The Iberdrola Spanish International Ibiza 2022 opened this Monday in the Sa Blanca Dona pavilion two weeks of the best badminton on the island of Ibiza, which these days in September becomes the great national and european showcase for the sport of steering wheel. Not in vain, the island of Ibiza is in these weeks the center and focus of maximum attention for its fans, on the occasion of the three consecutive high level tournaments which hosts for the first time as a single venue, by also bringing together the celebration of the Under-15 and Under-17 International (from September 16 to 18) and the Under-15 European Championship (from 21 to 24).
The Iberdrola Spanish International, competition of the absolute category Future Series, Held until next Thursday, September 15, yesterday was the staging of a tournament of great tradition that brings together in its preliminary phase more than 160 players representing 31 countries on five continents.
competition program
Today, Tuesday, like every day in the competition program, which starts at 09:00, the round of 32 matches will be played, while tomorrow, Wednesday, the round of 16 and quarterfinals will be played. Thursday will be the big day of the tournament with the semifinals and finals. The latter will not start before 2:00 p.m., according to estimates from the organization.
“The truth is that these are two unprecedented weeks for badminton in Ibiza because we have never been able to host a major tournament in this category before,” says Vicent Martínez, pitiuso badminton delegate on the start of the Iberdrola Spanish International Ibiza 2022, while points out: “It is quite a challenge for us. Especially with the organization of the last European championship. We are very happy and we hope to live up to these tournaments.”
In this sense, the Ibizan badminton delegate expresses his certainty when considering that the island of Ibiza and its badminton are thus rewarded for the many efforts that have been made from the base in recent years.
«Badminton Ibiza has always been a benchmark in terms of athletes. And now our goal is to also be another benchmark in the organization of events. And we are going to see how it turns out for us”, points out the island manager, who highlights “the importance of being able to have this type of international competitions” on the island for the benefit they bring to young Ibizan youth academy players and athletes.
«We have here in Sa Blanca Dona absolute athletes from the five continents. And for them it is a joy to be able to see them in action in the pavilion because they are players who are benchmarks”, recognizes Vicent Martínez, not without adding: “We also hope that this will be a claim for all the fans who like badminton to come Ibizan and for all those Ibizans who still do not know this sport, which I think is on the rise here on the island».
Ibicenco wannabe podium
Regarding the options of the Ibiza volantistas to enter the medals, Vicent Martínez explains: «For the International U-17 and U-15, which starts this Friday, we have quite a few options. We already have players from the island with an international name, such as Carmen Jiménez, Macarena Izquierdo or Ramón Rovira. And for the European Under-15, our greatest asset is Yaidel Gil, who due to the excellent international results he has achieved, we hope he will be seeded, something that is important because he opens many doors and allows you to dream of advancing many rounds ».
