With the Covid, the Belgian Elite Championship was postponed to mid-September, a special moment since this period corresponds to the resumption of team competitions, the interclubs.
“We still wanted to do it on principle”, explains Olivier de Nieuport, event and communication manager. “We had 68 players registered whereas we usually count 150 to 180. Several players did not want to put pressure on themselves, risk an injury. Others changed discipline or were not available because it was not are not typical dates for this championship. It was a small edition but the players were very happy to resume. “
The last time organized in Anderlecht in 2019 for the LFBB, it was at the Préalle in Herstal, where the Coq Mosan played, that the tournament was able to take place on the French-speaking side, and this, with four fields rather than six . Among the elites who have distinguished themselves, we find Clara Lassaux. Twice finalist in women’s Elite singles before and 13 times champion in juniors, the 19-year-old Brabançonne, who kotte in Cité ardente for her law studies at ULiège, finished vice-champion of Belgium in women’s doubles alongside Lien Lammertyn.
“I wasn’t expecting it, it’s the first time we’ve played together when we’re both singles players,” said Clara, badiste for Rixensart. “In the end, we were super compatible, we played without any pressure. In the second game, we faced a strong pair with a good doubles player before falling in the final against two girls who had won for five years.”
Clara, who explains that she has not stopped badminton since mid-July and was playing her first competition in Belgium since the Covid, was aiming for something else. “I was aiming for the singles final and there I mismanaged the pressure people put on me. I was stressed because I was told that I had inherited a difficult draw against Flore Vandenhoucke. I lost confidence. I’m not satisfied because I was in the final two years in a row, I had not yet lost in the quarterfinals. My goal this season? The world top 150 in singles, I’m 161st at the moment. “
