With a home favourite taking a medal, and Denmark and England claiming important wins, the Dutch International served as a stage for Europe’s young players to show what they got.
Badminton never stops and while many were enjoying the Easter break, some players met in Wateringen, the Netherlands, for another edition of the FZ Forza Dutch International. The seeded entries provided us with a list of European talents, as well as many players from beyond the continent.
Hong Kong has had a successful run in the tournament, claiming seven medals in total. However, there are two other European nations that also had their chance to shine thanks to young talented players and new interesting pairs, while home favourite and top seeded Joran Kweekel also got to the podium to delight his audience.
Medals for the home favourite and a determined Johannesen
We didn’t get to see much of Joran Kweekel in the Orléans Masters, and this was his second opportunity of the year to fight for a spot on the top, and he delivered. He made his way through to the semifinals smoothly, where he met Indonesia’s Firman Abdul Kholik. The Dutch player went down but not without fighting a close match that stretched to three games.
Belgium’s Julien Caraggi took the bronze just like Kweekel did,after losing the semifinal against Magnus Johannesen, Denmark, in another three-game encounter. The Dane, who was the runner-up at the 2017 European 17 Championships and surprised everyone by winning against Anders Antonsen in the Danish Nationals, has given yet an outstanding performance by claiming the gold at last weekend’s event.
A victorious Danish side
Denmark had a good run at the Dutch International in 2019, the last time it had taken place. This time, the Danish players have claimed one medal in each of the doubles categories. The recent pairing of Rasmus Kjaer/ Frederik Søgaard continue with their quest for titles. After winning their first title as a pair at the Polish Open 2022, they have gone on to score their second less than a month after.
Number two seeds Amalie Cecilie Kudsk/ Signe Schulz have won a women’s doubles bronze and Jesper Toft/ Clara Graversen, also a duo to watch, have taken home the mixed doubles silver. Flavie Vallet/ Emilie Vercelot, another pair in the young, talented French side claimed a bronze too.
Plenty of talent
England have also done well at the Dutch tournament. Abigail Holden claimed some important victories in the European circuit last year, including the title at the Hellas International and finishing second at the Dutch Open. This time, she has earned yet another silver on Dutch soil.
In men’s doubles, Alex Green/ Jonty Russ and Chua Yue Chern/ William Jones won the silver and the bronze, respectively.
Some of these European players and the continent’s best will be travelling to Madrid next week for the 2022 European Championships. Don’t miss any matches and watch on
www.badmintoneurope.tv.