Katerina Tomalova has recently joined the Centre of Excellence in Holbaek, Denmark.

Badminton Europe spoke to Czech Republic’s Katerina Tomalova back in Minsk at the European Games just before she joined BEC’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Holbaek, Denmark.

After being at the CoE for a while, Badminton Europe spoke again to Tomalova to hear about her experiences and thoughts.

- I think it is great here, it is even better than I expected. Everything goes well, the training environment is great. There is a group of really good players here, and a group of good coaches, so everything is fine.

Leaving home

Many of the players at the CoE are also living at the centre. Tomalova is used to travelling around the world and settling in in a new country is not too hard for her.

- Well, I have been traveling a lot since I was young. So it is nothing new to me, Tomalova said.

Different kind of practice

Some of the best singles players in Europe practice at the CoE and the players are able to get a different training than they are used to.

- At the trainings I can play at a much higher level than I did before. I am struggling a bit with that during the tournaments, that the level is not the same as in training. But last week in Guatemala it was good and it was close to what I am able to play during the training sessions. So, I feel that I am really improving here at the CoE.

Katerina Tomalova is soon heading to Bahrain, where she will take part in the Bahrain International.