Silk Mader (left) and Alexia Nedelko served in Germany. Photo: Mader
Ludinghausen/Freistadt.The Drei-Burgen-Arena in Lüdinghausen recently hosted the eight-country badminton championship for under-15s. The event consists of a team tournament and an individual competition. This event is the pinnacle of the under 15 age group. Germany was the host country this year. There were players from Denmark, France, England, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland.
Silke Mader (TSV Freystadt) and Alexia Nedelcu (TSV Wolfstein) were nominated for this tournament by national coach Dirk Nützel because of the first places in the German youth ranking and good performances at international tournaments. For both, it was their first appearance with the German national team. Germany beat Belgium 8-1 and Sweden 9-0 in the team competition. In both encounters, Mader and Nedelcu passed their baptism of fire and managed to win their games safely.
As expected, Germany lost 8-1 to Denmark in the game to win the group. Silke Mader achieved Germany’s only doubles victory. In the game for third place, Germany lost 8-1 to England. Surprisingly, the winner of the tournament was France with a 5: 4 victory over Denmark.
Mader managed to win her opening matches in singles, doubles and mixed. In doubles, Silk Madir reached the quarterfinals, no players from Germany participated in the semifinals.
