Tournament Review: 2025 European U17 Championships – Arrecife, Spain

Our young stars delivered an inspiring week of badminton at the 2025 U17 European Championships in Arrecife, Spain, showcasing resilience, growth, and some truly impressive performances. After a challenging team event, the squad bounced back superbly in the individual competitions, demonstrating both quality and character against the very best players in Europe.

One of the standout positives from the tournament was the number of athletes progressing to the last 32, highlighting the depth of talent within the team.

In the women’s doubles, Jaagruti Mannem and Qing Ying Xiao produced some excellent badminton, pushing Austrian duo Lisa Moosbrugger and Matilda Simma in two tight sets before bowing out. Jaagruti continued her strong form in the women’s singles, putting together a brilliant run to the last 32. Her campaign ended only after a three-set thriller against Germany’s Alexia Nedelcu, ranked 42nd in the world, a match that showcased Jaagruti’s fight and composure on the big stage.

There was further success in the women’s doubles as Shona Brown and Shreya Vargheese also reached the last 32. They faced a formidable challenge in France’s 4th seeds Melia Beule and Manon Heitzmann, who ultimately proved too strong. The French pair went on to win the entire event, overcoming England’s Mia Fox and Rajvi Parab in the final.

On the men’s doubles front, Arnav Saraswat and Max McCabe delivered a gritty performance in their last 32 encounter with Serbia’s Aleksa Radovanovic and Danilo Stevanovic. Despite pushing the Serbians hard, the match slipped away 21–19, 21–16 in a tightly contested battle.

A huge congratulations also goes out to Nathan Luo and Calum Tsang, for their determination and commitment throughout both the team and individual events. Special thanks must be extended to our coaches Julie Hogg and Callum Crangle, whose guidance and support were instrumental in helping our young athletes perform at their best on the European stage.

Full tournament results can be found here:
https://bwf.tournamentsoftware.com/tournament/EF16ADD4-C8A0-44FF-83CE-26D5A89687B7/player/250

Overall, the tournament provided invaluable experience and plenty of encouraging signs for the future. Our players not only competed with pride but proved they belong among Europe’s elite. The future looks very bright indeed.