At the 4th round of the Regional League held in Donja Stubica, Badminton Club Zadar’s Lea Šimurina achieved an important milestone by winning her first Regional League medal.
Lea competed in three events: U13 Girls’ Singles, U13 Girls’ Doubles, and U15 Girls’ Doubles. Together with Katja Pavlić (BK Zagreb Maksimir), she won the gold medal in the U13 doubles competition.
The newly formed partnership required some time to settle in. In their opening U13 doubles match against Karla Jurišić and Lorna Kovačić, Lea and Katja struggled initially to find their rhythm and coordination. Once they synchronized their court movement and communication, however, they controlled the remainder of the tournament and improved from match to match on their way to the title.
In the U13 singles event, Lea recorded one of her best victories of the season against second seed Lorna Kovačić. After losing the opening game, she responded with confident and composed play to turn the match around. In the final she met her doubles partner Katja Pavlić, showing further progress by significantly closing the gap compared to previous encounters.
The pair’s growing understanding was also evident in the U15 doubles category. Against Viktoria Herceg and Vita Vukušić, they narrowly lost the first game before responding with excellent serving, fewer unforced errors, and noticeably improved coordination. Although they eventually fell in three games, it was arguably the strongest doubles performance they have produced together so far.
A particularly encouraging aspect of the tournament was that Lea’s defeats came only against eventual winners. More importantly, she returned home with her first Regional League medal and valuable confidence ahead of the Croatian National Championships in November.
Badminton Club Zadar would like to thank Katja Pavlić for partnering with Lea throughout the season. Despite living in different cities and only playing together at tournaments, the pair have shown continuous progress. We wish Katja continued success as she continues to achieve strong results in both U13 and U15 competitions.
With the Regional League season nearing its conclusion, attention now turns to the Croatian National Championships in November, where Lea will look to build on the momentum gained in Donja Stubica. 🏸
GS U13-Draw – REGIONALNA LIGA 2026. – 4. kolo | Tournamentsoftware.com
GD U13 – Draw – REGIONALNA LIGA 2026. – 4. kolo | Tournamentsoftware.com
GD U15 – Draw – REGIONALNA LIGA 2026. – 4. kolo | Tournamentsoftware.com
