The BEC Circuit is back, and plenty of young players are ready to show their potential at the Latvia International.

After a short break, the BEC Circuit is back. Recently, Tokyo Olympians such as Brian Yang (Canada) and Felix Burestedt (Sweden) performed at a good level at Denmark Masters, and this week it is time to shine for many of the players, who have high hopes for making it to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

With the number one seed, Ade Resky Dwicahyo, withdrawing from the men’s singles category, it will be an open battle for the title in Latvia. Centre of Excellence player, Milan Dratva, Jan Louda and Adam Mendrek from Czech Republic and Portuguese Bernardo Atilano are all outsiders, and there will for sure be interesting matchups to follow live at www.badmintoneurope.tv.

Busy Polanc
Slovenian Petra Polanc will be busy during the tournament playing both mixed doubles and the women’s singles.

- I see good chances in mixed doubles, but there are some players that I do not know yet. My goal is to achieve a medal and if me and Miha are able to play our game, I think that it is possible, Polanc stated.

- In women’s singles I will try to give my best as well and it would be great if I can reach quarterfinals or get a medal. There are some very good players, and I know that I will have to be 100 percent focused if I want to reach my goal. 

Ambitious Norwegians
Miha Ivancic and Petra Polanc are the top seeds in the mixed doubles category, but they will not be lifting the trophy without a fight. The number four seeds, Norwegians Carl Christian Mork and Solvår Flåten Jørgensen, will be travelling to Latvia International to reach their first international final.

- Me and my mix partner have had a long and good training period behind us, and we are really looking forward to play a lot of tournaments again this season. Latvia will be our second international tournament after the covid-19 lockdown, so we are very happy to be able to travel again, Solvår Flåten Jørgensen said.

- I would say that we have a good chance to win several matches in this tournament, but it really depends on the outcome of our first match. We’re facing a young couple from Malaysia, and I’m expecting their level to be good.

- Of course, I am aiming for a semifinal, but I have to take one match at a time. I think that Miha Ivancic and Petra Polanc from Slovenia can do well this tournament, after all they’re the top seeds and their draw looks quite alright. But it would not surprise me, if one of the Malaysian pairs would win this year, Flåten Jørgensen stated.
 
Watch all matches
With live badminton returning, it also gives you as a fan the option to watch hours of live badminton on the Badminton Europe streaming platform. When you register, all live matches are available, and on top of that you also get access to all the BEC Podcasts, the 24/7 badminton feature, webinars and some of the best matches from the past.

The matches from Latvia International begin on Thursday 26 August at 08.00 CET. 

You can find the matches here