Turkey dominate International Badminton Championship
Turkey dominated the 2015 Jamaica International Badminton Championship, winning three of the five finals at the Alfred Sangster Auditorium at the University of Technology on Sunday.
The celebration started when Ebru Tunali created a mild upset, beating tournament number-one seed Zuzana Pevelkova out of Czech Republic 18-21, 21-10 and 21-17 to take the Women’s Singles.
Despite the lost, Pevelkova said she was pleased with her performance throughout the tournament.
“I have played a lot of international tournaments in getting points for world ranking and this tournament will surely improve that a bit. I am disappointed with the lost, but it was a good tournament for me as I am adapting to every playing conditions around the world,” the 23-year-old Pevelkova, who is ranked at 94 in the world, told the Jamaica Observer.
Tunali, who is known for her powerful long smashes, then teamed up with Cemre Fere to defeat fellow Turks Neslihan Kilic and Ebru Yazgan 21-17 and 21-16 in the Women’s Doubles.
The Turks then captured the Mixed Doubles when the pair of Ramazan Ozturk and Neslihan Kilic out-played Solis Jonathan and Nikte Alejandra Sotomayor from Guatemala 21-18 and 21-12 to claim their third title.
In the Men’s Singles, Canadian Martin Giuffe easily brushed aside Turkey’s Emre Vural 21-14 and 16 in the final.
As expected, Solis Jonathan and Rodolfo Ramirez from Guatemala, who were the tournament’s number-one seed, defeated Turkey’s Emre Vural and Sinan Zorla 18-21, 21-15 and 21-12 in the Men’s Doubles.
The level four International Series Tournament, which started last Thursday, provided the opportunity for players to gain qualifying points for World Championships and Rio 2016 Olympic Games.