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Without Nick Fransman, the men’s doubles were played by Jim Middelburg and Russell Muns. She had to compete against Lars Kros and Wessel van der Aar on Saturday evening. The duo that played in never ran into problems and could always extend their lead. The duo from The Hague wanted to slow down the game so as not to go along with the high tempo, but the Wateringers kept to their own game. In the end, the men won 12-21 twice.
On the adjacent track, Milou Lugters and NK double finalist Myke Halkema faced NK single finalist Jaymie Laurens and NK double finalist Alyssa Tirtosentono. In the first set, Milou and Myke were still looking for the right game, as their opponents could easily score points with their strength. In the second set the ladies had found the answer and it was a very exciting and entertaining match. It came to an extension in which VELO unfortunately drew the short straw. Due to a 21-12, 23-21 loss, the score after the doubles became 1-1.
The match continued with a single between Fredrika Lagerstedt and Natalia Perminova. The Russian was the dominant party and played with a high tempo. The Swedish was able to parry this fast game in the first set, but was unable to find the depth in her game in the second set, allowing Drop Shot to run out (21-18, 21-12).
It became a brotherly struggle for the men. Ruben Kweekel was allowed to compete against brother Joran Kweekel on behalf of VELO. Until yesterday it was 2-1 in favor of Ruben in mutual, official matches. In the meantime, the Drop Shot single, unlike Ruben, has opted for top sport and has devoted himself completely to the sport. This has resulted in a fun match, in which it would become clear that Joran would pull the match. With 21-10, 21-11 Ruben was able to score nice points, but the victory went to Joran.
The spectacle of the evening was in the second ankle. Dion Rovers was up against Lars Kros, while Hanna Couwenhoven crossed swords with Novi Wieland. Where Hanna immediately found her game, it was Dion’s search. Lars made it very difficult for Dion and soon Dion was behind, Novi could not fight against the fast game and made a lot of mistakes. The VELO single was behind and lost quite a lot in the first set (21-13), Hanna and Novi immediately made it an exciting match by playing an extension that narrowly went to VELO (21-23). Spurred on by a fanatical coach, the singer from the South found confidence and started to play with more bravado, Novi on the other court drew from a different keg and Hanna had to switch tactically quickly. Dion fought and fought and narrowly won the second set (19-21), Hanna saved her strength for a third set (21-14).
Now everything has been decided, who will come out on top? Lars didn’t make it easy for Dion, it went straight and Dion was able to build up a small lead, both ladies had a conditional challenge ahead of them. VELO crawled towards the match points, Dion felt the tension and started to make some mistakes, Hanna got wings and could hardly make mistakes anymore. A serve in the net and a ball out made things exciting for the men, but Dion was able to cross the line and reward himself for a good game (19-21). On the other hand, Hanna was no longer in danger and she also scored a nice point for the team (16-21).
Russell had withdrawn from the mixed doubles with an injury and Ruben took his place alongside Milou. Despite the late and unexpected change, the Watering pair did not do without merit. Milou’s aggressive net play and Ruben’s hard attacks resulted in a 21-17, 21-18 loss. Jim and Myke played a very tough game on paper. Alyssa is number 2 in the Netherlands in doubles and number 7 in mixed doubles, Joran is number 2 in men’s singles and number 25 in mixed doubles. Jim and Myke are respectively number 14 and 10 in the mixed doubles. However, the experienced duo of VELO made short work of Drop Shot’s intentions, with very dominant play Jim and Myke took the initiative and never gave it away. They awarded the opponents only 9 and 11 points.
Due to these results, the third meeting between VELO and Drop Shot again ended in a draw. VELO Badminton therefore finishes in fourth place in the ranking and does not secure a place in the play-offs. However, the season is not over, because there is still a battle in the cup.
Posted by the editors
Obtained through VELO
Article photo by Frank van Leeuwen (sportsnap.nl)
