Début in the senior national team

Ronja Bichsel, a 22-year-old player from Rotkreuz, recently made her début in the senior national team. She is also pursuing high goals with Zug United.

"Dreams? Yes, of course, you have them in life," says Ronja Bichsel. The 22-year-old from Rotkreuz dreams, for example, of winning the title with Zug United. But another dream has recently come true, however. Ronja Bichsel played two international matches with the senior national team at the beginning of September, and she is the Zug women's second selection player alongside Isabelle Gerig. She says:

"That made me very proud. It also showed me that you get your chances in life if you never lose faith in your goals."

There are a few more goals in the foreseeable future: the World Cup will take place in Singapore in December 2023, and the qualification phase for this final round will begin in Italy at the end of January,. "Playing at a World Cup is certainly a big wish," says Ronja Bichsel and is well aware that: "With good performances at the club, I can promote myself for further selections."

A great experience in the Junior National Team
The offensive player experienced her greatest sporting moments so far in 2018, at the U19 World Cup in St. Gallen. "These were impressions that have remained to this day. The large audience, the atmosphere, representing Switzerland, the national anthems – simply indescribable," she adds enthusiastically.

The World Cup was not particularly successful for the Swiss women, however. "We were hoping for more than just fifth place," adds Ronja Bichsel.

Ronja Bichsel works as a real estate manager.                                     Photo: Matthias Jurt
The striker has big plans for Zug United.                                                 Photo: Roger Zbinden
Ronja Bichsel was also active as an gymnast.                                       Photo: Werner Schelbert
She wants to celebrate more often with the women from Zug.      Photo: Patrick

The striker debuted in the highest league with the Zug women’s team at the age of 15. This was after years as a junior player at Astros Rotkreuz and the UHC Zugerland. During her active time, she almost always remained loyal to Zug United – except for a temporary move to Chur in the 2020/21 season.

A change of scenery allowed her to mature
"I received many enquiries from the highest league and decided to go to Graubünden. This season was a challenge, a change of air that was good for me," she says retrospectively. "I’ve been able to develop myself as a person. It was a cool year," says the striker, who also carried out gymnastics in addition to floorball training for some time.

But I liked floorball better because it's simply a fast and exciting sport, and I can live out the team spirit here," she says, explaining her choice. She hasn’t regretted this decision. "The many years at Zug United were also a school of life for me. The club has grown close to my heart. That's why I returned after my commitment in Chur."

Playing together with her sister
Her sister Ramona (26) is also a teammate at Zug United. "She plays in defence, I play in attack. It sometimes happens that we are in the same line. That's a great thing of course," says Ronja Bichsel. The start to the current season has been mixed, with only one point from the first three games. Nevertheless, Ronja Bichsel is combative and optimistic:

"We want to reach the playoff semi-finals. Then everything is possible."

The upcoming tasks in the NLA, which has now been renamed as the "Lidl Floorball Prime League", are tough, however. On Saturday (4 p.m., Arena Gürbental, Seftigen) they play against the second in the table, the Berner Oberland team.

On Sunday, Ronja Bichsel's former club Piranha Chur, the third-placed team, will make a guest appearance in Zug's Kantihalle (start of the game at 3 p.m.). Ronja Bichsel is not impressed by the current table standings. "I'm especially looking forward to the duel against the women from Graubünden," she says.