We’re nearing the end of 2022 and as usual, with the last few tournaments of the year at the European Circuit comes the Irish Open. There are many strong contenders aiming for titles in what is one of the oldest badminton tournaments in the world.

Top seeded Hans-Kristian Vittinghus announced his withdrawal from the tournament due to an injury just one day ago, meaning that he will not be playing any other tournaments for the remaining of the year. With the experienced Dane out of the picture, there are even more chances for the other contenders. 

Fellow Danes Mads Christophersen — last year’s runner-up — and Victor Svendsen could be in for the mix of those making it to the later stages. Nhat Nguyen had a great time on home soil last year reaching the 3/4 place, could this be his chance to getting hold of the title? Spain’s Pablo Abian and Sweden’s Felix Burestedt have also reached the podium in previous editions and could be one creating trouble for the other seeded players.

Rachael Darragh might not be seeded but she is the women’s singles home favourite and that could play in her favour. Darragh has had one of her best performances of the year at the Norwegian International last week, having reached the semifinals. Some of Europe’s top players will also be competing, including Yvonne Li and Qi Xuefei.

There are two Centre of Excellence players in the main draw, eighth-seeded Martina Repiska, Slovakia, and Katerina Tomalova, Czech Republic — whose first match will be against Dane Julie Dawall Jakobsen, the 2019 runner-up. Josefine Redkjær Jensen, also a CoE player, will be starting tomorrow in the qualification stage.

The men’s doubles draw also announces a strong competition for the title with some of Europe’s biggest names — Germany’s Mark Lamsfuss/ Marvin Seidel, England’s Ben Lane/ Sean Vendy, France’s Lucas Corvee/ Ronan Labar, and Scotland’s Christopher Grimley/ Matthew Grimley, to name a few.

Ireland’s biggest chance at getting to the decisive stages will be with Joshua Magee/ Paul Reynolds, number seven seeds. Reigning champions Rory Easton/ Zach Russ, England, will also be there to defend the title.

Top seeds Linda Efler/ Isabel Lohau earned some great results in the first half of the year but have faced tough opposition in the recent tournaments. The Irish Open could be their chance to getting on a podium. Stine Kuespert/ Emma Moszczynski are yet another strong seeded pair from Germany in for the challenge.

We will not be seeing Debora Jille/ Cheryl Seinen defending the title; we will see new names on the winners list and French pair Margot Lambert/ Anne Tran and Danes Christine Busch/ Amalie Schulz could be in it.

Again, it is a German pair that tops the seeded entries in the mixed doubles. Mark Lamsfuss/ Isabel Lohau are one of the many powerful duos competing in the event, together with last year’s runner-ups Mikkel Mikkelsen/ Rikke Søby, Jones Ralfy Jansen/ Linda Efler, Callum Hemming/ Jessica Pugh, and Gregory Mairs/ Jenny Moore, who got the 3/4 position last year.