Badminton Club de Jodoigne drew 230 players for its weekend tournament featuring singles, doubles, and mixed events, L’Avenir reported.
Play opened on Saturday with the doubles and a portion of the singles brackets, while the mixed competitions and remaining singles matches took place on Sunday. Organizers faced logistical hurdles assembling the tournament brackets due to a high volume of withdrawals prompted by illness and injuries, forcing officials to redraw the men’s 12 singles bracket twice.
Several home competitors secured podium finishes during the weekend event. Louis Mahaux reached the final in the men’s 3-4 division and partnered with Gabriel Linck of Grâce to win the men’s doubles title.
In the women’s singles top category, local player Olivia Gillman justified her status as the number one seed by capturing the title with a 21-15, 21-8 victory in the final.
The regional tournament also drew strong competition from across the surrounding area. Émilie Spitaels of Rixensart, seeded second in the women’s singles 5-6-7 category, finished runner-up behind top-seeded Mega Gobinath of Antwerp.
Meanwhile, Émilie Bertrand and Loreline Geets from Volant Ramillois claimed the women’s doubles 9-10 crown. “Nous avons fait beaucoup d’interclubs ensemble l’année dernière. Nous avions été invaincues. Cela fait plaisir de gagner ici,” they told L’Avenir.
The annual tournament serves as a major fixture on the club’s calendar, but attention quickly shifts back to league competition. Badminton Club de Jodoigne will host the final round of the first phase of the national 2 interclubs on December 12.
“L’année dernière, nous avions lutté pour le maintien. Nous sommes cette année en milieu de classement. Nous espérons nous qualifier pour les play-off lors de cette journée au cours de laquelle chacune des équipes de la série jouera deux matchs. Une qualification pour les play-off nous permettrait d’être débarrassé de la lutte pour le maintien,” said Jimmy Van Vaerenbergh, speaking to L’Avenir about the team’s ambitions to secure a playoff spot and avoid the relegation battle.
