No less than 278 badminton matches, to be exact, were played during the two days, on the seven courts installed for the occasion. Hanaé Manichanh, a young local sportswoman, this time again, allowed the Stéoruellan club to stand out.
Aurélien Fort, the referee, was busy entering the results of the competitions while Franck Lesieur, the secretary of the section, announced the players and the following matches on the microphone.
The gymnasium had transformed into a veritable hive, where the layman could only be impressed by the violence with which the players returned the shuttlecocks over the nets.
If 219 players had the privilege of participating in this tournament, a good sixty were on the waiting list. The referee noted that the competition has reached such a volume of registrations that it is impossible to go beyond. Coming from several regions of France, the players particularly appreciated the quality of the facilities, the conviviality which reigned in the gymnasium and the welcome which was reserved for them.
The designated champion of the weekend was, to her credit, a volunteer at the food court when she was not playing. Hanaé is only 15 years old but has been playing badminton since the age of 7; initially to follow his parents. The young high school student from Orléans regularly wins her competitions, but keeps her victory modest. Last season, she finished first several times in numerous departmental tournaments. Which seems, all in all, quite banal to him. On Saturday, among adults, she won the top 4 final in the mixed category. But for Hanaé, badminton remains above all a leisure activity. She decided to focus on her studies, tempted by architecture.
