Four more days until the playoffs – Gruber: “Playing at home is awesome”

What does it mean for you to play the play-offs at home with your team?

Claudia Gruber: “This is our first time there. Being able to play right at home is awesome. I am proud to be able to play in front of family and friends and hope for active support from the audience. This will definitely be a really great event.”

What goals have you set for yourself with your team?

“Defending champions Mediterranea Palermo are out of reach. BC Milano is waiting for us in the semi-finals. In the championship we narrowly lost 2:3 away. If each of us can give our best performance, then the final is possible. In any case, a medal would be nice.”

What does it mean for you to play against world-class players like Petya Nedelcheva (fifth at the 2008 Olympics, already top 10) or Michelle Li (fourth at the 2012 Olympics)?

“I have already played against Nedelcheva. Being able to compete against such world-class people is a great experience, even if the difference is big. I can learn a lot from games like this. This motivates me to continue to improve."

How satisfied are you with how the season has gone so far?

“I've had a fantastic season so far. This year I defeated players I had never been able to defeat before. I achieved everything I wanted to achieve. It was by far my best season and it's not over yet..."

There are an estimated 200 million badminton players worldwide. Badminton is one of the most watched sports at the Olympics. What makes badminton so attractive in your eyes?

“The versatility, this mix of speed, speed, fitness, technique and tactics. The training is very varied. Anyone watching for the first time will be amazed at the pace of the game. I've been playing for almost 15 years and I'm still developing. I feel that I still have room for improvement and that stimulates me training after training.”

The play-off will be held in South Tyrol for only the third time. In 2004 the venue was Marling (winner SC Meran), in 2008 Bozen (winner Mediterranea, no South Tyrolean participation).

The participating teams in Serie A:

Mediterranea Palermo (Italian champions since 2005) BC Milano (runner-up) SSV Bozen (in the playoffs for the first time) Acqui Badminton (Italian champion 2001 - 2003)

The participating teams in Serie B:

ASV Mals Bracciano Frecce Azzurre (Sicily) The first two are promoted to Serie A

The Schedule:

Saturday March 23rd: from 15 p.m.: Serie A, semi-finals: Mediterranea (1st) - Acqui (4th), BC Milano (2nd) - SSV Bozen (3rd); Serie B: Bracciano - Frecce Azzurre from 18 p.m.: Serie B: ASV Mals - Loser Game 1

Sunday March 24th: from 10 a.m.: Serie A, final and game for third place; Serie B: ASV Mals - winner of game 1

The SSV Bozen team:

Claudia Gruber (vice Italian champion) Daniel Messersi (national player) Vlada Cherniavskaya (Belarus, former Olympian, multiple senior world and European champion) Gergin Angelov (Bulgarian international) David Gruber (captain) Yvonne Tscholl Andrea Birrer (Switzerland) Damian Depaoli

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Four more days until the playoffs – Gruber: “Playing at home is awesome”

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