December 5, 2022
Badminton England’s junior shuttlers saw a raft of international and domestic action this month.
With the English National Championships taking centre stage at the back end of November, several young players headed overseas to claim silverware earlier in the month.
Here’s a round-up of all the action:
YONEX Latvia Junior 2022
Robin Harper and Harry Wakefield swept their way to victory in the men’s doubles in Latvia.
The pair did not drop a single game on their way to the title, claiming the crown with a 21-17 21-14 win over Estonia’s Andrei Schmidt and Hugo Themas.
No one scored more than 17 points against the pair, the only English contingent of the competition proving their dominance on court.
Huge well done to Elmfield player, Lucy Dodd, who won the Girls’ Doubles in the Under 17 Youth International Tournament in Sweden this weekend with her partner, Matilda! 🏸👏🏻🇸🇪
Lucy was also awarded the Rising Star Award at the @SportNewcastle Dinner on Thursday! 🤩🏆 pic.twitter.com/sAMdX0zSy2— Elmfield Badminton Club (@elmfieldbc) November 20, 2022
Swedish Youth Games (U17) 2022
There was a brilliant British final in the U17 women’s doubles at the Swedish Youth Games in Malmo.
Lucy Dodd and Matilda Franklin took the title over England’s Lila Dundas and Scotland’s Brooke Stalker, the match ending 21-16 21-17.
Dundas had previously beaten Lucy Brierley and Sofie Chong in their semi-final to set up the match.
Dillon Chong completed his time in Sweden with two semi-final appearances.
Chong lost to Sweden’s Filip Swahn in the boy’s singles before pairing with Stalker in the mixed doubles.
The duo fell to defeat against France’s Swann Hardi and Lucie Meclot in the semi-final, missing out 21-17 21-17.
RSL Lithuanian Junior 2022
Felix Wright produced a brilliant performance in Lithuania to reach the boy’s singles semi-finals.
Wright was made to sweat in the round of 16 in a three-game match against Poland’s Dawid Perkowski but cruised through the quarter-finals to set up a tough semi-final with Ukraine’s Mykhailo Vyshnevyi.
The 17-year-old lost 21-18 21-11 in a tough battle with Vyshnevyi but went on to join forces with Arya Admane in the doubles.
The pair were knocked out in the round of 16 against Estonia’s Tauri Kilk and Robin Schmalz.
Did you know ❓Many junior clubs across the country cater for players as young as 5️⃣ years!
Joining a junior 🏸 club is a great way for your child to learn a new skill, meet new friends & have fun!
Learn how to select the best club for your child here: https://t.co/gSw0HKeAoM pic.twitter.com/c0Cl9nKoc9
— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) November 16, 2022
YONEX Slovenia Future Series 2022
Heng Lin Ngan picked his way through qualification at the YONEX Future Series before battling all the way to the semi-finals in Slovenia.
Ngan was forced into a third game against three different opponents on his journey to the semi-final, holding off fifth seed Wolfgang Gnedt in the round of 32.
He eventually succumbed to Indonesia’s Andi Fadel Muhammad 21-14 21-6 but proved his resilience throughout.
U13 National Championships
Shraddha Gopalakrishnan walked away with top honours in all three events at the U13 English National Championships.
The Kent player became a three-time national champion with gold in the singles, girls doubles and mixed doubles.
Her singles title came with a strong 21-18 21-11 victory over Risheka Sathyanathan before she was helped to victory by Yashica Earla in the girls doubles and Kavin Karunakaran in the mixed.
Hampshire’s Yixiang Hou was the outstanding boys player and took singles gold, beating Oliver Wu 22-20 21-14 in the final.
[1/2] England’s brightest badminton prospects collided on two days of action at the U19 English National Championships in Milton Keynes.
Read the report here: https://t.co/zOMiAl6EGT
Congratulations to all winners! pic.twitter.com/seHQ881PN3
— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) November 28, 2022
U19 National Championships
In their last ever junior tournament, Lisa Curtin and Estelle van Leeuwen dominated the women’s competition.
Curtin claimed singles gold, coming from behind in the final to win 19-21 21-10 21-13 before joining forced with Van Leeuwen to win the women’s doubles.
Van Leeuwen also grabbed gold with Samuel Jones in the mixed doubles, overhauling Jacob Weekes and Susanna Ogden 21-5 21-10.
Nadeem Dalvi took men’s singles glory as he beat Michael Pang 21-17 21-10.