Badminton World Cup 2025: German talents gain valuable experience

Badminton World Cup 2025: German talents gain valuable experience

The 2025 Badminton World Championships in Paris have begun and numerous German athletes are at the start. Among them was Fabian Roth, who played his first match against Lee Cheuk Yiu from Hong Kong (world number 13). Roth fought through the game last night, but ultimately had to give up after two hard-fought sets 16:21, 21:23. Particularly bitter for him: Contrary to his good performance in the second set, he was unable to use two set points, which cost him the decisive third set. “I did my best, but missing the third set hurts,” said Roth, still optimistically about his performance, which should help him further in his development.

His doubles teammates, Malik Bourakkadi and Leona Michalski, also felt the oppressive atmosphere of the Adidas Arena. After losing the first set, they put in a great performance in the second and won 21:18, forcing a playoff. Unfortunately, the score was 10:21, which Bourakkadi described as annoying, but also saw positive aspects in their game.

Positive experiences for the debutants

The experiences of the seven German talents who are making their debut at this World Cup are particularly exciting. These include the women's doubles team Selin Hübsch and Amelie Lehmann, as well as the men's doubles team Kenneth Neumann and Malik Bourakkadi. In other disciplines, Matthias Kicklitz in the men's singles and Miranda Wilson in the women's singles are challenged. Kicklitz faces Jonatan Christie (Indonesia, WRL 5) and Wilson faces Supanida Katethong (Thailand, WRL 11).

Yvonne Li, who is returning after taking part in the 2024 Olympic Games, met reigning world champion An Se Young from South Korea (WRL 1) in the first round. Although she started well and led for a while, Li ultimately lost 15:21, 7:21. In her reflection, she recognized that An Se Young got better as the game went on and learned valuable lessons from the match.

National coach sees development potential

National coach Hannes Käsbauer was optimistic in his analysis of the German squad players during this top-class tournament. For Käsbauer, these competitions are about learning and experience, especially for the inexperienced players, who can gain a lot of impressions from the world's best. “These experiences are crucial for the future development of our athletes,” said Käsbauer.

The World Championships run until August 31st and promise exciting encounters. As Yvonne Li and Fabian Roth show, setbacks are also part of the process; They are sure that they can use the challenges in Paris as a springboard for future successes. Who knows, maybe new talent will soon be at the top?