by Simon Daish

Champion in 2010, Peter Rosenmeier will head to the World Championships as one of the main contenders for silverware but the Dane isn’t getting ahead of himself stating that he expects a very high level of opposition in Slovenia.

“At previous Championships there have always been three or four players that I didn’t think that I could lose to – but not this time, and that shows how much the level has increased in the sport during the last couple of years. It will definitely be the hardest Championships ever.” Peter Rosenmeier

One player Peter Rosenmeier will be wary of is 2012 Paralympic Champion and long-time rival Rungroj Thainiyom and the prospect of meeting the Thai star in Slovenia excites Rosenmeier for one reason in particular: because both players like to approach matches with a sense of aggression.

“Most of the time [myself and Thainiyom] have some great matches. The play in class 6 can easily be very tactical where the focus is to destroy your opponent’s play. But both Rungroj and I love to play aggressive and it makes our games more viewer-friendly than most other games in class 6. It’s definitely more fun to play.” Peter Rosenmeier

In 2016 Rosenmeier added a second Paralympic Singles Class 6 gold medal to his collection, recovering from two games to one down to beat Álvaro Valera Muñoz-Vargas in a thrilling final. But one year on, Rosenmeier experienced a difficult time on the international scene with a quarter-finals exit at the 2017 European Championships proving especially disappointing for the Dane.

However, fast forward to May of this year and things look to be on the up for Rosenmeier, beating Rungroj Thainiyom to the Class 6 title at the 2018 Slovenia Para Open – can Rosenmeier produce another strong display on Slovenian soil this October?

“2017 was my first year since 2003 where I didn’t get a medal from a championship. I was extremely disappointed but I also know that, after my huge success in Rio, the year after would always be very challenging. I have worked hard with my psychologist to bounce back and was happy to see that I still have the level in Slovenia.” Peter Rosenmeier

Source: International Paralympic Committee