Malmö Racketlon and the Swedish Racketlon Federation hosted two racketlon events this weekend February 23-25: IWT Swedish Open 2018 and the first leg of FIR Champions League 2018. Lukas Windischberger, Austria, defended his title from last year and Natalie Paul, Germany, won the gold medal in Women A. All results are available on fir.tournamentsoftware.com
iPro London and Berlin Berghain Boasters in the lead after first leg
New for this year is an additional second division in FIR Champions League 2018. In Malmö eight drafted Division 1 teams and four Division 2 teams played three matches each. In Division 1, iPro London and Berlin Berghain Boasters won all their matches – and the two captains Amke Fischer and Duncan Stahl are both on top of the player statistics with five and four wins, respectively. Also in Division 2, iPro London and Berlin Berghain Boasters are in the lead after the first leg with two wins each. It appears that London and Berlin are outstanding at scouting racketlon players. It will be most interesting to follow the second leg in Germany in August!
Windischberger defended the title
This year 126 players from 17 countries entered IWT Swedish Open 2018. Just like previous years in Malmö, many of the best players in the world entered the tournament – 6 out of 10 of the top-10 men and two top-10 women. In the Men A draw of 24, the top-3 seeded players reached the semi finals, joined by the German wildcard player Cornelius Radermacher. In the final, after a solid 21-3 win in squash, world No 1 Lukas Windischberger needed only two points in tennis against world No 2 Morten Jaksland – which he got before changing sides of the court at 11. Thus, Windischberger secured his second title on the FIR World Tour 2018!
Izzy Bramhall (Tyrell) comeback
Fewer women entered the elite category this year, resulting in a group of four players. There were some really tight matches in Malmö, and two players won two matches. In the end, Natalie Paul, Germany, ended up on top of the podium after a +6 win over Stine Jacobsen, Denmark. Izzy Bramhall, Great Britain, won the bronze medal in her comeback to international racketlon – losing to Jacobsen by only 2 points and Paul by 5! (credit: Tournament Director)
Danes dominate the lower classes
As expected when organizing racketlon tournaments in the south of Sweden, many Danish players are attracted to cross the bridge between Copenhagen and Malmö. Twenty-eight Danes entered IWT Swedish Open 2018, and they delivered some excellent racketlon. Danes won Men B, Men C, Men D, Seniors +45, Seniors +50, Senior +55 Doubles, and (together with Swedes) Men C doubles and Seniors +45 Doubles. In total, Danes won 22 out of 57 medals during the weekend – almost 40%. That is a great achievement by the 28 Danes that came to Malmö!
Malmö Racketlon, Hyllie sportcenter, and the entire tournament crew, extend thanks to all players. We hope to see you again in the future!
Markus Borg
Tournament Director
