Rostrenen opened its Top 12 badminton campaign with a 1-5 defeat against Saint-Maur at the gymnase de Porz Moëlou, running into a formidable Parisian outfit under the division’s revamped regulations. According to local reports, the Kreiz Breizh club faced an uphill battle right from the start of the tie, dropping three consecutive matches before mounting a brief response in front of their home supporters.
The fixture marked the official start of a heavily restructured interclub championship format designed to streamline matches across the national top flight. Anaïg Sibéril, animatrice du Bad’club Rostren, acknowledged ahead of the tie that the club was stepping into unfamiliar territory, noting that teams had to adapt quickly to the sweeping adjustments governing the league structure.
Under the updated Top 12 guidelines reported by regional outlets, team encounters have been condensed from eight matches down to six. The new lineup features just one men’s single and one women’s single, alongside one men’s double, one women’s double, and two mixed doubles matches. Furthermore, the traditional scoring format has been tightened, with individual sets played to 15 points without offensive or defensive bonus points, while match rosters are now capped at six players with strict parity rules for French and foreign athletes.
The afternoon began with a flurry of setbacks for the hosts. Beiwen Zhang dropped her women’s singles match against Anna Tatranova after retiring in the third set, a physical blow that also left the club depleted for subsequent doubles pairings. Noah Haase and Xuefei Qi then fell in three sets to Maël Cattoen and Anna Klausholm in the opening mixed double, before Paul Tournefier and new signing Wendy Le Cam dropped their mixed match against Lucas Corvée and Iben Berstein in straight sets.
Noah Haase provided a spark for the hosts in the men’s single, securing a straight-sets victory over Yanis Gaudin by 15-13, 15-5 to put Rostrenen on the scoreboard. However, the visitors from Île-de-France quickly reasserted control. Saint-Maur, drawing from a deep talent pool connected to INSEP, sealed the team victory as Wendy Le Cam and Xuefei Qi fell to Iben Berstein and Anna Klausholm, while Danylo Bosniuk and Paul Tournefier dropped their men’s double encounter to Maël Cattoen and Yanis Gaudin.
Alongside returnees such as Paul Tournefier, Léo Van Rysel, Nhat Nguyen, and Noah Haase, the club added reinforcements including Chinese player Ze Qing Liu and Spanish competitor Jacobo Fernandez. On the women’s side, Xuefei Qi remains the anchor of the squad, supported by Wendy Le Cam arriving from Carquefou, returning Dutch player Imke Van der Aar, and Ukrainian competitor Jane Paksiutova.
Rostrenen will look to regroup and plot their recovery as the long Top 12 season unfolds. Fans and club officials are already turning their attention toward upcoming fixtures on the calendar as the squad adapts to the demands of the 15-point set format and the condensed six-match team layout.
Worth a look
