The BWF World Senior Badminton Championships 2021 Well, which is held in Huelva from November 28 to December 4, welcomes the best rackets in the world, including players from the Spanish national team. The Senior World Championships are held every two years in the five modalities and for all categories divided by age: +35, +40, +45, +50, +55, +60 +65, +70 and +75.
It is a special and prestigious event where each country registers a maximum of 8 players per category and modality. The Spanish delegation has, in its 2021 edition, 126 players. The Carolina Marín Sports Palace, which serves as the prelude to the Absolute World Championship, will witness the effort and high level of play of all the national team players. Each and every one of them will demonstrate their great high level on the Carolina Marín slopes.
Of the 126 players that make up the Spanish delegation, Julio Fernández and Patricia Sánchez stand out. They are, respectively, the oldest player (79 years) and the youngest player (36 years) in the competition. They are separated by 43 years of difference, but the same passion unites them.
The story of Julio Fernández is endearing. Fernández has played badminton for more than 50 years at the Athlos Ourense Badminton Club (Galicia), “and with the same enthusiasm since the first day”. Fernández confesses that this World Cup makes him especially excited, since “my two granddaughters also participate in Huelva 2021, Sara Ezquerro is a member of the technical staff responsible for the Spanish delegation, and her sister Maria is one of the referees of the competition. That makes me proud”. Fernández participates in the modality of male individual +75, and in mixed doubles +70 with Dolores Touriño.
For Patricia Sánchez, from the Bianconero Badminton Club (Madrid), it is the greatest challenge of her short sporting career in this discipline; “It is the first year that I play badminton, I started in this sport in the COVID-19 pandemic, and although I have only played National Circuits, I like it a lot.” Sánchez poses Huelva 2021 as a personal challenge: “I’m nervous, but I want to play. I hope to give my all. I compete in women’s doubles +35 with my partner Vanesa Serrano, and we are already in the round of 16 of the World Cup ”.
Maria Jesus Almagro and Fernando Herrero are the Spanish players present in Huelva 2021 with the longest international career.
Almagro competes in the category of +45 in individual and +40 in mixed doubles with Ivan Gallardo, in what is already his sixth world championship. In her sporting career, Almagro has participated in the 2017 editions (Cochin, India), where she managed to reach the quarterfinals both in singles and in women’s doubles, forming a duo with Pawarisa Wareechol (Sweden); 2015 (Helsingborg, Sweden), and 2013 (Ankara, Turkey), 2011 (Vancouver, Canada), 2009 (Punta Umbría, Huelva).
“I face the competition, despite the experience of all the championships that I have played (both world and European) as a motivation when it comes to training. For me it is always a joy to be able to participate in this type of event where so many players that you have known for many years congregate ”. Almagro adds: “In the last World Cup that was played, I could not attend, since it coincided with a badminton training, and when the European was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I have not competed at the highest level for a long time, but I really want and also the typical nerves of these events ”.
Fernando Herrero is the player with a presence in Huelva 2021 with the most senior world championships behind him, adding three in total. Herrero has participated in the 2019 edition (Katowice, Poland), 2015 (Helsingborg, Sweden), and 2009 (Punta Umbría, Huelva). In Huelva 2021, Herrero will play in men’s singles +50, men’s doubles +35 with Victor Medina, and mixed doubles +40 in a partnership with Vanessa Serrano.
“This experience in the World Championship I assume as the highest international competition to play. What I enjoy the most is meeting players from other countries and even being able to interact with them, especially partnering in mixed doubles or men’s doubles: for example, when I had the chance to partner with an Indian player or with an English player. I also really enjoy sharing the experience with the rest of the Spanish team ”. Herrero’s goal is to “enjoy badminton to the fullest; an opportunity to face rivals from other countries on the track and improve or learn something new ”.
