The German Günter Parche horrified the world after attacking the tennis player, who at the time was in dispute for the leadership of the circuit with Steffi Graf. Although he died in August last year, his death was not known until recently, on the eve of another anniversary of the attack.
April 30, 1993 It is one of the most tragic dates that world tennis can remember. On this day, Monica Seles beat Bulgarian Magdalena Maleeva 6-4, 4-3 in the quarter-finals in Hamburg, when the Serbian-born tennis player stopped to rest and drink water at the change of sides. It was there that he was stabbed in the back, leaving the tennis world paralyzed. An unprecedented attack that called into question the security of tennis tournaments.
The author was the German Günter Parche, subject to disturbed mental faculties and fan of Steffi Graf. Precisely, the German had lost the world number one to Seles, who at 19 had already won eight Grand Slam titles. In fact, the most recent was the Australian Open, where the new star beat his arch-rival in the final. Precisely, One of the motivations of the aggressor was that he could not bear to see Graf so sad to lose this title and because he wanted Andre Agassi’s wife to regain the top of the planetary rankings.
Less than a week after the 30th anniversary of this sad episode, the Bild newspaper reported the death of Parche, who had been confined for 14 years in a nursing home in Nordhausen, in the Thuringia region, in the center of the ‘Germany. The death, yes, occurred in August last year, but it was kept strictly secret.
“During his stay at home, he always went unnoticed and participated in leisure activities: movie nights, crafts and reading the newspaper. The nursing staff dressed him, washed him. When he could only lie in bed, there was 20 to 30 minutes of individual therapy. Meal times were at 11.30 a.m. (lunch), 2.30 p.m. (coffee) and 5.30 p.m. (dinner)”, details the German newspaper.
The publication also tells how his last days were spent. He specifies that he occupied a single room and that before his death he had received palliative care. He spent the last month in bed until he died one August night in his sleep.
light punishment
A 9 inch boning knife it was the only Patch used in his attack on Seles. The tennis player stepped forward slightly, which saved her life, since the knife penetrated two centimeters into the shoulder blade , resulting in less serious injury. However, the psychological consequences were devastating for Seles. Actually, He was only able to return to the circuit 28 months after the attack and his ranking was not frozen (only Argentina’s Gabriela Sabatini voted in favor of this measure). She was never the same again. He won another Grand Slam (Australia 1996) and retired in 2008 having won 53 titles, most before the attack.
The attacker was arrested and prosecuted. After two trials, he was only sentenced to two years probation for aggravated assault and only served the months between the assault and the reading of the sentence. Naturally, this resolution caused the indignation of the tennis player. “What kind of message does this send to the world? Mr. Patch admitted he stalked me, then he stabbed me once… Now the court said he didn’t have to go to jail for his premeditated crime. He comes back into his life, while I still can’t, because I’m recovering from the assault that could have killed me. “, he expressed.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
