The sports badminton spectacle Serbian U17 & Youth International, which was held under the patronage of the European Badminton Confederation with the support of the Serbian Ministry of Sports, the Provincial Secretariat for Sports and Youth and the City of Novi Sad, gathered young people from all over Europe for the 11th time in a row.

This year's tournament exceeded all expectations and records from previous years, gathering in Novi Sad almost 600 competitors and coaches from 26 countries and more than 1,000 participants.

During the four unforgettable days in Novi Sad, two spectacular international tournaments provided high-quality matches, extraordinary atmosphere and organization which once again confirmed that Serbian U17 & Youth International Novi Sad is one of the top 3 international tournaments in Europe. This badminton spectacular event has justified the status of a significant event for the Republic of Serbia, Province of Vojvodina and the City of Novi Sad.

The best results at the Serbian YOUTH International tournament were recorded by Bulgaria with 12 medals won, of which the competitors of this country won four gold, three silver medals and five bronze medals in the U11, U13 and U15 categories. While in the Serbian U17 International competition (up to 17 years), the players from France (six medals), Turkey (five medals), and Romania (three medals) performed best.

This year, special awards were given to: Anica Lazović from Serbia for the youngest participant of the tournament; Vlad Dehelan from Romania for the most consistent participant of the tournament (he participated in every tournament from 2013 to 2023); Maksim Jakob from Romania is the most successful competitor within the Serbian YOUTH International, since this year he won two gold medals in two categories; Elifnur Demir from Turkey is the most successful competitor in the Serbian U17 International with one gold and one silver medal.

At the closing ceremony of this badminton spectacle, awards were presented to the most successful competitors by Assistant Minister of Sports Mirko Kantar, Undersecretary of the Provincial Secretariat for Sports and Youth Aranka Binder, member of the City Council for Sports and Youth Ognjen Cvjetićanin, member of the Executive Board of the Paralympic Committee of Serbia Nemanja Radović, Zorana Godošev from company Algotech and Radomir Jovović, president of the Executive Board of the Badminton Association of Serbia.

Assistant Minister of Sports Mirko Kantar pointed out that Serbian players are recording fantastic results, that they have reached the leading positions in the European and world rankings, which is an indication that they have been doing well in this sport. Aranka Binder from the Provincial Secretariat for Sports and Youth agreed with him.

"Badminton is played by a smaller number of people, and that's exactly why it's beautiful when we start supporting young people so that in ten or 15 years we get an Olympic champion. It's the real thing,” Binder said.

The president of the Executive Board of the Badminton Association of Serbia, Radomir Jovović, pointed out that the tournament in Novi Sad has been one of the best organized European tournaments for young people for years.

 

"We call this competition the 'European Championship in miniature', because we hosted competitors, coaches and official representatives of 26 countries. This is a huge tournament when it comes to the format, the scope, the organization of the competition, the quality of the competitors, who mature as players in this very place. By receiving the status of a Grand Prix competition, it was officially confirmed that the tournament, which we have been organizing for more than ten years, is the best European competition for young people," said Jovović.

Serbia and Novi Sad did their best to provide entertainment both on and off the courts. Beside high-leveled conditions in the competitive part of the tournament, the organizers provided a great atmosphere and all visitors had the opportunity to spend quality time and socialize in a fun area with many games and challenges, an area for social networks and lounge.

The organizers of the badminton tournament in Novi Sad are the Badminton Association of Serbia, the Badminton Association of Vojvodina and the Badminton Club Novi Sad, and the "Serbian U17 & Youth International Novi Sad 2023" was supported by the following companies and institutions: VICTOR, Tin Šped, Beoexpo System, Algotech, Coca Cola HBC Serbia, Bambi, Lenovo Serbia, Tourist Organization of Serbia and Tourist Organization of Novi Sad.

All results from Serbian Youth International Novi Sad 2023 you can find on the following LINK.

All results from Serbian U 17 International Novi Sad 2023 you can find on the following LINK.