1 May, 2025
Badminton England’s U17 stars proved that age is just a number as they struck silver at the U19 Cyprus Junior this month.
Youngsters toppling older age groups was a running theme throughout April, with George Clare and Sajan Senthuran leading the way in Nicosia.
England took an U17 team to compete at various events throughout the month, bringing home one silver and a bronze at the Cyprus event as Clare and Senthuran clinched men’s doubles silver.
An incredible run of results took the duo into the final, where they put up a fight but were ultimately forced to settle for silver in a 21-10 21-7 defeat to Lukas Thor and Vojtech Strejcek from the Czech Republic.
The English pair were joined on the podium by teammates Yixiang Hou and Jasper Wong, who picked up bronze as Shraddha Gopalakrishnan and Martha Ng finished third in the women’s doubles.
There was a similarly strong showing for English youngsters at the U19 FORZA Alpes International, with a mix of U17 and U19 players attending the event.
The women’s doubles contenders led the way, with Mia Fox and Rajvi Parab alongside Lucy Brierley and Lucy Dodd all reaching the quarter-finals.
A team of U14 and U13 athletes took on the U15 Home Countries Quadrangular in Glasgow, with a clean sweep of medals ensuring a wave of success.
The team took home gold in the team event as Michelle Chen, one of the youngest players in the squad, went undefeated in 10 games to get them over the line.
Chen went on to take women’s doubles victory alongside Mutiara Mandala individual event, as England clinched the crown in all five individual disciplines.
Alongside junior tournaments, the future stars of Badminton England were also treated to several national camps in April.
The U17 National Camp at Wycombe Badminton Centre saw athletes take part in fitness and jump testing, with different focuses for singles and doubles players , including being able to prolong rallies and creating space.
While at the U12 Camp at the National Badminton Centre, there was a key focus on stability and explosiveness during movements.
On the domestic circuit, April saw the county season draw to a close as Essex and Leicestershire secured promotion to the top division.
Back in March, Avon had been crowned Premiership Champions for the first time since the event’s creation in 1930, beating Surrey to the mark with a 7-4 victory.
But the conclusion of the regional season brought with it new teams as Essex and Leicestershire 2 added their names to the Championship table for next season, finishing first and second in the Division One play-offs.
With the season having run from early November to the end of April, Essex sealed their promotion with an undefeated run in the finals, with Leicestershire 2 also beating Suffolk and Middlesex to join them.
Elsewhere, Lanarkshire and Yorkshire also gained promotion and will join the top flight of the Premiership next season.
The Masters County Championships concluded with a brilliant weekend of finals at the University of Birmingham.
The top four teams in each age group went head-to-head, with Yorkshire coming out on top in three of the eight age groups and taking the crown in the over 70s, over 60s and over 45s.
In the Shires League, the U17 competition wrapped up with Leicestershire named champions.
Following a strong third place showing in the U18 Inter County Tournament, it was a jubilant month for the likes of U19 Cyprus silver medallist Clare, who teamed up with fellow Leicestershire players Oliver Sewell, Lucas Staves and many more, to take on the two domestic competitions.
