A Coruña played host to the second leg of the Primera División Oro badminton league this past weekend, with the Club Athlos securing a fourth-place standing after a mixed bag of results. The Ourense-based team registered one victory against a challenging field, alongside two defeats, maintaining their position with three wins and three losses overall.
The weekend began with a closely contested match between Athlos and CER Vigo, ultimately decided in favor of CER Vigo by a narrow margin of 3-4. Athlos rebounded in their second match, overcoming the host club, Club del Mar, with a 4-3 victory. The team concluded the leg with a 2-5 loss to CB Arjonilla.
With nine points accumulated, Club Athlos finds itself in a tight cluster of five teams all holding the same point total, though with varying set differentials. Leading the league is CDB Huelva, with a perfect record of six wins for 18 points, boasting 28 sets won and only 14 lost. Arjonilla currently sits in second place with 15 points, followed by Paracuellos, similarly with 15 points.
Athlos currently represents the highest-ranked Galician team in the league. Following closely behind are San Amaro (9 points), As Neves (6 points), and CER Vigo (6 points).
Individually, the Club Athlos team boasts three players ranked within the league’s top ten. Antonio Iglesias holds the fifth position, Sara Ezquerro is seventh, and Xoel Álvarez is eighth, each having secured nine victories in twelve matches played.
The next leg of the Primera Oro will be held in Granollers on April 18th and 19th.
International Competition
Athlos athletes also participated in the Portugal International tournament held in Caldas da Rainha. Antonio Iglesias advanced through the qualifying round, defeating host player Tomás Rodrigues with a decisive 21-9, 21-8 victory. In men’s doubles, partnering with Gabriel Fernández, they were defeated by the Slovakian duo of Mika Ivancic and Tadej Jelenn, 21-18, 21-9. Ana Nóvoa faced a loss in the individual competition against local player Mafalda Avelino, 21-16, 21-15, and in mixed doubles, alongside Gabriel Fernández, they were defeated by the British pair of Robin Harper and Yulia Tang, 21-9, 21-9.
The Liga Nacional de Clubes de bádminton, currently known as LaLigaSports TOP10, is the highest tier of club badminton in Spain. The league’s structure has evolved over the years. Initially, the top four teams from each group competed in a direct elimination bracket. From 2005 to 2015, the format shifted to 12 teams divided into two groups of six, with teams playing a double round-robin within their groups. From 2016 to 2021, the league featured a single eight-team bracket playing a double round-robin. The current format, implemented in 2022, features ten teams divided into two groups of five, followed by semi-finals and a relegation playoff.
Each match in the league consists of seven individual contests. The Division of Honor was founded in 1987 and is organized by the Spanish Badminton Federation (badminton.es).
Athlos will look to build on their current form as they prepare for the next leg of the competition in Granollers. Fans can follow the team’s progress and results on the official league website, liga.badminton.es, and through updates from the club’s official channels.
