Post-Olympic Interview with Adrian Crisan

Once again I revisited an interview with Adrian Crisan, his journey through the Olympics was one I particularly found interest in after a lot of talk about his potential to beat Europe's best hope, Timo Boll. I wanted to find out how it felt to have carried that through to reach the quarterfinal stages! Thanks Adi :)

Victory for Crisan 

How happy were you with your Olympics Campaign overall?

Overall I was very happy with my performance at the Olympic Games.

How were you feeling in your match against He Zhiwen? There were some tight moments especially to get to 2-2, what changed for you to take the last 2 sets to win 4-2?

Against him I felt good to play. I won against him last time but it was a close match, I started off playing not so well but after winning the second set I felt good about being able to win.

How did you feel when you knew you were going to face Timo in the round of 16?

I knew I had a chance against Timo we played close sets just a week before in the pre-olympic tournament.

You were able to beat Timo Boll 4-1, how do you feel about that result?

Yes I won 4-1 against Timo and in this match everything went in my favour, I was in good shape and got a bit of luck in the 3rd and 4th sets. I don't think it was Timo's best day.

Were you confident about your chances against Timo during the match?

After I won the 4th set I felt I had a really good chance to close out the match, I tried not to think about the result and just concentrate on my tactics during the match.

What was your key tactic which you felt won you that match in the round of 16?

My key tactic was to play risky and hard with my backhand, try and be aggressive receiving serve and make sure I change my service variation often.

You and Chuang Chih-Yuan have had some close matches in the past, how did you rate your chances to get through that match?

Unfortunately against Chuang my performance was quite bad, he was much too fast for me and I was not ready to follow. 

Things didn't really seem to go your way in the match with Chuang, what do you think happened to give him the edge in the match?

My service and receive started quite weak and I was very disappointed I could not make a fight in the match against him.

Will London be your last Olympics or do you think we could potentially see you again in Rio in 2016?

Of course I hope I can play in Rio, it will be hard though.

What are your plans now that the Olympics are over for the medium term?

Now my biggest goal is to win a medal in the singles at the European Championships.

Other Questions:

What was your highlight of being in London?

Highlight was definitely my win against Timo Boll.

Did you attend the opening and closing ceremonies? How were they?

I attended the opening ceremony and it was a very nice feeling and super atmosphere.

What was your favourite thing to eat whilst in London competing?

Italian food was my favourite during the games.

Who was your favourite athlete to watch during the games?

Ma Long was my favourite to watch during olympics