Last week the international para-badminton competition resumed with the dispute over the Spanish Para Badminton International II 2022 in the Basque town of Vitoria, which hosted the March 1 to 6, 2022 at the facilities of the Zabalgana Civic Center to the 143 athletes participating in this international event.
The Club Badminton Xàtiva was present at the hand of Thomas Wandschneider who participated as a member of the German Parabadminton Team with which he has been training in recent months in the German country.
In the test of men’s doubles WH1-WH2 competed again with his new partner Rick Cornell Hellmann, being framed in group B, where they got second place after losing in an even match against the Malaysian couple formed by Noor Azwan Noorlan and Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli 21-18, 19-21 and 17-21 after one hour and fourteen minutes of meeting. This second position earned them access to the final table where they faced Ignacio Fernando and David Follett in the quarterfinals, whom they clearly surpassed to stand in the semifinals against the Indian couple made up of Prem Kumar Ale and Abu Hubaida, who were very combative in a tight opening set but gave in to the German superiority to fall 22-20 and 21-7. In this way, Thomas and Rick earned a place in the final that once again faced the Malaysian couple to whom they lost in the group stage, but this time with the lesson learned they had no opposition and won the match and the tournament. with a double 21-14.
In the MI test WH1 He started as number one seed and easily managed to win the two group A matches to reach the quarterfinals where he faced the Indian Shashank Kumar, whom he managed to win 21-19 and 21-10. Already in the semifinals he met Prem Kumar Ale, also of Indian nationality, whom he beat 21-10 and 21-14 to reach a new final.
Already in the final he faced Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli again in a very tough match, lasting one hour and eighteen minutes. The first set fell on the Malaysian side by a tight 22-20, in the second set the equality continued and Thomas managed to force the third set after winning 22-24. Arriving at the third and final set where the great equality was maintained until the last points, finally giving Thomas 21-17, thus hanging the silver.
The great merit of the CB Xàtiva player must be highlighted, since the final of the tournament was played against a young 26-year-old athlete compared to the 58 of the German player who remains in great shape to be able to reach the finals of the tournaments and dispute the gold from your to your younger rivals.
Bronze for María Sanz in the women’s doubles event.
Last weekend seven athletes from the Xàtiva Badminton Club traveled to the town of Alfajarín to participate in the Under-15 and Under-19 Master. The municipal pavilion of said town welcomed a total of 199 athletes from all corners of the national territory.
We begin our chronicle with the Sub-15 category, where Ximo Torres and Sarai Ramón participated. In the women’s singles event Sarai failed to make it out of the group stage after finishing second. The first match was very even and the player from Setabense managed to prevail in the third set, in the second match things got complicated after losing the first set by a tight 17-21 that allowed the rival to play the second set without so much pressure . A similar situation for Ximo who managed to prevail in the first match after playing three very tight sets. In the second crossover of the group, history repeated itself again by giving up the first set 18-21 and giving wings to the opponent who dominated the Setabense in the second set, therefore, Ximo also had to settle for second place in the group and without an option To continue.
There was proof of mixed doubles where Sarai and Ximo started as number one seeds in group A, and with many options to play the final of the tournament. In the first match, they faced Africa Gazo and Noel Romera where a certain relaxation forced them to work hard in a 40-minute match that they had to overcome closing it with 25-27, 21-11 and 21-14 in their favor. The direct pass to the final was played against the Alicante couple formed by Félix Sanz and Sara Llopis, a match that the Setabenses lost by accumulating a large number of unforced errors that cost them the first set and that did not allow them to be competitive in the second.
We go to the Under-19 category where in the women’s doubles event where María Sanz together with Lucía Chorques from CB Drop Valencia managed to get through the group stage by beating the two rival couples, getting the pass to the final that was played on Sunday and that pitted them against the couple formed by Laura Álvarez and Amaia Torralba, seeded number one, in a 31-minute match. In the first set the Valencians were able to stop their rivals until the break, at point 11, after which Laura and Amaia were more forceful to close the first set 21-12. The second set began with a very great rhythm and consistency on the part of María and Lucía that made them take a clear advantage on the scoreboard, but the rivals were cutting back to reach a final stretch of great equality that fell on the Asturian side 21-19, leaving Maria and Lucía out of the final, who had to settle for bronze.
In the mixed doubles test Vicent Molina and Maria Sanz were left out of the final phase after two matches of great equality that on this occasion did not opt for the Setabense couple.
In the In the men’s doubles event, Hugo Medina and Jaume Tur and the couple formed by David Polop and Vicent Molina won second place in the group, but it was not enough to continue.
We end with the Men’s individual test where Hugo Medina got the second place in his group and Jaume Tur and David Polop the third.
First national outing of the players from Setabense in the 2022 season that closes with the feeling that something more could have been achieved. Undoubtedly, a new motivation for our athletes to continue working and making an effort in the small details that lead them to make a difference.
3ª School Games Day in the juvenile category.
Last Saturday, a total of ten athletes from the CB Xàtiva and the Municipal Sports School traveled to the neighboring town of Enguera to participate in the third day of the provincial phase of the “Jocs Escolars de la Comunitat Valenciana”. A day that was held in the Jaime Alegre Municipal Pavilion and that brought together a total of 32 athletes from the juvenile and youngest categories.
On this day the athletes from Setabense achieved a global 50% of the victories in the individual events and only 30% in the doubles. Feliu Terol and Alexis Piñero continue to lead the men’s singles and Martina Molina in the women’s singles. In the doubles event, the couple formed by Martina and Feliu also continue to be at the top of the table, ensuring their classification for the Provincial Championship.
On the other hand, the rest of the athletes continue adding minutes and competition experiences that, added to the work in training, will make them gradually improve.
upcoming appointments
IBERDROLA Spanish Para Badminton International 2022
From March 9 to 13, a new edition of the IBERDROLA Spanish Para Badminton International will be held in the Murcian town of Cartagena, which in this 2022 edition will host a total of 145 international level athletes, including the CB Xàtiva player Thomas Wandschneider who will try to maintain the level of play exhibited last week in the Vitoria tournament.
TOP Autonomous Master’s Degree Sub-13 and Sub-17
Next Saturday, March 12, the TOP Regional Master’s U-13 and U-17 will be held in the Alicante town of El Campello, in which several athletes from the Xàtiva Badminton Club will participate in both the U-13 and U-17 categories.
Autonomous Championship Sub-11/Sub-15/Absolute
Lastly, on Sunday, March 13, the Regional Championship for the Under-11, Under-15 and Absolute categories will take place in Valencia. The Setabense club will also be present in this competition with several players in the U-11 and U-15 categories.
