Theo Plasschaert
Haarlem
Badminton Duinwijck also remained unbeaten in the third match of the championship group. The small 5-3 victory in Degiro hall against Dropshot only came about in the final phase.
Doubles specialist Ties van der Lecq was sidelined with a shin injury, just like in the international match against Estonia: “It is painful. We don’t take any risks, because I want to start the foreign tournaments in good shape, like soon in Malaysia.” Nadia Choukri and Jordy Hilbink were not contracted for this game.
The home team got off to a good start with a convincing victory in the women’s doubles with Debora Jille and Imke van der Aar. Dropshot did take the men’s doubles with the Scottish Pringle brothers. In the singles the odds changed: Gayle Mahulette choked in two games against the Frenchwoman Rosy Oktavia Pancasari.
Chloë Mayer disappointingly had to admit her superior in three games in 19-year-old Novi Wieland. In the men, things went better for Duinwijck, with a three gamer from Finn Achthoven and a simple win (21-9, 21-16) from Ahram Mahmoud. With a 3-3 score, and with only two mixed doubles to play, both a defeat and a draw were still possible. “I am particularly pleased with the spirit and fighting spirit of my team,” said coach Stan Put. “The heads stayed up and we took the two mixed doubles. In particular, the performance of brother and sister Wessel and Imke van der Aar was a kind of surprise, while Debora Jille and Brian Wassink won the decisive fifth point in two games.”
Duinwijck now enters the mini winter break as ‘Herbstmeister’, with 20 points to 1 point followed by DKC. The championship pool will resume on January 7 and will continue throughout January. The team that finishes first will qualify for the final. The numbers two and three play for the second place in the final. In January, coach Jacco Arends will also be present again: he has been missing in recent months due to a trip through a number of South American countries.
