EGBA stalwart shines with double world titles
He won the men's over-75 singles and doubles titles at the BWF seniors championships in Thailand.
Eastern Gauteng Badminton Association (EGBA) stalwart Johan Croukamp clinched a double at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Senior Championships in Thailand from September 7 to 14.
Croukamp powered to victory in the men’s over-75 singles, beating Japan’s Hirohisa Toshima in straight sets, while he partnered with Scotland’s Carl-Johan Nybergh to defeat Robert J Bell and Edmund Hayes from England to win the men’s doubles title.
Singles
After a bye in the round of 32, the second seed opened his campaign with a 21-9, 21-14 straight-sets win against Denmark’s Per Debelsteen, before brushing aside India’s Yogendra Jaiswal with a dominant 21-8, 21-11 victory in the quarter-finals.
In the semifinals, Malaysia’s Chong Sek Lim gave him a strong challenge in the first set, but Croukamp won 21-19 and then booked his place in the final with a one-sided 21-4 win in the second set.
Croukamp ended his campaign with a 21-11, 21-8 victory over Toshima in the final to clinch the world title.
Doubles
The South African and his Scottish partner Nybergh started their run with a 23-21, 21-19 win over the Indian pair Jaiswal and Baseet Shikari, before beating Peter Honnen and Claus-Peter Lienig 21-15, 21-7 in the second round.
After comfortably winning the third round 21-14, the Japanese duo Shigeru Kondo and Hiroshi Yoshida proved tough to beat, clinching the second set 21-17 before Croukamp and Nybergh powered to victory in the tie-break 22-20.
In the quarter-finals, they brushed aside Michael John Cox and Jim Garrett with a 21-12, 21-9 win but required a third set to beat Debelsteen and Stefan Ohras in the semifinals. After winning the first set 21-14, Debelsteen and Ohras fought back to take the second set 21-18, and once again Croukamp and Nybergh won the tie-break 22-20 to qualify for the final.
The second seeds clinched the doubles title with a straight-sets 21-17, 21-16 over Robert J Bell and Edmund Hayes, concluding Croukamp’s golden run with two world titles.
