75-year-old BC Drop Shot satisfied after first double weekend

On the day that BC Drop Shot celebrated its 75th anniversary, they also had to play against local rival VELO, with title contender Almere visiting a day later.

During the preceding reception, BNL chairman Jan Helmond had the honor of receiving the Badminton Netherlands medal from Drop Shot chairman Robert Hoogland. After that, the match against VELO was on the celebration program.

1-1

In an excellent atmosphere, Ciar Pringle and Lars Kros had to concede the point to VELO players Russell Muns and Nick Fransman. On the other court, Jaymie Laurens and Rosy Oktavia took on Myke Halkema and Kelly van Buiten. With scores of 21-9 and 21-17, the score was leveled again.

Strong singles

Dicky Palyama faced Dion Rovers, and the 44-year-old veteran once again showed that there is still little wear on his arsenal of shots. Dicky gave Dion little hope for an upset. On the other court, Rosy also gave Veda Diemel little chance, and with energetic play, this match was also decided in The Hague’s favor. Jaymie played a strong match against Anna Mikhalkova and once again secured the point for Drop Shot.

Best match

The best match of the evening was undoubtedly the battle between Martin Bundgaard and Nick Fransman. Nick took the first game 16-21, but Martin struck back hard with a 21-5 win. The third game was a real war of attrition, with Martin ultimately winning 21-14.

Surprising win

On court 1, Lars found substitute Kaylee van der Wiel beside him as his mixed partner. With Lars as an excellent coach on the court and cheered on by many club members, Kaylee was able to play freely, resulting in an (unexpected) easy win over Alexander Strehse and Milou Lugters.

On court 2, Ciar and Novi Wieland did their utmost, but the experienced VELO duo Russell and Myke were just a bit too strong. After all matches, the scoreboard showed a 6-2 final score. An excellent result for BC Drop Shot with a view to qualifying for the championship pool.

Sunday, October 2nd Almere
On October 2nd, BV Almere visited, one of the championship contenders, who had played 4-4 against DKC a day earlier, both with their best line-ups. This time, Almere also fielded international top players Adam Hall, Cheryl Seinen, and Siril Verma. For Drop Shot, the motto of the afternoon was “collecting as many points as possible.”

The men’s doubles went as expected. Ciar Pringle and Martin Bundgaard had to bow to Adam Hall and Alex Vlaar. In the women’s doubles, there was a surprising win for Rosy Oktavia and Jaymie Laurens against Cheryl Seinen and Kirsten de Wit. In three close games (23-25, 21-19, and 22-20), it became 1-1.

Lars Kros had a very tough time against Dennis Koppen and lost without a chance. Novi Wieland managed to level the score again by defeating Diede Odijk. Martin Bundgaard played a good first game but just fell short (18-21), after which Siril Verma stepped up and took the win with 11-21.

But there was Rosy again, and she gave Lauren Middleton no chance. After the doubles and singles, the score was tied at 3-3.

Lars and Novi put up a very good fight against Alex and Eleanor O’Donnell but just fell short of a great upset. On the other court, Ciar and Jaymie did more than their best against Adam and Kirsten, but unfortunately, they just couldn’t force a third game.

With a 3-5 victory, Almere returned home, and BC Drop Shot could leave the court with heads held high. Considering Almere’s match against DKC on Saturday, few had hoped for such a narrow defeat beforehand.

Now that BC Drop Shot has played all the clubs from the traditional left column, the team can build on the good matches from the past weekend to overtake their biggest rivals for a spot in the top 5, VELO and Amersfoort.

All photo credits to our “court photographer” René Lagerwaard.