Badmintonphoto
april 28, 2022 22:41
When the semi-finals are served tomorrow, it will be with Danish participation in four out of five categories. It is clear after today’s quarterfinals, which among other things offered great performances, disappointment and favorite victories. Get an overview of today’s Danish quarterfinals here.
After a terrific day yesterday, where the Danish players won 12 matches out of 12 possible, it was time for a quarter-final day filled with Danes in action.
The day started well when world number 41 in mixed doubles Rikke Søby / Mikkel Mikkelsen beat first seeded Marcus Ellis / Lauren Smith out of the championship. The Danes beat the English pair for the first time in their careers, and won the match 21-11, 21-17.
A victory that brought great joy to the Danish coaching team.
– Mikkel and Rikke’s victory was a really good start to the day. Thomas Stavngaard and I had upswings both during and after the match. I think they deserve to be highlighted because they have played well down here. It’s super cool that they bring a medal from the championship, it sounds from Høi.
Click here to see all the results of the day
To the great disappointment of Jakob Høi, there were not only Danish victories. Half of the Danish quarter-finals were converted to semi-finals and it hurts, says Høi.
– It hurts and it does it because we have the opportunities to play our way to more semifinals.
One of the Danes who managed to convert the quarterfinals to a semifinal is Mia Blichfeldt. She secured her second European Championship medal of her career when she defeated Frenchman Qi Xuefei. Despite second seed Mia Blichfeldt losing the first set 16-21, she managed to turn the match around and she won the second and third sets 21-10, 21-17 respectively. Scottish Kirsty Gilmour, who is No. 20 on the world rankings, is waiting in the semi-finals.
Unfortunately, Mia Blichfeldt is the only Dane left in the women’s doubles category. Because after a great effort, Line Kjærsfeldt unfortunately suffered a defeat in wood seen to triple world champion Carolina Marin. A defeat Line Christophersen also had to true when she lost the quarterfinals to Turkish Neslihan Yigir 10-21, 21-15, 15-21.
Read also: A look back at Badminton Denmark’s elite program
Amalie Magelund / Freja Ravn secured a European Championship medal for the first time in their careers. It happened after almost an hour of play against Swedish Johanna Magnusson / Clara Nistad. Magelund / Ravn won the match 21-14, 9-21, 21-18. Tomorrow, the Danish partner couple will meet the Stoeva sisters, who are first-seeded.
In the second semifinal in the women’s doubles, there is also Danish participation, because Sara Thygesen / Maiken Fruergaard also won their quarterfinals. Here they beat Anne Tran / Margot Lambert 19-21, 21-16, 21-17. Thygesen / Fruergaard meets Linda Efler / Isabel Lohau, who beat Amalie Schulz / Christine Busch in the quarterfinals after three sets.
In the men’s doubles category, Lasse Mølhede / Jeppe Bay unfortunately did not manage to secure a medal. The two debutants fought otherwise bravely, but Ben Lane / Sean Vendy were too strong and the Danish partner lost 14-21, 21-23. And thus they are out of the tournament.
Mathias Christiansen / Alexandra Bøje are also out of the championship after they lost to Dutch Selena Piek / Robin Tabeling 21-18, 17-21, 14-21. The same goes for Hans Kristian Vittinghus, who lost 22-20, 14-21, 13-21 to Toma Junior Popov. And Toma Junior Popov will meet 25-year-old Anders Antonsen tomorrow in the semifinals. Antonsen secured the semifinal place with a victory over Nhat Nguyen 21-15, 21-17.
Axelsen’s quarter-final against Thomas Rouxel was a repeat of the semi-final at the European Championships last year and fortunately Viktor managed to win again. In the semifinals, Misha Zilberman is waiting, who in addition to playing men’s singles at the European Championships has also played mixed doubles with her 63-year-old mother, Svetlana Zilberman.
Read also: Denmark’s Thomas & Uber Cup team has been selected
Fortunately, none of the six Danish constellations have ended in the same semi-final, which pleases Høi.
– It’s wild that we there are no Danes facing each other tomorrow. It is really nice and means that we can go all in on all the matches, it sounds from Høi, who continues:
– Now we have to go home and prepare for tomorrow, because there are no easy matches tomorrow. We know we’re favorites the men’s singles category, but it’s not just easy. In the other categories, we stand with our backs to the wall and have some difficult matches tomorrow – but we believe that it can all be done tomorrow.
The semifinals begin tomorrow at 16 and there is Danish participation right from the start. Remember that tomorrow you can again follow the Danish players in action on TV2 SPORT, which broadcasts live from Madrid from kl. 16.
Category: Elite, Home, Team Tournament, Medal, News
