France makes history in the Saarlandhalle
Germany’s first European Badminton Championships in 42 years came to an end in Saarbrücken on Sunday evening. The last of the DBV’s athletes were ejected in the quarter-finals. Denmark, France and Spain triumphed in the Saarlandhalle.
Carolina Marín became European champion for the seventh time in her career. In the history of badminton, only Gillian Gilks has won more European championship titles (12), with Kamilla Rytter Juhl also boasting seven. Marin defeated Scottish player Kirsty Gilmour on route to achieving this next milestone. The first set was clear cut, but Gilmour fought back in the second, even heading into crunch time 18-17 in the lead. However, Marín held her nerve and converted her first match point to win 21-11, 21-18.
She said: ‘I am delighted. Training year after year to win big titles is so hard. I was not one hundred percent satisfied with my performance, but I will be on top form for the Olympic Games.’ the 2016 Olympic champion missed the 2021 Games in Tokyo after tearing her cruciate ligament for the second time.
‘No words’ for French victory
In the women’s doubles, Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva were fighting for their fourth European championship title in a row – whilst opponents Margot Lambert and Anne Tran were aiming for their first. On Saturday evening, Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue had already won France’s first ever European Badminton Championships gold medal, in the mixed doubles. Lambert and Tran upped the ante in an exciting three-set thriller in front of some 1,000 fans in the Saarlandhalle.
The Bulgarian defending champions took the first set, but then the French players stepped up a gear. Lambert said: ‘We fought back well. It has been a long week. We have no words to describe how it feels to win.’ Tran added: ‘We have made history, winning the second ever gold medal today. It feels fantastic.’
‘Better players’ win the men’s doubles
This year, the men’s titles both went to Denmark. In the men’s doubles, Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Ramussen defeated the surprise finalists Andreas Sondergaard and Jesper Toft (21-16, 21-15). Rasmussen said: ‘Before the game, we felt like we were the better players. But feeling is one thing, putting in the performance is another. We were very confident and put our plan into action well.’
Last year Astrup/Rasmussen won silver at the world championships, and now have gained a gold at European level. ‘Any medal is fantastic, but the European championship means a lot to us’, Astrup said.
Antonsen’s first ‘real’ European championship title
Anders Antonsen celebrated his second European championship title in the men’s singles – and his first in a real final. ‘It is a better way of winning’, he noted. The 2021 final in Kiev was cancelled after Viktor Axelsen tested positive for coronavirus, resulting in Antonsen being summarily crowned European champion. In Saarbrücken, Antonsen (ranked fourth in the world) faced Toma Junior Popov, who sensationally defeated Olympic champion Axelsen in the semi-final. However, this win seemed to have left him tired, and the Frenchman had few opportunities against Antonsen (18-21, 13-21).