Badminton Club Remagen youth players secured one podium finish and six quarterfinal appearances at the Southwest German Championships in Hofheim am Taunus.
- Jolina Saftig’s semifinal run in the U19 girls’ doubles brings her valuable points for the German ranking.
Four junior athletes from BC Remagen traveled to Hesse on the second weekend of November to compete against top-tier talent from Thuringia, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland. The regional championships serve as a critical proving ground for qualification to the German national championships. The draw featured elite competitors from the top ten of the national rankings alongside reigning and former national champions.
Representing the Badminton Association of Rhineland squad, Jolina Saftig, Erik Gebhardt, and siblings Charlotte and Luna Haevescher faced athletes from specialized sports boarding schools and official national youth cadres. Remagen's six quarterfinal berths and one semifinal appearance show their structured youth development program works.
In the U19 category, Jolina Saftig teamed up with Angelie Bhatti of TV Hofheim to reach the girls’ doubles semifinals. They faced top-ranked singles competitors Sarah Nickel and Sina Otto before finishing third and earning ranking points. Saftig and Erik Gebhardt also combined in the U19 mixed event to finish fifth, matching their pre-tournament seeding.
Both Saftig and Gebhardt outperformed their seedings in the U19 singles draws by advancing to the quarterfinals. Saftig was eliminated by eventual runner-up Sina Otto, while Gebhardt fell to the top-seeded player who went on to capture the title. Gebhardt added another quarterfinal finish in the boys’ doubles alongside Nils Götzinger of 1st BCW Hütschenhausen.
| Athlete | Age Group | Discipline | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jolina Saftig & Erik Gebhardt | U19 | Mixed Doubles | 5th Place (Quarterfinals) |
| Charlotte Haevescher / Lenny Maus | U15 | Mixed Doubles | 5th Place (Quarterfinals) |
| Charlotte Haevescher / Siri Prashanth | U15 | Girls’ Doubles | 5th Place (Quarterfinals) |
Charlotte Haevescher competed in the U15 division, reaching the quarterfinals in both mixed doubles with Lenny Maus of BC Westerwald and girls’ doubles with Siri Prashanth of TG Unterliederbach. Her mixed quarterfinal opponents included the reigning U13 national mixed champion and a student at the Hessian Elite School of Sports. In the girls’ doubles, she fell to an established pairing from the Kaiserslautern sports boarding school.
Youngest competitor Luna Haevescher played up in the U15 singles bracket due to quota regulations despite being a U13-eligible player. She surpassed her internal points targets against an opponent three years her senior who holds the fifth spot in the U15 national rankings.
Training sessions for interested players take place on Wednesdays starting at 5:00 PM at the Rheinhalle and on Thursdays from 5:30 PM at the IGS hall.
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