Yasmine Hamza will not be able to do any sports for months.

Goodbye Olympics: South Tyrol's badminton star seriously injured

This setback really hurts: Italy's best badminton player and South Tyrol's great Olympic hope Yasmine Hamza is thrown off course by a serious injury at the peak of her career.

06 November 2023

From: pm/fop

The 20-year-old from Bolzano tore a cruciate ligament at the world ranking tournament in Saarbrücken (Germany). She will have an operation in Bolzano this week, meaning her Olympic dream has been dashed for the time being.

Hamza got a qualifying place at the Hylo Open in Saarbrücken at the last moment. There, the Bolzano woman led against the Bulgarian Hristomira Popovska 21:17, 6:4 last Tuesday. She was about to move into the main draw of a BWF Tour 300 tournament for the first time. But Hamza landed awkwardly after a smash, screamed in pain and had to leave the field in a wheelchair.

Yasmine Hamza has had the season of her life so far. © www.alamy.com

A few days later I received the devastating diagnosis: the anterior cruciate ligament in my right knee had torn. Hamza will be seen on Thursday by Dr. Florian Perwanger operated on at the City Clinic.

The 2024 Olympics were so close

“This is a big shock for all of us, but especially for Yasmine,” regrets coach and father Csaba Hamza. At the time of the accident, Italy's best badminton player was still in one of the 38 qualifying places for the 2024 Olympic Games in the 'Race to Paris'. She has since lost this place. Because she will be out for at least six months, she no longer has a chance to collect points for qualification, which ends in April.

“I want to come back stronger.” Yasmine Hamza

“Of course I was depressed, but looking back doesn’t help,” says the current world number 98. “My desire for badminton is unbroken. Now it's time to get healthy first, then I want to come back stronger than I was last." Hamza has won 20 medals at world ranking tournaments in her career, four of them gold. This makes her by far the most successful South Tyrolean badminton player.