For two successive years, Hampshire Badminton Association played host to the English National Badminton Championships. Building on the success of 2019, Hampshire Badminton were invited once again by Badminton England to host this prestigious tournament on 1st and 2nd February 2020 at The Westgate Badminton Centre in Winchester.
This time around, we had much longer to plan and prepare for the big event and allowed us to produce a competition that was bigger, better and more successful than the previous attempt (although 2019 was a pretty good effort!)
One of the key improvements made this year was the coverage of the matches on YouTube.
These was supplied by a fantastic team of staff and students from Solent University, Southampton where students are studying for a career in TV and film production. Another great addition this year was the commentary on the broadcast which helped to add a different dimension and provide a much more ‘slick’ and professional viewing experience for those watching from the comfort of their sofas! Our thanks go to the staff and students at Solent University for the superb service they provided us all weekend.
Inside the venue, the atmosphere was cranked up on last year with the sale of 40% more tickets than in 2019. This created a more vibrant and energetic ‘feel’ to the whole event which, considering we had no fewer than nine Hampshire players taking part, would have been a huge source of inspiration.
Hampshire’s very own Max Flynn and his partner Fee Teng Liew clinched the mixed doubles crown in their first ever final at senior level. Fellow Hampshire player Ollie Baczala put in an incredible performance against last year’s runner-up Sam Parsons to win in two sets. This game was truly electric and Ollie set the arena alight with his mesmerising display of defensive and attacking play. Unfortunately Ollie was knocked-out at the semi-final stage where a fresher Johnnie Torjussen was to prove a game too far having only played the one game previously as one of the seeds.
Pictured below, Hampshire players in action at The English Nationals 2020.
