Birgit OVERZIER

Joyce September 12, 2024 0

Character Introduction

Birgit Michels (German: Birgit Michels, born September 28, 1984), is a German female badminton player who specializes in doubles events. Her sister, Petra Overzier, was also a member of the German national badminton team.

Birgit began playing badminton at the age of four. Domestically, she has played for the clubs “TuS Königsdorf,” “TTC Brauweiler,” “TuS Gildehaus,” and “1. BC Beuel.” She is still a member of “1. BC Beuel,” and the club is currently competing in the German Bundesliga.

In July 2010, Birgit, partnering with Michael Fuchs, competed in the U.S. Gold Grand Prix mixed doubles event, where they won the final 2-0 (21-19, 21-14) against Lee Sheng-mu and Chien Yu-chin from Chinese Taipei, making them the first German pair to win a Gold Grand Prix title. In December of the same year, the pairing of Michels and Fuchs entered the top 10 of the world rankings for the first time.

In 2012, Birgit participated in the European Badminton Championships held in Karlskrona, Sweden, reaching the women’s doubles semifinals with Sandra Marinello. In July of the same year, Birgit teamed up with Michael Fuchs to represent Germany in the mixed doubles event at the London Olympic Games. Although they lost their first group match against the top seeds, Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei from China, they won their next two matches 2-1, defeating the British pair Chris Adcock/Imogen Bankier and the Russian duo Alexander Nikolaenko/Valeria Sorokina, finishing second in the group and advancing to the quarterfinals. There, they faced the third seeds, Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir from Indonesia, losing 0-2 (15-21, 9-21), but they still achieved the best result in German Olympic badminton history.

In August 2013, Birgit competed in the World Badminton Championships held in Guangzhou, China. She and Michael Fuchs, seeded 12th in the mixed doubles, received a bye in the first round but were eliminated in the second round, losing 1-2 (21-13, 14-21, 18-21) to the Russian pair Vitalij Durkin/Nina Vislova. In the women’s doubles, she teamed up with Johanna Goliszewski, advancing past the first round by defeating a pair from Hong Kong, but they were knocked out in the second round after losing 1-2 (15-21, 21-11, 13-21) to the 6th seeds, Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa from Japan.

In August 2016, Birgit Michels represented Germany in the mixed doubles event at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, partnering with Michael Fuchs as the 12th seeds. They lost all three group stage matches against Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto from Indonesia, Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei from China, and Lee Chun Hei/Chau Hoi Wah from Hong Kong, China, failing to advance from the group stage.