This weekend, the winners of one of badminton's oldest tournaments, the Welsh International, were crowned. Since its inception in 1928, the tournament has been held, with this year's edition taking place in Cardiff, Wales.
Young Spaniards in the Spotlight
The standout player of the tournament was Spain's Lucía Rodríguez. At just 20 years old, she completed the tournament having dropped only one set, despite competing in both mixed doubles and women's doubles.
In mixed doubles, she partnered with her peer Rubén García. The duo has had a remarkable season with several impressive results. This weekend, they added another highlight by winning the Welsh Open without dropping a single set. In the final, they defeated Joshua Magee and Moya Ryan 21-13, 21-11.
In women’s doubles, Rodríguez teamed up with Paula López, and the top-seeded pair lived up to expectations. In the final, they beat Nozomi Shimizu from Australia and Iris van Leijsen from the Netherlands with scores of 21-17, 21-18.
In men’s singles, the title went to Karono Karono from Australia, who defeated England’s Ethan Rose in the final with scores of 21-10, 21-14. Ethan Rose had a strong tournament, defeating several seeded players on his way to the final.
In men’s doubles, it was an all English clash as Chua Yue Chern and Koon Fung Kelvin Ho faced Oliver Butler and Samuel Jones. Butler and Jones emerged victorious with a 21-14, 21-17 win.
In women’s singles, the final was an all Chinese Taipei showdown. Top-seeded Huang Ching Ping claimed the women’s singles title after a walkover in the final.
Congratulations to Spain and England on their tournament victories, and a big applause to Badminton Wales for hosting a successful and well-organized event.