October 5, 2022
English juniors enjoyed a golden September, with highlights coming at the Polish U19 Junior Open and the Spanish U17 international.
While more experience was gained for the pathway players at the European U15 Championships in Ibiza, the Belgian U19 Junior International Series, and the Zagreb U17 Open.
Polish U19 Junior International
In Poland, Lisa Curtin continued her fine form as she added two more gold medals to her collection with victories in both the women’s singles and doubles.
Curtin had done the same double at the European Championships last month, continuing her successful partnership with Estelle van Leeuwen.
The top seeds defeated Poland’s Anna Czuchra and Aleksandra Weslawowicz 21-12 21-16 to claim gold after the home pair had knocked out Sophie Dennis and Chloe Watson in the semifinals.
Curtin also emerged victorious in an all-English battle in the women’s singles, defeating Leona Lee 21-17 19-21 21-12 in the final.
There were two other double gold medallists as Van Leeuwen also partnered Oliver Butler to victory in the mixed doubles, overcoming Piotr Tomaszewski and Martyna Kowalczyk of Poland 21-11 21-15 in the showpiece.
Butler claimed men’s doubles gold alongside Nadeem Dalvi as they beat Maksymilian Danielak and Dawid Perkowski in the final, recovering from dropping the second game to win 21-16 15-21 21-12.
There was representation in the other final as Michael Pang lost out to Mateusz Golas in the men’s singles, with Golasz having defeated Pang’s teammates Dillon Chong, Adarsh Palani Kumar, and Dalvi en route to gold.
“It’s not about bringing an individual to the sport; it’s about taking the sport to the individual”
Love this quote! Come join us (https://t.co/URyYi9MkKS) in making badminton the nation’s most accessible, diverse, and inclusive sport. #BETogether pic.twitter.com/haAB6orgMf
— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) September 29, 2022
Spanish U17 international
There were two all-England finals in Spain as four more golds were claimed, with Lila Dundas claiming top honours in the women’s singles and doubles.
Dundas came through a decider in the women’s singles to defeat Spanish second seed Macarena Izquierdo 21-13 14-21 21-15 to claim gold.
She then partnered Sofie Chong to victory in the women’s doubles as they beat compatriots Hattie Herbert and Mili Patel 21-15 21-13.
Dundas would then taste defeat in the mixed doubles alongside Dillon Chong losing to Izquierdo and Yaidel Gil in three games.
Chong would not be cowed for too long as he earned gold in the men’s doubles with Sumedh Reddy Chittamuru defeating teammates Vlad Lewis and Zach Sturgess 21-10 21-18.
European U15 Championships
Sofie Chong’s gold in Ibiza was all the more impressive as she made the step up to U17 level before returning to U15 level for European U15 Championships in Spain.
Chong joined Sia Pandit in the women’s doubles where they reached the third round, also partnering James Song in the mixed doubles.
Song was England’s brightest performer at the tournament as he reached the quarter finals of the men’s singles without dropping a set before losing to second seed Yaidel Gill.
Pandit was also in action in the women’s singles where she reached the third round, while Prarthana Reddy narrowly missed out on a place in the top eight of the 128-strong field.
It’s inspiring to see Malcolm Taylor, our Inclusion Champion, encouraging girls to be a part of our sport. 🏸
🔗 Some links for you:
To start championing inclusivity like Malcolm: https://t.co/URyYi9MSAq
OR start playing badminton: https://t.co/3M27gkgDx8 pic.twitter.com/yEmkY8x4Xo— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) September 30, 2022
At the Zagreb U17 Open, David Ng won bronze as he reached the semi-finals of the men’s singles before losing to third seed Csanad Horvath of Hungary 21-12 11-21 21-15.
Ng also reached the semi-finals of the men’s doubles alongside Croatia’s Ivano Kukla, falling again to Horvath this time 21-10 21-11 as Horvath went on to become champion alongside Milan Mesterhazy.
Alongside Lucy Brierley, Ng collected his third bronze medal of the tournament, reaching the semi-finals of the mixed doubles, losing a 43-minute epic to Viktor Pateet and Tammi van Wonterghem.
Brierley also reached two quarterfinals, in the women’s singles and the women’s doubles where she partnered Mili Patel.
In Herstal, Isum Arachchige and Adarsh Palani Kumar were England’s representative in the Belgian U19 Junior International Series.
Both competed in the men’s singles, with Palani Kumar reaching the third round, going one step further than Arachchige.
