Seniors Teams Preview | Racketlon World Championships 2022

Our preview of the FIR Racketlon World Championships continues with the Seniors Teams breakdown.

There are four categories at these Championships; +40, +45, +55 and +65 – equalling the number at the last World Championships in 2019.

Let’s dive straight into our breakdown of the tournament.

Seniors +40 Teams

Edition: 3rd

2019 Champion: Germany (Altmann, Voelkel, Branke, Köpf, Neidhardt, Schaub, Zwiers)

Most Titles: Germany/Switzerland (1)

At the 2019 World Championships, Germany, Switzerland and Finland were the three nations that battled for glory in the Seniors +40 Teams. Defending champions Germany are the only nation to be returning three years later.

Germany is joined in the four-nation box league by Great Britain, Denmark and Austria. Only three of the 2019 winning team are back representing the German team this year. Silke Altmann, Tom Branke and Alexander Köpf all return. They are joined by Andreas Escher, Matthias Ramspeck, Werner Seel and Carola Von Heimburg.

The star player in this draw is current Women’s Singles champion, Stine Jacobsen. She’s the standout in a Danish team glistening with current World Champions. Men’s +50 Singles, Doubles and Mixed World Champion Jacob Steinmetz is in the Danish team, as are Men’s +40 Doubles champions Anders Fyrst and Soeren Smit.

There’s another star in the Austria team in the form of Austrian National Champion Michi Dickert. The Austrian star is joined by Peter Hatina, Bernd Jaschke, Dieter Mühl, Philipp Schneider and Horst Schwarzenberger. The deep Austrian team is bolstered by Eva Gallagher and Elisabeth Wrabel, completing the impressive eight-player team.

Last up is the debut of Great Britain. Well-known duo Ray Jordan and Keith Lesser are flanked by the less experienced Peter Browning and Luke Penna. Similarly, Dianne Baker is joined by relative newcomer Alice Flatman to complete the fourth and final team in the draw.

Seniors +45 Teams

Edition: 9th

2019 Champion: Great Britain (Bramhall, Shelley, Doney, Foulds, Krzystyniak, Lau, Middleton)

Most Titles: Germany/Sweden (3)

One of the oldest teams categories at the Championships is the Seniors +45 Teams. The first edition of this took place back in 2010, with Germany and Sweden both winning it three times. However, it’s Great Britain that head to Austria as defending champions.

Jo Shelley and Jon Foulds are the only members to return from that 2019 team. They are joined by Duncan Stahl, Peter Barton, Stuart Rank, Ed Westmacott and Jane Galsworthy. The British team are one of four teams to have landed in Group B, with the winners of the two groups qualifying for the final.

Three-time champions Sweden join Great Britain in Group B. They haven’t won since 2014, and will be hoping that a team featuring the likes return of Niclas Larsson, Pontus Olofsson and Pär Gunnar Mattsson, among others, will be able to trouble the Brits.

Joining Great Britain and Sweden in the group are India and Czech Republic II. India’s team looks strong, with former Men’s Seniors Singles champion Ashutosh Avinash Pednekar and last year’s Men’s C Singles champion Varinder Singh spearheading the attack.

With Czech Republic II in Group B, Czech Republic I lands in Group A. Accompanying the team is Germany and Austria for a showdown between three racketlon heavyweights. Marcel Weigl and Thomas Wagner, who were both a part of Austria’s World Cup winning team in 2018, feature in a stacked Austrian team.

Fresh from a Men’s +40 Singles title at the IWT German Open, Jan Port headlines a tight-knit Czech team that also includes Richard Hobzik, Tomas Jirouch, Martin Bartoš and Zuzana Vancuríková. If Germany wins the title then it will be the most successful nation in this category. It brings a typically heavyweight team featuring the likes of Ulrich Schlepphorst, Christian Ried, Torsten Kuntz and Anita Voelkel.

Seniors +55 Teams

Edition: 6th

2019 Champion: Hungary (Dr. Soos, Karolyi, Marko, Matecsa, Sákovics, Temesvary)

Most Titles: Great Britain/Hungary (2)

With more world titles than anyone else, Peter Sákovics is the undisputed GOAT on the Racketlon Seniors circuit. The Hungarian won all four of his matches as he masterminded Hungary’s run to the title back in 2019.

Four of Hungary’s 2019 winning team return, with Zoltán Albert and István Sági joining for 2022. If Hungary is to retain the title, then it will first have to defeat home favourites Austria, who boast a six-strong team.

Germany is the top seed in the draw, unsurprising given it boasts three current World Champions. Those come in the form of Frank Kleiber, Thomas Knaack and Volker Sach. It won’t be an easy start for the German contingent though, as they begin against a Sweden team spearheaded by the rejuvenated return of Magnus Edby.

Great Britain is the only team other than Hungary to have won this title more than once. It enters this year’s draw unseeded but with a team boasting plenty of experience. Martyn Langston is a former World Seniors Singles champion and is flanked by familiar faces Rakesh Gupta and Duncan Marlow.

Switzerland is Great Britain’s opening opponent, and it features a team chock full of active players. Giovanni Gentile, Manfred Grab, Beat Ladner and the ever-present Graham King all feature in a stacked Switzerland line-up as they go in search of gold for the first time.

The last match sees Finland take on Israel for a spot in the semi-finals. Avi Shemri continues to be the headliner for Team Israel as he leads a four-man squad to Vienna. Finland also boasts a number of familiar faces such as Seppo Raiski and Pekka Tennilä. Finnish hopes rest on this team as they are the only Finns competing at the Juniors and Seniors World Championships.

Seniors +65 Teams

Edition: 3rd

2019 Champion: Denmark (Cain, Hesselbjerg)

Most Titles: Denmark (2)

Racketlon duos don’t come more successful than Graham Cain and Steen Hesselbjerg. The Danish icons are unbeaten in this category, winning the title together in both 2018 and 2019.

They return three years later looking to continue their unbeaten streak in this category that they dominate. However, this year their squad has been bolstered by the additions of Jean-Robert Fiori and Jesper Schou Nielsen.

Great Britain is the other team to be returning after 2019. Like Denmark, it’s the same two competing as Peter Arbuthnot and Geoff Jordan team up once again to go in search of silverware at the highest level.

Neither Sweden nor Finland is back this year. Instead, they’ve been replaced in the four-nation box league by Austria and the Czech Republic. Racketlon Hall of Famer Svatopluk Rejthar makes up one-half of the Czech team. Joining him on the court is Leoš Prokop, as the Czechs look to cause a stir.

The biggest squad in this category is Team Austria, who are bringing a famous five to the tournament. Michael Karácsonyi, Erich Knotter, Peter Libal, Peter Weigl and Franz Wiedermann are looking to win a title in their whole tournament.

The Juniors Teams preview is available here.