After six months away from the courts last year and almost a year after competing on European soil, Neslihan Yigit wins the title in the 58 Portugal International Championships 2023.
It had been quite some time since we last had seen Neslihan Yigit playing on European soil — the last time being in Madrid in April last year, where the Turkish player won her second bronze European Championships medal.
A month later, Yigit competed in the Indonesia Open and then took a six-month break away from competing before making a comeback earlier this year at the 31st Iran Fajr International Challenge 2023, where she reached the quarterfinals, and the Uganda International Challenge, finishing as the runner-up.
Turkish women’s singles final
In her European comeback at the 58 Portugal International Championships 2023, Yigit delivered solid performances throughout the tournament, a successful run that culminated in an all-Turkish final.
Sixth-seeded Neslihan Yigit faced Ozge Barak, who led the head-to-head 6-4 before their encounter on Portuguese soil. Still, Yigit secured the win for the gold in straight games, 21-14 21-12.
Besides Yigit’s gold and Barak’s silver, Turkey also claimed another important win. Bengisu Ercetin/ Nazlıcan Inci started off in the qualification round, making it to the main draw to eventually reach the final against top seeds Christine Busch/ Amalie Schulz. Ercetin/ Inci won the title in a 40-minute match against the Danes, 21-9 21-17.
Great event for the Europeans
There were many more wins for European players in Portugal. England and France claimed a total of four medals each, Denmark won three including a silver for 20-year-old Victor Ørding Kauffmann, and Spaniard Pablo Abian won a bronze. Poland’s Dominika Kwasnik/ Kornelia Marczak and Pawel Smilowski/ Magdalena Swierczynska both secured bronze medals as well.
Next stop: ORLEN Polish Open 2023
The next stop in the European Circuit will be in the city of Tarnów, Poland, for the ORLEN Polish Open 2023, taking place from the 22 until the 26 March.
All matches will be streamed on badmintoneurope.tv and there will be BEC live coverage so keep an eye on our platforms when the tournament starts to get exclusive content from the tournament.