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La Coque will host the first international badminton tournament in Luxembourg from May 5 to 8. A godsend for young badminton players in the Grand Duchy.
Badminton is developing in Luxembourg.
From May 5 to 8, the Coque gymnasium will host high-level badminton players for the first international badminton tournament in Luxembourg. With Mads Christophersen (77th in the world) or Ditlev Jaeger Holm (96th) in the men’s category or the Hungarian Daniella Gonda (128th) and the Indian Prerana Neeluri (181st) in the women’s competition, the show should be guaranteed during the four days of competition in La Coque where classic and mixed doubles matches will also take place. The tournament will also give young Luxembourgers the opportunity to compete at international level.
Arrived as technical director of the Luxembourg Badminton Federation (FELUBA) in 2016, the multiple Belgian champion Frédéric Mawet aims to propel the federation on the international scene by doing everything possible to assist its athletes in their international career. “A recurring problem that we encountered was the departure of our hopefuls from university. As Luxembourgers are used to studying abroad, they stopped playing badminton when they went to study”, explains Frédéric Mawet.
“Sending an athlete to the Olympics”
From now on, the professionalism of the badminton federation as well as the possibility of continuing their university studies in Luxembourg give the possibility to athletes to stay and improve with experienced coaches. This is the case of Zoé Sinico (21), who is studying at university in Luxembourg. Recently eliminated in the quarterfinals of a junior tournament in Cyprus, Jérôme Pauquet is also taking advantage of the federation’s new policy to gain as much international experience as possible. At 18, the double champion of Luxembourg will seek to perform in this competition. Other players like William Wang (16) will take advantage of this event to play their first international match as a senior.
“Ultimately we want to send an athlete to the Olympic Games,” explains Frédéric Mawet. In the meantime, the Yonex Luxembourg Open will already be an opportunity for the Grand Duchy’s badminton players to take part in an international competition. They will, however, need to win all three of their qualifying rounds to enter the final draw.
