The parabadminton category opened the 2023 international calendar last week with the Spanish International Para Badminton tournament, held in Vitoria, an international event in which Club Badminton Xàtiva won the bronze medal. The athlete of German origin and integrated into the Setabense club, Thomas Wandschneider was third in the individual.
CB Xàtiva attended the Vitoria event with two athletes, the veteran Thomas, who has accumulated numerous successes both individually and in doubles, and the young Selenia Pla, who was making her debut in an international event of the modality, after two years of good results. in national tests and in the Spanish Parabadminton Championship. The Aranalde sports center in the Basque town brought together 328 athletes from 46 countries.
Thomas competed in singles and men’s doubles, alongside partner Rick Cornell.. Individually, the athlete from the Xàtiva club started as the number 2 seed in WH1. Thomas entered the final phase with solvency, after finishing first in his group. In the round of 16 he beat the Spanish Jorge López 21-8 and 21-4; and in the quarterfinals he defeated Frenchman David Toupe, his former doubles partner, 23-21 and 21-18. In the semifinals, Thomas lost to the Japanese Hiroshi Murayama in a tough match in which the Setabense scored the first set 15-21, but the Japanese came back winning the second and third 21-14 and 21-19. Thus, Thomas got the bronze medal.
In doubles, Thomas and his partner Rick Cornell started as the second seed and made it through the group stage without problems, taking both victories. In the quarterfinals they lost to the Koreans Choi Jungman and Kim Jung Jun by 21-16 and 23-21.
For his part, Selenia Pla competed in the SL4 category, where she played the individual, and in the SL3-SU5 mixed doublesalong with Alex Santamaria, but they couldn’t get past the group stage. Individually, they achieved a victory on the last day of the group stage, in which they beat the Finnish Venla Salo by 15-21, 21-14 and 21-15. Selenia had no luck getting drawn into the group that she was also the No. 2 seed in the tournament. The nerves of the Setabense got the better of her debut on the opening day and she could not perform at her highest level, but despite this she achieved a victory in her debut at an international event. After the results of this tournament, Selenia enters the parabadminton world ranking in 32nd place, and she is the ninth European present in this event.
The two Xàtiva Badminton athletes met their objectives in this international tournament, as Thomas sought to finish in the top three places and reached bronze; and Selenia came in order to gain experience in this type of event and continue advancing in her training as an athlete, and she returned home with her first victory in an international event.
CB Xàtiva also attended last weekend the third day of the School Games in the youth category, held in Maniseswhere the club traveled with eight athletes, who they achieved a 62.5% win rate in singles and 87.5% wins in doubles. Feliu Terol, Alexis Piñero and Arnau Ballester stood out, who were full of victories.
Second in the National Club League
Badminton Xàtiva also played the second day of the National League of Clubs – 2nd Division Valencian Community, that took place in the Campello. Maria Sanz, Nuria Martínez, Julio Martín, Vicent Molina and Ximo Torres played for the Setabense team, who defended the first place obtained on the opening day. In Campello, CB Xàtiva-Caixa Popular lost to CB Drop València 4-1, with Vicent Molina achieving the only victory for the team from Setabenses, after beating Sergio Nieto in two sets. In the second match, they beat Las Torres, from Murcia, 3-2, thereby securing second place in the league. Against the Murcians, Molina and Maria Sanz lost the mixed doubles by 19-21, 21-15 and 21-19, but CB Xàtiva came back winning the men’s and women’s doubles matches. Individually, Nuria secured the decisive point by making it 3-1 after winning her match. Ximo lost, ending the match with the final 3-2.
upcoming competitions
Xàtiva Badminton will play the fourth day of the School Games in the children’s category next Saturdayl, which will take place in the Francisco Ballester municipal pavilion of the capital of the Costera. The event will bring together more than 60 players from clubs in the Valencian Community. The Setabense club will participate with fifteen athletes. The CB Xàtiva will also be in the second tournament of the international parabadminton circuit, which is held from this Wednesday until next Sunday, March 5, in Toledo. The Spanish Para Badminton International Toledo 2023 will bring together 205 athletes from 35 countries. Thomas Wandschneider will participate for the Xàtiva club.
