Events

(Photo: Badminton Europe)
Wild cards announced for EC21
Date: 3/16/2021 2:25 PM
Published by : Alan Raftery
The 28th edition of the European Championships will be held in Kyiv, Ukraine, 27 April to 2 May. Here are the wild card entries for the biggest Badminton Europe flagship event of the year. 

Over the past few weeks, a list of eligible players has been compiled. There are 40 places up for grabs in the singles and 28 in the doubles categories. The process of selecting wild cards includes looking at past performance and the value added to the competition. 

For the 2021 European Championships, the wild cards chosen are Ukrainian players which symbolise both the long-standing tradition and the new young generation coming through in the host country.
 
For the mixed doubles, Valeriy Atrashchenkov, 36, is eight-time Ukrainian national champion and will play with Yelyzaveta Zharka, 28, who herself has six national mixed doubles titles with Atrashchenkov. Zharka will also play in the women’s doubles with Maryna Ilyinskaya as they are ranked 25 in Europe. 

The rest of the wild cards have been given to the young up and coming stars of Ukraine. Danylo Bosniuk, 20, won the Ukrainian national championships in 2020 and played a prominent role for his country at the 2020 European Men’s Team Championships and in qualification Group 6 for the 2021 European Mixed Team Championships. 

Anna Mikhalkova, 24, a Centre of Excellence player that is improving all the time, currently ranked 73 in Europe, gets the women’s singles spot. Get to know Anna Mikhalkova more in this video which is part of our Centre of Excellence Player Series.

Polina Buhrova, 17, and Mariia Stoliarenko, 16, won the bronze at the 2020 European Junior Championships in Finland, and now they will gain valuable experience against the best senior players in Europe. Watch their post-match interview when reaching the EJC20 semifinals here

There is no wild card given in the men’s doubles, which means that the Polish pair of Wiktor Trecki/ Maciej Matusz, take the final spot in connection with the third eligibility phase for the European Championships. 

EC21 wildcard entry list:

Men’s Singles: Danylo Bosniuk 
Women’s Singles: Anna Mikhalkova
Men’s Doubles: No wildcard
Women’s Doubles: Polina Buhrova/ Mariia Stoliarenko
Mixed Doubles: Valeriy Atrashchenkov/ Yelyzaveta Zharka 

For more information and the full list of entries, click here
©badmintoneurope.com. All rights reserved.

Related news
29/03/2024
Europeans ready for quarterfinals in Madrid
European favourites out of the...

27/03/2024
EOC Executive Committee awards 2027 European Games to Istanbul
The European Olympic Committee...

27/03/2024
Madrid Spain Masters day 2: Victories, upsets, and excitement on court.
French siblings sweep to victo...

26/03/2024
A first action-packed day unfolds at the Spain Masters
The Madrid Spain Masters 2024 ...

26/03/2024
Spain Masters begins today with an unexpected withdrawal!
Madrid is buzzing with excitem...

25/03/2024
Lane/ Vendy and Marin, victorious at Swiss Open
The Swiss Open concluded this ...

More news