Matthew Abela thwarted Stefan Salomone from retaining the Malta singles title when the 17-year-old beat the former champion after a fine display in the National Championships held recently at the Kirkop Sports Complex.
The women’s singles title was claimed by Fiorella Marie Sadowski. She beat Sarah Fava 21-12, 21-12 in the final.
This was the fifth consecutive time for Sadowski to be confirmed as Malta’s badminton champion for women.
The men’s final provided the best spectacle of the evening as it could not have been much tighter.
In the end, Abela became the new champion after winning two balanced sets 21-16, 22-20.
In the first game, Salomone looked a certain winner with the score 11-6 in his favour but Abela was not ready yet to concede the game.
After a shaky start, he produced a spirited comeback, finding his rhythm in time and fighting his way back into contention. Abela seized the lead, allowing Salo-mone to salvage a mere five more points to draw first blood.
The second game was a re-match of the first.
Salomone showed calm and composure as he regained his confidence and took a cushion 11-3 lead… a score-gap that signalled an almost certain victory in this second game.
But, again, Abela had other ideas. He recover form and increased the pressure on his opponent. Rally after rally, he cancelled his deficit and jumped into a five-point lead before edging through and win the game 22-20.
Abela became the youngest ever badminton champion in local history.
This year he had already claimed the junior ‘triple crown’ after winning every title in the book to etch a new chapter in his career. Abela is now rated as the top player in Malta with a superb run of achievements to his credit, thanks also to the sponsorship of CNG Photography who are helping the young player to further his talents.
In the men’s doubles final, Nigel Degaetano and Stephen Ferrante beat Stefan Salomone/Samuel Cali in three sets – 18-21, 21-18, 24-22.
Sarah Fava and Dominique Francica combined perfectly in the women’s doubles final to have the better of Catherine Dimech/ Cheryl Dimech 21-13, 21-18.
Salomone partially made up for his upsets in singles and doubles after claiming the mixed doubles title when partnering Klara Theresa O’Berg.
They beat Robert Salomone/ Tiziana Mifsud 21-16, 21-14.