News from the world of Czech Para-Badminton: we know the winners of the Czech Championship, Sharks trained in Spain and 6 Czech players will compete at the European Championships in Rotterdam

In the summer, badminton training on the court usually goes a bit by the wayside and the agenda is to get in shape before the new season. But this is not the case for para-badminton players, as the European Games in the Netherlands will take place in the second half of August. Players from Badminton Sharks took part in an international camp in Spain.

All participants agreed that it was extremely beneficial to work with the World Circuit and World Championship medalists and their coaches. Although it was very hot in the training hall, it was an amazing experience. The next preparatory event before the European Championships was to be the Para-Badminton Championships, for the first time without foreign participants. So, besides the WCR, history is opening up a championship for Czech players only. This was not possible in the previous years due to the lack of parabadminton players. The membership base is gradually expanding. The championship was attended by 19 athletes in 5 classification groups. 7 disciplines were played and 10 sets of medals were distributed. The most successful team was Badminton Sharks Brno. Players of the Brno club won 7 titles. 3 other titles were shared by representatives of SK Badminton Český Krumlov, BA Pilsen and Badminton Orlová Lutyně.

And what are the impressions of the Czech champions in parabadminton?

Czech singles champion WH1 - Kamil Šnajdar:

"After the Czech Para Badminton Emil Open 2023 in May, where I finished second, I realized that I can compete with the best players in the Czech Republic. I am therefore very happy that I managed to confirm this result and win the first Czech National Para Badminton Championship 2023. I am also very happy with the result of the doubles, where Lukas Kyncl and I narrowly lost in the final and finished second. The tournament was well prepared from the organizational point of view and for us it was a kind of dress rehearsal before the next tournament in Rotterdam, which will be played from 15th August. We are also planning to participate in tournaments on the BWF World Circuit, and this year we would like to go to Thailand or Dubai."

Czech singles champion in WH2 - Šimon Král:

"The championship was great. I played with players I have never played with and beat them. Only the doubles could have been better."

Czech singles champion SL3 - Ales Eger:

"I would like to thank for the opportunity to participate, the organization is not easy, so a big appreciation and admiration to Tomas Vovs and all the people from his team. The tournament was beautiful and fun. I would also like to thank all the parabadminton players for their dedication to this beautiful sport, which for me is badminton. As for myself , I like to train and move from SL3 to WH2 category so I would say everything from again better more accurate and faster."

Czech singles champion SL4+SU5 - Tomas Drtil:

"The parabadminton championship went as I expected. Unfortunately, I have no competition in the Czech Republic in singles, so I could only surprise in doubles. I played doubles with my partner for the second time in my life and we finished in second place, which is great and at least we know what to focus on.

My plans for next year are big because I want to participate in as many international tournaments as possible. I would like to make it to the training camp in Asia. Hopefully it will all work out."

Czech doubles champions WH1+WH2 - Lukáš Šembera and Zbyněk Sýkora:

"The parabadminton championship was great! The level and the player base is going up, which can be seen in the fact that more and more players from different parts of the Czech Republic are participating in the tournament. It was an honour to play doubles with Lukáš, who was one of the first to start parabadminton in the Czech Republic. We have good chemistry and I think we could be good partners. It's just a pity that we are both in the WH1 group.

My plans on the world circuit are to regularly participate in at least 3 tournaments a year, gain experience and not lose all my matches. I believe I have what it takes to play quality matches, but I will have to work hard and give up some things. However, I am determined and I believe I can do it."

Golden Simon the King. Photo: Badminton Sharks

Czech champions in doubles SL3+SL4+SU5

Filip Rataj: "The Championships were perfectly organized and to my surprise there were some players I had never heard of before and thanks to them we could play a lot more. I would like to thank my coaches for their support. My next goal is to win the European Championship and defend the Czech Championship next year."

Patrik Valas: "I am 50% satisfied with the Czech Championship in Lišně. The doubles with Filip Ratay went very well and we won the gold. He is a great player, so he deserves a lot of credit for the victory. In singles it was all up to me and the result was worse there. I had my sights set on 3rd place, but after a few unnecessary mistakes I lost the deciding match. So it was a potato. Obviously the nerves and pressure of being on the box got to me. Otherwise, the championship in Lišno was well organized and I thank the Badminton Sharks club from Brno for the invitation. Next year I will definitely participate again and I will try to get a better result."

Czech champions in mixed doubles SL3+SL4+SU5 - Ales Eger and Lenka Šamšulová:

"My impressions are amazing. The victory was definitely deserved. I am very happy. And as for the championship, great organization, beautiful game of all participants and it was great to meet my training colleagues and get to know other players I don't know.

My next plans? I would definitely like to develop technically and physically to a higher level of my playing skills. Possibly take part in international tournaments to compete against other opponents."

Winners of mixed doubles Ales Eger and Lenka Šamšulová. Photo: Badminton Sharks

After the European Games, where 6 Czech players are finally going to the European Games: Filip Rataj, Zbyněk Sýkora, Kamil Šnajdar, Lukáš Kyncl, Jan Matoušek and Miloš Bauer summer activities are not over yet. Badminton Sharks Brno invites you to the Summer Para Badminton Camp 2.-3.9. in Brno. The event is for all classification groups. The poster for the event can be found on Facebook Czech Para Badminton.

Full results of the 2023 Para Badminton Championships can be found here.

You can follow more Czech Para Badminton events on parabadminton.cz, Facebook and Instagram Czech Para Badminton.

Tomáš Voves