From: mk

Bolzano – No Azzurro has ever been better at a Junior European Championship before him! The 18-year-old Marco Danti from Eppan reached the quarter-finals at the European Championships in Ibiza together with Simone Piccinin. Four of the six Azzurri who were in action in Ibiza train at the SBS – Südtirol Badminton School. And Yasmine Hamza celebrated her first win against a top 100 player after her serious knee injury. The woman from Bolzano will end the year in the top 150 in the world.

Yasmine Hamza defeated Rachel Darragh, a top 100 player, for the first time since her cruciate ligament tear on October 31, 2023, in Italy’s 4-1 win over Ireland in qualifying for the European Mixed Team Championship in Germany. This means the 21-year-old from Bolzano has moved up to 167th place in the world rankings. There will be a world ranking tournament in Nepal (International Challenge) at Christmas. Hamza will therefore end the year at position 150 in the world rankings.

The SBS juniors also played strongly. Marco Danti particularly shone at the European Championships in Ibiza at the beginning of December. The Eppan native only had to admit defeat in the quarterfinals to the eventual European champions Thibault Gardon/Tom Lalote Trescart. Both Danti and Anna Hell made it into the top 32 in the singles, as did the duo Hell/Galimberti in the doubles. Ruben Fellin from Bolzano was also in action.

Danti also stood out at the Junior European Team Championships. He contributed four wins to the seven matches the Azzurrini won. Hell, Galimberti and Fellin were also victorious. Italy took third place in the preliminary group after a 4-1 win over Finland and defeats against Ukraine (2:39 and Romania (1:4).

Results European Junior Championships: https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draws.aspx?id=71d5c241-33f2-4cc8-a8e6-52337805a53b

The SBS – South Tyrol Badminton School is an elite funding project in the country. The aim of the SBS is to bring together young talents – especially from the South Tyrolean badminton clubs – and to support them on an individual basis. Around 25 players train at SBS, including Hamza and Danti.