She could not be a part of the World Championships but veteran German woman shuttler Juliane Schenk feels proud that the process of breaching the Chinese wall, started by her and Saina Nehwal, is being taken forward by the likes of rising Indian star P V Sindhu and Thailand's Ratchanok Inthanon.
"...It is good to see in this world edition, so many players from different countries do well. I am not surprised to see Ratchanok claiming the gold. It is just interesting," said Schenk when asked for her opinion on Sindhu, who won a bronze, and Inthanon's exploits at the World Championship.
"It makes me feel proud because me and Saina Nehwal started the process of pushing the Chinese," added the German, who was runners up at the Indonesia Open, India Open and German Open this year.
A bronze-medallist at the previous edition in 2011, Schenk missed the World Championship in China due to a feud with German Badminton Association but she said it was a good decision considering the circumstances.
"I didn't play because of what happened with the Association. It was just a good decision for me. They gave me a dismissal and I have nothing more to expect from my country," she said.
"I can't even practice there then why should I represent my country in the world championship when I don't have any support. It doesn't make sense.
"What I experienced is that they try to keep the power. For me, I didn't get fully accepted for the personality I have because I started to change something. I called my retirement till the end of the year. It is impossible to change the whole association. I knew there is no future for me in German, so I had to go pro," she added.
