National Badminton Academy player Michaela Ellul placed second in the women’s singles category, and third place in the mixed doubles, at the Santeramo Open in Italy on Sunday. Accompanied by Academy coach Patrick Cassar, Ellul completed a successful round of play, bringing success to the Maltese Islands.
In the mixed doubles category early in the day, Ellul and Nicola Spagnuolo won their first game 21-8, 21-6 in order to face Daniele Carlone and Rosa Efomo De Marco in the semi finals. However, they lost 21-17, 21-8 against the eventual victors of the tournament.
Ellul finished top of her group in the singles competition, beating Victoria Stella Montresor (21-7, 21-9) and Francesca Mariano (21-4, 21-4) with convincing victories. The Maltese player overcame doubles semi-finals opponent Efomo De Marco, taking revenge with a 21-18,21-11 victory to head into the final.
The singles final proved to be an exciting encounter as Ellul won the first game 23-21 against Jenny Passerini. The latter took the second game 21-12, taking the final into an extra round. Passerini however, used her momentum from the previous win to take the game, which went on for 46 minutes, with a final score of 21-18.
FULL RESULTS HERE
