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The Arroyo de la Miel Sports Pavilion will host the Benalmádena Spanish Open U17 & U15 from Thursday, January 29 to Sunday, February 1, a tournament that will bring together nearly 300 young athletes from a dozen European countries, as well as a large national and Andalusian representation.
This event is organized by the Spanish Badminton Federation, the Andalusian Badminton Federation and the Benalmádena Badminton Club, with the sponsorship of the Benalmádena City Council, the Andalusian Government and the Malaga Provincial Council.
The celebration of this tournament marks the seventh consecutive edition in Andalusia since 2020, which has consolidated Benalmádena as a stable and reference venue on the international badminton calendar in training categories.
The Sports Councilor of the Benalmádena City Council, Alejandro Carretero, has highlighted the relevance of the event both in the sporting field and in its impact on the city. “Benalmádena once again demonstrates its organizational capacity by hosting a top-level international tournament. Events like this reinforce our image as a sports city, boost the local economy and allow our young athletes to compete at home against some of the best talents in Europe,” he stated. Also present at the presentation of the event were the Sports Director of the Malaga Provincial Council, Javier Díaz, and Esther Sanz, representing the Andalusian Badminton Federation.
In the Under-15 category, the tournament will have 90 athletes, of which 78 are Spanish from different parts of the country, along with 12 international participants from the Czech Republic, Italy, Denmark, Romania, Sweden and China. The modality with the highest number of registrations will be the men’s singles, followed by the women’s singles and the mixed doubles. In addition, there will be a notable Andalusian representation with 27 players from clubs from Ronda, Rute, Sierra Morena, Almería, Arjonilla, Benalmádena, IES La Orden, Jorge Guillén, Montilla and Rinconada.
The U-15 competition will take place through an initial group phase during the first two days, advancing on Saturday to the knockout rounds and concluding on Sunday with the semifinals and finals, thus closing the category.
On the other hand, the U-17 category will bring together 199 entries distributed in five game types, with representation of ten nationalities, including Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, England, Poland, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and Spain. Among the favorites are prominent European players such as the Danish Axel Boesen, the Swede Ludvig Marmsten, the German Ian Baumann and the Andalusian Guillermo Muñoz, as well as the Spaniards Raúl Hernández and Jorge Royo. In the women’s category, the Dutch Daria Demchykina, the German Helena Huang and the Spanish Belén Soto and Nuria Serra stand out.
Alejandro Carretero also emphasized the importance of the tournament for Andalusian grassroots sport, stating that “we are talking about a competition that brings together future figures of international badminton. For Benalmádena it is a pride that 27 Andalusian athletes can compete in an event of this level, at home and in front of their fans.”
The U-17 competition will begin on Thursday, January 29 at 11:30 a.m. with the first rounds of the tournament, will continue on Friday with the qualifiers and will be resolved during the weekend with all the final rounds.
With this new edition of the Spanish Open U17 & U15, Benalmádena reaffirms its commitment to grassroots sports and the organization of international events, consolidating itself as a sporting benchmark on the Costa del Sol.
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