Click here to read part one, covering January-June!
Juniors took centre stage in July with Michael Pang triumphing in a dramatic men’s singles final at the YONEX All England Junior Badminton Championships 2023.
Dillon Chong partnered India’s Taarini Suri to mixed doubles silver as Chloe Dennis and Leona Lee won women’s doubles silver.
The best of the para badminton crop were in Sheffield in August as Dan Bethell beat long-time rival Pramod Bhagat at the 4 Nations Para Badminton International.
Elsewhere, there were silver medals for Jack Shephard and Rachel Choong in the SH6 mixed doubles, and Krysten Coombs in the SH6 men’s singles.
David Ng and James Song reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 European U17 Championships knocking out the fourth seeds en route to the last eight.
Jack Shephard impressed at the European Para Badminton Championships, winning two golds on the final day.
He partnered Rachel Choong to SH6 mixed doubles’ gold before winning SH6 men’s singles title as Dan Bethell added another gold to his collection.
Zach Russ and Rory Easton made their World Championships debut in Copenhagen, with English involvement ending the second round.
In the juniors, Oliver Butler won two silver medals at the Danish Junior Cup, winning mixed doubles silver alongside Chloe Dennis, before partnering Jia Bin Lee in the men’s doubles.
September saw Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith claim their first tournament win since 2020 with victory at the YONEX Belgian International.
Meanwhile, Jim Garrett stormed to double gold in a glittering outing at the Masters Senior World Badminton Championships in Jeonju, Korea with men’s doubles and mixed doubles wins in the 75+ age category.
The month rounded out with England finishing 14th in the World Junior Mixed Team Championships in Spokane before Robin Harper and Harry Wakefield beat top seeds in the individual competition at the beginning of October.
The middle of the month saw titles won on two continents on the same weekend as Harry Huang won the men’s singles at the Egypt International.
At the Dutch Open, Callum Hemming and Estelle van Leeuwen won mixed doubles gold, while Zach Russ and Rory Easton triumphed in the men’s doubles.
Huang then backed up his win in Cairo by taking the Hungarian International title at the start of November.
At the SCC Champion of Champions, Avon’s Magda-Sabrina Lozniceriu struck gold for the first time, making it third time lucky in the women’s doubles with partner Susanna Ogden.
Leona Lee stormed to the women’s singles title at the Spanish International as Nadeem Dalvi reached the men’s singles showpiece in Blanca Dona.
There were three reasons for Rachel Choong to celebrate as she won her fourth consecutive SH6 women’s singles, mixed doubles and women’s doubles titles at the UK Para Badminton Championships in Glasgow.
In December, Ben Lane and Sean Vendy reached the men’s doubles finals at the Syed Modi International in India while Nadeem Dalvi scooped the South Africa International in Cape Town.
On the same weekend, Greg and Jenny Mairs and Cholan Kayan reached their respective finals at the Welsh Open.
Johnnie Torjussen announced his retirement, going out as the reigning English National men’s singles champion.
Dan Bethell concluded the year in dominant form not dropping a game on his way to secure a brilliant gold at the Fazza Dubai Para Badminton International.
All eyes will now turn to 2024 with the Olympics and Paralympics on the horizon.
