Marino Marčina – First player from Zadar to compete in national competitions

Badminton is not very popular as a sport in Zadar. We at Badminton Zadar are trying to change that. One of the key component of any professional sport is competitions. Last year we organized 2 recreational badminton tournaments. But, the main test of a player happens in official competitions.

At the end of last year, we became official member of Croatian Badminton Association (CBA). This allows us to provide a channel for eligible players from Zadar to compete in national competitions. Croatian national tournament season starts in January and has 4 legs; 2 before summer and 2 after. The season concludes in December with national championships.

One can be a member of association, but without a player, it is of no use. To close the gap, we asked Marino Marčina, if he would like to compete in national tournaments. We were glad when he immediately agreed. After some paperwork as needed by CBA, he was set as a licensed player to compete.

On 25.01.2020, Marino participated in his first ever national tournament in U17 MS category, organized in Čakovec, Croatia. He finished 9th out of 19 players. He lost only one match (11:21, 14:21) against the number 1 seeded player in his category. We are very satisfied with the results for the first time. We believe that with Marino we have taken a big step forward to promote badminton in Zadar. We are hopeful, that with time, more players will follow his footsteps to compete in official tournaments.

Marino and badminton

Marino entered the world of badminton in 2014 at his school, Osnovna škola stanovi, when he was in 4th grade. His PT teacher, Miroslav Čačić, sent him to local club BK Iader. This started the long list of medals he accumulated in last 6 years while competing in school, local and regional competitions. He has played in all forms of the game MS, MD and XD.