing sessions.
But Kao said she also has a duty to keep Chou grounded in the wake of his recent winning form.
“I will pour cold water on him and tell him it’s just one victory, it’s over and you need to calm down,” she says.
“But when there are setbacks I will tell him it’s okay -- embrace your dreams and persist -- to try to lift him up emotionally.”
Competing in professional badminton without a personal coach is almost unheard of among top players from the sport’s traditional Asian powerhouses.
Chou still has access to the Taiwanese coaching team, and regularly consults experts including a retired physics professor on improving his form.
But his decision to take tactical matters into his own hands, with Kao’s support, has earned him a series of wins on this year’s tour.
He triumphed at the Thailand Open two weeks after his Jakarta victory and took a record third title at the Taipei Open in September in front of rapturous home crowd.
It was in Taipei four years ago that Chou saw off Chinese great Lin Dan in the semi-final and established himself as one of the world’s best despite his ultimate loss to Chen Long, who eventually snared Olympic gold at Rio.
Chou hopes to match Chen’s feat next year in Tokyo but says he faces an uphill battle.
“There are still a lot of things I need to learn, to improve,” he says. “I can’t stay at where I am now.” Chou credits his current streak to a self-awareness that he lacked when he was younger -- something that changed after a health scare in 2013 during a bout of appendicitis.
He dismissed his stomach pains as an anxiety attack and flew to India for a tournament before he was rushed back to Taiwan for surgery. He was told it nearly developed into a lifethreatening peritonitis. BOBIGNY (France): Neymar will escape prosecution for an altercation with an opposition supporter after Paris Saintgermain’s surprise defeat in the French Cup final in April, sources said. Prosecutors have decided the Brazilian star will receive a written warning and no further action will be taken.
A 29-year-old Rennes fan who had been filming Neymar as he climbed the stairs to collect his loser’s medal at the Stade de France appeared to cajole the disconsolate player after the French league champions were defeated in a penalty shootout.
Neymar stopped, used his hand to lower the phone and then tapped the fan on the chin.
“I shouldn’t have done it but sometimes it’s hard to remain calm,” Neymar said on Instagram at the time.
A lawyer for the fan who filed a complaint against Neymar for violent behaviour said the warning was unacceptable. “It’s a justification of violence,” said lawyer Philippe Ohayon.
“If that had been a fan hitting a player he would have been brought to justice and maybe even received a custodial sentence.”