The Spanish fell in the semifinals against the second seeds, the Polish Hankiewicz and Marczak (21-9 and 21-13)
BADMINTON
Spanish badminton returns to an international podium thanks to the women’s doubles formed by Carmen Jiménez and Nikol Carulla, who won bronze at the Norwegian International after losing in the semifinals to the Polish Hankiewicz and Marczak by 21-9 and 21-13.
The Spanish have had a brilliant competition and, after beating tough couples such as the Danish team of Anne Fuglsang and Laura Fløj Thomsen (21-11, 17-21 and 21-19), or the French team of Agathe Cuevas and Kathell Desmots-Chacun ( 21-16 and 21-16), they have only lost to the second favorites.
This Saturday’s day began precisely with the victory of Carulla and Jiménez in the quarterfinals over Cuevas and Desmots-Chacun. A match that the tandem formed by the Alicante and Ibizan players have solved with solvency in 40 minutes. The first set has been very close, although the Spanish have been ahead at all times, except in two moments in which the French have managed to get even, with 11-11 and with 13-13. However, the Spanish have achieved a 4-0 run to open a gap on the scoreboard and take the first game.
The second game was even more closely contested, with the Spanish team leading the scoreboard in the first points and with the French duo taking the lead before the interval. Of course, with 16-14 favorable for the French, Carulla and Jiménez have signed a great end to the set with seven consecutive points.
The Spanish tandem also went all out in the semi-final duel against the Poles Paulina Hankiewicz and Kornelia Marczak, although the Poles managed to dominate the match and defeat the Spanish. In the first game, Hankiewicz and Marczak have signed a 6-0 run at the first change and with 14-9 they have achieved another 7-0 to score the first point by 21-9. In the second set, the second seeds knew how to handle the match, gradually opening a gap on the scoreboard that Carulla and Jiménez were unable to close, to end the match with a result of 21-13.
Spanish badminton goes for doubles
This medal represents a new success for the Spanish couples, again in the women’s section, after the gold won by Paula López and Lucía Rodríguez at the Türkiye International. Also in the doubles events, three medals from Latvia and Ireland recently arrived in Spain, thanks to the duo of Daniel Franco and Rodrigo Sanjurjo, that of Jesús de Burgos and Martín Mosquera, and that of De Burgos and Rocío Martín. This project was the central topic of the report broadcast on Teledeporte and titled ‘Spanish badminton is worth double’.
The sports results are further proof of the success of the doubles program promoted by the Federation’s Sports Area. In a continuous effort to strengthen the development of badminton in Spain, a series of key initiatives have been established since 2021 whose fruits are beginning to be visible. These actions have the primary objective of promoting technical development in the Sub13, Sub15, Sub17 and Sub19 categories, as well as promoting doubles events at the High Performance Center (CAR) in Madrid.
The first phase of this Project, promoted by sports director Arturo Ruiz with the support of CARD technicians Manu Vázquez and Bea Corrales, focused on the development of doubles training and concentrations at CAR, sessions that were directed by German expert Diemo Ruhnow in coordination with sports director Arturo Ruiz, and in the training of the center’s technicians to improve the quality of the players’ training. At the same time, training in individual tests was provided under the tutelage of Danish expert John Dinesen. These initiatives were extended nationally, allowing selected players to participate in monthly training sessions at the CAR along with their coaches, thus guaranteeing the dissemination of expert knowledge beyond Madrid.
In a second phase, which began last December, the focus has turned towards technicalization, with various actions underway. These include visits to several Sports Training Centers (CTD), with the presence of Diemo Ruhnow, to evaluate the training structure and provide advice to improve its quality, since the objectives are to monitor and evaluate the functioning of the CTD and its athletes, mentoring of the CTD staff itself and advice to improve the functioning and quality of training of the CTD.
