The Iberdrola Spanish Junior Open in Oviedo has once again demonstrated the great potential of the Spanish badminton academy and not only because the national volantistas have managed to win the podiums. The level seen in the competition, played at the Manuel Novo Sports Center in Tudela Agüeria, has been maximum and confirms the progression of our young promises.
???? GALLERY | The images of the IBERDROLA Spanish Junior Open.
On the opening day on Friday, almost 50 games were played in which the local accent clearly prevailed over the others, since all the semifinalists ended up being Spanish.
It should be remembered that the IBERDROLA Spanish Junior Open is organized by the Spanish Badminton Federation, the Badminton Federation of the Principality of Asturias, the Oviedo City Council and the Directorate General of Sports of the Principality of Asturias and with the support of IBERDROLA as the main sponsor.
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A heart attack Saturday
The final day kicked off with the mixed doubles semifinals. In the first of the duels, Rodrigo Sanjurjo and Nikol Carulla prevailed over Adolfo López and Leyre Suberviola in 21 minutes (21-11 and 21-13). In the second semifinal, Jesús de Burgos and Amaia Torralba defeated Iago Martínez and Paula Llavero in an even match (21-17 and 21-18) after 28 minutes of play.
Then came the time for the individual semifinals, in which the equality was maximum. In the women’s section, the duel between the local Laura Álvarerz and the Andalusian Cristina Teruel stood out. The first set was for the Asturian, but Teruel reacted and turned the match around (22-24, 21-17 and 21-11) to get into the fight for gold.
The other semi-final was not as close but it was not without emotion, as it left points to remember. In it, Nikol Carilla and Marta González faced each other, the former being the one who got the pass to the final by fast track (21-8 and 21-11) in just 19 minutes of the match.
As for the men’s singles semifinals, Marc Martín from the Balearic Islands and Álvaro Morán from Andalusia signed a high tension duel. Morán started in command but the fourth seed recovered and hit the table in the second set. That yes, the Andalusian did not collapse and sentenced the pass to the final based on claw and after a last heart attack point that was a true reflection of his match (21-19, 13-21 and 21-16).
The one who did meet the forecasts was Rodrigo Sanjurjo, as he beat Iván Torre in two sets (21-13 and 21-15). The Galician starts as the top seed and in the 29 minutes that the game lasted he showed that he is in shape to face the European Junior Championship in Belgrade that takes place next week.
The closing of the semifinals came in charge of the doubles by gender. In the men’s, Marc Martín and Iago Martínez recovered after losing in the individual semifinals and made it to the final by defeating Victor Cañadas and Hugo Ruz (21-19 and 21-13). On the other hand, Alejandro Baschwitz and Álvaro Morán managed to prevail in a very tight match against Joan and Marc Guasch (22-20 and 21-19).
As for the women’s doubles, Laura Álvarez and Amaia Torralba earned a place in the final without having to play in the semifinals, after the withdrawal of the main favorites, Nikol Carulla and Lucía Rodríguez. Therefore, only one semifinal was played, that of Elena Payá and Ana Caballero against Marta González and Paula Llavero. This was a duel marked by the good start of the duo of González and Llavero and also by the comeback of Payá and Caballero. And it is that the pair formed by the Catalan and the Balearic dominated the first set, but the Alicante managed to turn the scoreboard to seal their pass to the final (21-18, 14-21 and 16-21).
All set for the finals
The finals are played this Saturday from 1:30 p.m. and they can be followed live through the Federation’s YouTube channel.
???? Schedules and results of the IBERDROLA Spanish Junior Open, live.
