The 160 players from 15 teams have fought it out over the last three weeks for a shot at the second annual Club Championships title. The teams have played off in two groups, with two pools of five teams in Group A and one pool of five teams in Group B contesting five categories; Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Masters Doubles (40 and above).
The top four teams in Group A Level A will now play off in the semi-finals on 19 August, and in a change to the format from last year, the other semi-finals will be contested by the top two teams in Group A Level B and the top two teams in Group B. The winners will then move into the finals on 26 August.
In Group A Level A Team Yonex won both of their matches on Friday, defeating Team Victor 4-1 and Prime Star 3-2. The victories gave Team Yonex a clean sweep of the preliminary round matches and saw them finish at the top of Group A. Prime Star recovered from their loss to Team Yonex to defeat NSNL-SD A to finish second in the group. Team Victor had a walkover against Newbreed A, giving them third place with NSNL-SD A finishing in fourth ahead of Newbreed A.
The semi-finals will see Team Yonex meet NSNL-SD A, while Prime Star will face Team Victor.
In Group A Level B Newbreed B continued their good form surviving a tough encounter to take their fourth victory from four matches, narrowly defeating NSNL-SD B 3-2 to finish first in the Group. NSNL-SD B regrouped after the loss and went on to defeat Captain Badminton Club to finish in second and move into the semi-finals. Captain Badminton Club and Eagle Smashers both had walkovers over Arab Badminton Club, but their third and fourth place finishes see them out of the competition, along with fifth placed Arab Badminton Club.
Miko Mosarbas (left) and Myron Verano.
In Group B Friday Smashers were favourites to win after good performances in Rounds 1 and 2, and did not disappoint with a 3-2 victory over Team Victor B. Team Victor B were determined not to miss the semis and in their next match registered an emphatic win over Shuttle Rockers 4-1, securing the second semi-finals spot. Shuttle Rockers finished third in the group, with Badmintown fourth and Last Point Club in fifth.
The Group B semi-finals will see Newbreed B meet Team Victor B, and NSNL-SD B will play Friday Smashers.
All the action in the semi-finals will commence at 6pm on Friday 19 August at Dubai Sports World, with the finals to be contested on Friday 26 August at 6pm.
The Club Championships are held under the umbrella of Shuttle Time Dubai, an innovative, engaging and inclusive development program which aims to encourage participation in badminton across the community. In addition to the Club Championships, Shuttle Time is being implemented through a range of programs and activities including teacher training and coaching development programs; Schools Championships and the provision of free courts at Dubai Sports World.
The Shuttle Time Dubai program is being implemented as part of the arrangement between the BWF and Dubai Sports Council, the pinnacle of which is the hosting of the Dubai World Superseries Finals in Dubai each December from 2014-2017.
For more information on Shuttle Time Dubai visit Badminton Shuttle Time Dubai, or log on to www.dubaisuperseriesfinals.ae Tickets to the Dubai World Superseries Finals will be available soon through Ticketmaster.
