11 March, 2023
Some of England’s best age-group players will take on Japan in a special U11 friendly match to be held at the Utilita Arena during the YONEX All England Open.
A ten-strong team has been announced for the clash, which will take place on Sunday 19 March, with the squad set to be coached by Hayley Adcock and Robert Golding in Birmingham.
The England squad consists of Junchen Lin, Arjun Bhattiprolu, Etienne Fan, Gerry Ou, Nok Yi Chui, Mutiara Mandala, Michelle Chen and Jennifer Ha, who were all selected by a committee of coaches which included Badminton England Performance Director Morten Frost.
Olaf Kwiecien and Veronika Kodagi will also be present as reserves, and will step onto court should any players be forced to withdraw with illness or injury.
Action will take place before the elite finals at the YONEX All England Open on Sunday, with six matches taking place – two boy’s singles, two girl’s singles, and one boys’ and girls’ doubles respectively.
The event is being held as part of the YONEX legacy programme, allowing some of the best shuttling prodigies from both England and Japan to play on the same courts as some of the sport’s greats.
Adcock, Badminton England’s U15/13 Lead Discovery England Coach, hopes the English players selected take advantage of the huge opportunity presented to them.
She said: “We are so proud to offer this once in a lifetime opportunity for our U11 England team to play at the home of the world’s most prestigious tournament, the YONEX All England.
“It is very rare for any junior player to get the chance to play in an arena this size and to be surrounded by the world’s best players and coaches.
“It is fantastic for them to compete against the Japanese team and hopefully this opportunity will inspire the next generation of badminton players for both England and Japan.
“I am so pleased to be part of this exciting match and who knows, some of these players may return in a few years and compete at the YONEX All England – watch this space!”
