18 November, 2024
Callum Hemming and Estelle Van Leeuwen proved the cream of a talented Badminton England crop after emerging victorious in the mixed doubles final of the AIG VICTOR Irish Open 2024.
In a rematch of last year’s semi-final, the duo came from a game down to take the next two against Denmark’s Rasmus Espersen and Amalie Cecilie Kudsk, winning the matchup 19-21 21-18 21-14.
The pair marched to the quarterfinals in professional fashion, sweeping aside the Danish duo of Calvin Lundsgaard and Signe Schulz 21-12 21-18.
A 21-14 21-19 victory over Germany’s Jones Ralfy Jansen and Thuc Phuong Nguyen secured their place in the final before triumph in the final over Espersen and Kudsk.
Hemming and Van Leeuwen both had a chance to make it double delight in Ireland but fell short in the semi-final and final of the men’s doubles and women’s doubles respectively.
Playing alongside Chloe Birch, Van Leeuwen reached the final of the women’s doubles, only to face defeat at the hands of another Danish pair, Natasja P. Anthonisen and Maiken Fruergaard 19-21 19-21.
Anthonisen and Fruergaard had previously overcame Lisa Curtin and Wales’ Saffron Morris in the round of 32 en route to triumph.
Hemming meanwhile, booked his ticket to the semi finals of the men’s doubles alongside Ethan Van Leeuwen, defeating compatriots Chern Yue Chua and Koon Fung Kelvin Ho before being knocked out by Scotland’s Christopher and Matthew Grimley 15-21 21-18 16-21.
On the other side of the bracket, Oliver Butler and Samuel Jones matched Hemming and Van Leeuwen in securing their place in the semi-finals, only to be overcome by Denmark’s William Kryger Boe and Christian Faust Kjær 14-21 11-21.
Partnered with Sian Kelly, Butler also competed in the mixed doubles, reaching the round of 32 before a hard-fought loss to another Danish pair, Lundsgaard and Schulz 19-21 16-21.
It was a similar story for Jones, who, alongside Annie Lado, could not get past Alexander Dunn and Julie Macpherson in the round of 32.
In the women’s doubles, the round of 16 saw Kelly and Lado battle against Abbygael Harris and Lizzie Tolman in all-English affair, though they were beaten 10-21 11-21.
Harris and Tolman would go on to reach the quarter-final, where their progress in the competition was checked by Debora Jille and Sara Thygesen Jille.
Over in the men’s doubles, Scott Carter and Muhammad Osman saw their run in the tournament ended in the round of 32 by the Czech Republic’s Jiří and Ondřej Král.
Harry Huang and Ethan Rose both fell in the same stage of the men’s singles, while Jamie Pearcy, Adam Shepherd and Hugo Jardim faced defeat in the qualification round of 64.
Elsewhere in the men’s singles, the qualification round of 16 proved too steep a hurdle for Heng Lin Ngan and Rohan Thool.