Liepāja badminton players defeat Riga with wind-trained hands: seven medals and proof that cold beaches work miracles

While young people in Riga are still learning how to properly hold a racket, Liepāja badminton players have already proven that athletes raised in our city know not only how to resist Baltic Sea winds on the beach, but also how to defeat opponents in the hall. Paula Mežale won three gold medals, proving that when you're used to the cold Baltic Sea wind even in summer, then in a warm sports hall you're like a superhero.

Andrejs Lobakovs wasn't slacking either — gold in singles and mixed doubles, plus silver in boys' doubles. As local badminton enthusiast Jānis Vējbārdis said: "We here by the sea are used to wind blowing from all directions, so in a hall where there's no wind, we can play with our eyes closed."

Bronze medals for Toms Maļinauskas, Mārtiņš Arajs and Ralfs Ķuds prove that Liepāja's badminton school works like a well-tuned mechanism. While Riga is still thinking about how to create sports traditions, we're already exporting them to the capital along with victories.

The only thing that didn't work out perfectly was Ritvars Mežals' fourth place in singles, but that only proves that even Liepāja champions sometimes need to rest from constant winning. Next time he'll definitely return with gold, because winter by the sea will further sharpen his racket handling skills.