We say thank you to everyone!
The YONEX German Junior is one of only four “Junior International Grand Prix” tournaments worldwide. In 2026, this significant event took place for the first time in Lüdinghausen and attracted numerous young badminton talents from around the world. Around 400 young players from over 36 countries participated in the tournament. The large number of participants occasionally caused exceptional activity in the shops of Lüdinghausen city center. In contrast, everything ran smoothly and well-organized at the Drei Burgen Arena. Extensive preparations for the five-day tournament began as early as 2025 with the successful bid to host the individual tournament. From October 2025, the workload for Union 08 increased significantly: Hotel stays for around 400 people had to be coordinated, preliminary information had to be provided to media such as radio and television, shuttles and transport services organized, and the catering for players and coaches ensured and training times for the individual teams were already assigned on the two days before the tournament began. A lot of preparation was required for an AI-controlled tournament program used for the first time at this international tournament. In this context, the match announcements in the tournament were completely carried out with automatic voice announcements of the match pairings via the tournament program and were successfully applied, leading to a smooth tournament flow without long breaks between matches.
From Monday to Sunday, a total of 80 dedicated helpers were on duty – without their support, the execution of such a tournament would have been unimaginable.
A heartfelt thanks goes to all helpers, sponsors, the tournament management, the officials, the referee, and the umpires who contributed to the success of the event.
The main arrival day was March 2, 2026, when 160 Asian players and coaches arrived in Lüdinghausen by two buses from Amsterdam. Union 08 initially found this unexpectedly Challenges, however, could be overcome thanks to the quick assistance of the transport manager from the organization team. The remaining 240 participants were picked up from the Lüdinghausen or Dülmen train stations or from Münster/Osnabrück Airport.
During the course of the tournament, the Chinese participants dominated the competition up to the final matches and won all finals except for the women’s singles. In the women’s singles, two Japanese players faced each other in the final and secured the first two places. A special success was achieved by the French player Mady Saw in the men’s singles, as he was the only European to reach the semifinals and thus secure third place. Asian nations have been trying for some time to break China’s dominance in badminton, which they are now managing to do in some disciplines. Many spectators took the opportunity to see international badminton junior stars up close in to experience in the Three Castles Arena. A former Chinese Olympic champion at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, and two-time world champion coach Chen Long also diligently signed autographs and took selfies with many players and spectators.
May this German junior tournament grow as much as our experience and knowledge. Shall we see each other again next year?
Below are the winner photos and names of the winners:Winner – German Junior
Here photos: Gallery – German Junior
Further inforrmations and updates: www.germanjunior.com and www.badmintoneurope.com
Info-Trailer: Deutsche Version hier English Version here
Videoreport Radio Kiepenkerl: Yonex German Junior 2026 in Lüdinghausen
Report from Badminton.de: German Junior 2026: Asiatische Dominanz in Lüdinghausen | Deutscher Badminton Verband
Von Jörg Christensen