General

Adam Cwalina guiding the way in the French Open 2017 (Photo: Badminton Photo)
Adam Cwalina: It is a different challenge for me
Date: 6/2/2018 2:32 PM
Published by : Alan Raftery
It is fair to say that Poland, since the turn of the century up until recent years, have overachieved. A ‘golden generation’ featuring the likes of former world number ones in Mixed Doubles, Nadia Zieba and Robert Mateusiak, multiple European Championship Men’s Doubles bronze medallist Michal Logosz and former top 20 Men’s Singles player Przemyslaw Wacha. The collective pinnacle of which was the silver medal in the home 2010 European Men’s Team Championships in Warsaw, Poland. 

All these players have now retired, and many moved into coaching roles. Adam Cwalina, who joined this group when they were in full swing, most definitely hit the ground running and played his part in this success. Cwalina is the last remaining player from that generation, and at 33 years of age, will be able to pass on his vast experience to the younger players he trains with in the national team.

I came to cheer for him
Badminton players all have different stories of how they first picked up a racket and started playing the sport that took over their lives. Cwalina is no different as he explains

-I came to badminton because of my brother. He is younger by one year and they were looking for kids only in his age. I came to cheer for him and the coach asked me to stay. I carried on playing badminton while my brother stopped. 

And the rest is history. The training for Cwalina became more serious and he achieved success at junior level. And very quickly gained a spot in the senior team. Cwalina was asked about the international training in Poland, he says

-We had South Korean coach Kim Young Man with us in Poland and that was the best time for Polish badminton. We also had training camps in South Korea. My training hasn’t changed so much since then. I just put more pressure on my diet and recovery. I have kids now, so my time for that is minimal.
 
Our Road is always long 
Cwalina has played with all the previously mentioned players throughout the ‘golden era’. Since their retirement, he has partnered Poland’s young prospects, namely Milosz Bochat. They are currently ranked 51st in the world. Cwalina’s record ranking was 15th, in 2016 when playing with Wacha. Commenting on this new partnership, Cwalina states

-Bochat is a very talented guy, but still not experienced at the top level in Europe. We have had a lot of ups and downs, playing some good and bad matches. Before, with Logosz or Wacha, they were already at a very high level, so I needed to step up. Now it is a different challenge for me.

Cwalina adds 

-This season we have played only one or two good tournaments. The Czech Open and French Open. Somebody can say that we lost in the first round in Paris, but for Miłosz playing 3 matches at Super Series level is a big experience.

So, what are the next big goals for Cwalina? 

-Tokyo is our main goal. But the financial position of Polish Federation wasn’t as bad as it is now since I started playing badminton. This means we need to fight for private sponsors to support us. Our Road is always long. But right now, we are preparing now for World Championships in Nanjing, China.

It is clear that Poland has a great asset in Cwalina being in the national squad. His enthusiasm and professionalism will no doubt begin to rub off onto the new generation. And combined with the experience from the ‘golden era’ moving straight into coaching, Poland may well have an exciting Badminton future ahead.

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