Yonex Bulgarian International Championship – Sofia
5th October 2026 by Robert McLean
It was a busy weekend of action for our Scottish players at the Yonex Bulgarian International Championship in Sofia, with Matthew Waring, James Robertson, and doubles pairing Richard Adams and Calum Flockhart all competing in the main draw.
Matthew Waring was first up, facing home favourite Dimitar Yanakiev in a rematch of their last 16 clash from the same event last year. The opening game was a highly competitive affair, with both players battling hard and little to separate them. It could have gone either way, but the more experienced Bulgarian held his nerve in the closing stages to take the game 21-19. Waring struggled to find the same rhythm in the second game, with Yanakiev producing some excellent badminton to take the game 21-6 and progress.
James Robertson was next on court, taking on Portuguese qualifier David Silva. Despite Robertson coming into the match as the underdog, Silva produced some excellent badminton in what was a high-quality and closely fought contest. After three tight games, Silva eventually came through 21-14, 20-22, 21-16.
The final Scottish involvement on Friday brought a fantastic result, as Richard Adams and Calum Flockhart produced a dominant display against home pairing Ivanov and Stratiev. The Scots controlled the match well to secure a 21-17, 21-15 victory and book their place in the quarter-finals.
Saturday brought a tough quarter-final challenge, with Adams and Flockhart facing the third-seeded Serbian pairing of Doder and Lukic, ranked as high as world number 224. The Scots can be proud of their performance against a much higher-ranked and more experienced pair, battling hard before eventually going down 21-13, 21-11.
A big well done to all our Scots in Sofia. The tournament provided valuable international match experience and another important opportunity to compete at a high level ahead of a busy end to the year, with tournaments coming up across Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Well done Matthew, James, Richard, Calum, Finlay, and Benedict!