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We were allowed to start the matches with a number of supporters from Wijchen. The hall was well filled and the badminton mats were in good condition. The 5-3 victory in Wijchen against Amersfoort created one clear challenge: back to Wijchen with the win. This way we could influence enforcement in the Dutch Badminton Premier League.
The two doubles were allowed to play first. Due to the absence of Inger and Sterre, Maureen and substitute Katinka were allowed to take the lead. It became clear during this match that the word substitute contains the word ‘star’. The Danish Ann-Sofie Husher Ruus who flew in and permanent member Imke van der Aar on the BCH side barely knew what to do with the strong playing Wijchen couple in all three sets. Unfortunately for Smashing, this match was lost in 3 strong games.
On the other court, Freek and Vincent were allowed to take revenge for their lost doubles match against Niels and Andy. In two exciting games, after a score of 19-19, a score of 21-19 was recorded for the tall gentlemen of Smashing.
Marijn Put did not live up to his surname and subsequently won against Dion in two games. Marijn proves to be a true asset to the team by winning a large part of his singles matches, often in two sets. Maureen was once again allowed to play against the Danish player who had flown in. Maureen managed to keep up well in the first half of both games, after which Maureen saw the win getting further away. BCH won in two games.
Jonah and Leonie took to the track with an equal score. Jonah didn’t need a plane to fly, because he did that on the track by putting a lot of pressure on the young Pim on the BCH side. As consistently as Jonah played, the score was also 21-11 twice.
Leonie played a different kind of match on the other court. Lieke, who had been a regular Smashing player for a long time, felt the pressure. BCH was not in a red position at the start of this match and every point is an important point for the team from Den Bosch. In the first set it was an exchange of money for both ladies. Long rallies were alternated with short, quick mistakes. Lieke managed to win extra time in the first set, after which Leonie recovered well by winning the second set. Leonie continued to fight for every point, Lieke felt the pressure to win, so this combination ultimately resulted in a 21-12 victory for Smashing.
The mixes started with a score of 4-2 for Smashing. Both matches were decided in two sets. The mix of occasional duo Jonah and Katinka was lost to a strong playing duo from Den Bosch. The experience that two (former) national players bring with them at moments like this quickly becomes the deciding factor. However, Jonah and Katinka continued to fight for every point with strong play, but unfortunately without the desired result.
In the last mixed doubles, Leonie and Marijn were allowed to compete against former Smashing duo Brandon and Lieke. Here too, the pressure for Lieke and Brandon was clearly visible and Leonie and Marijn managed to put the BCH team in a lot of trouble, because with a final score of 5-3, the Smashing team can look back on the past two meetings with great satisfaction.
After a strong weekend for the team, we can now look at a fifth place in the Eredivisie. With two games left to play, it seems that the efforts of the past games will be rewarded. The ball is round, the shuttle flies and sport remains as unpredictable as the Dutch weather. In short, we will continue to fight for every point and are looking forward to the last two meetings of this season with great pleasure.
The team will play their last home game against DKC on Saturday, February 7 at 7 p.m.
