155 badistas pre-registered, this is a record for the Verviers round of the Yonex Belgian Master circuit. For his 11the edition, the international badminton tournament reserved for young people is a victim of its success… And the organizers even had to refuse it. “This year we reached the number of 155 players. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take them all because the tables were full very quickly. There are 135 remaining and I think we have never reached that number”says Françoise Kaiser, the president of RBC Verviers which organizes the event. “It’s always more motivating to do a tournament for 130 people than for 60 as we did not so long ago to maintain it at all costs when we had very few registered. So there, I think that the reputation of the tournament is there and we should maintain it for years”
39 players from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Of the 135 badistas participating, there is an Italian affiliated with Rixensart, a Serbian with Grimbergen and a Dutchman with Boom. But what particularly swelled the registrations were the 39 players from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Among them, 24 come from the Izeg club, where Verviers player Joachim Cansse coaches. “The Verviers club is the club that trained me as a child player. I also played in the first team. I also participated in this tournament. I made the final in under 15 a while ago. It’s fun coming from the other side of the field”they remember Joachim Cansse who trains in the club d’Izeg in Luxembourg. “It’s a small country over there. Players play against each other all the time. Here they have the opportunity to come and play against other players. In addition, the level is a little higher than in Luxembourg. So we try to put them under a little pressure.”
“The level is really high here”
And on the pitch, the young Luxembourgers are adapting to the level of the tournament. If for some Luxembourgers, learning comes through defeats, others do better than defend themselves. “The tournament is going well for me. I won my first match so I think it’s going well. For me the level is the same as in Luxembourg”says Lara Perfido, affiliated with the Izeg club in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. “I came here to see how things are going in Belgium. In Luxembourg, the level is too high for me. I haven’t been playing for a long time, so I want to progress and see other players.”confides Kenan Turkusevic of the club d’Izeg in Luxembourg.
17 players from RBC Verviers
Long recognized as the only international youth tournament in Wallonia, since last year, the Verviers tournament has been joined by Fernelmont and Jodoigne. But for the 17 Verviers badists registered, it is an opportunity to compete at the international level. “The level of the tournament is quite complicated. I still lost but the atmosphere is quite nice. I have more difficulty sending them back to the bottom. At the front it’s okay but deep down I’m having trouble. And the others make me move a lot so it’s complicated”comments Élisa Hertay from the Verviers badminton club. “The most important thing is to have fun and do your best. Even if we don’t win, we still learn”adds Klara Dormal, from RBC Verviers. This eleventh edition of the international youth tournament in Spa is more than successful for the Verviers club which will want to confirm this enthusiasm next year, for the 12th edition of the event.
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