From 23-29 August, the 29th Summer Universiade took place in Chinese Taipei - with badminton being represented by first a team tournament and eventually the five individual events.

Badminton players from 39 countries from all over the world took part in the overall tournament. The tournament brought together 256 players, including 135 men and 121 women. Europe was represented at the event by 12 countries: Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia and Sweden.

The greatest success in the team event was achieved by Russia and Germany, who overcame the group stage and were both able to reach the quarterfinals. The hosts from Chinese Taipei won the team gold after a convincing 3-0 win in the final against Japan. Malaysia and Thailand both received bronze medals.

The best European individual result came in mixed doubles where Russia's Rodion Alimov and Alina Davletova reached the semi-finals and thereby became bronze medal winners. Furthermore Europe were represented in six of the quarterfinals.

Alina Davletova, bronze medal winner at the Universiade and reigning European Junior Champion:
"This was the first Universiade I took part in and obviously the first medal. Of course, that was a very good and unforgettable experience for me - especially because you are part of a big friendly team! All matches were interesting, and in some moments very tense. It was still a bit hard to play against the pair from Chinese Taipei in the semi-finals - the level is simply different, the speed is high and handling of the shots was tough. We had already played the same pair in the team event, but when we met them for the second time we were more confident. We managed better to take the initiative, was in fact in the lead, but their experience showed and in the end they won the match. But this is truly an important medal for us and an excellent competitive experience. I would like to thank everyone who helped us to come to this result - thanks to everyone!"

The winners of the five individual events were:
MS - Wang Tzu-Wei (TPE)
WS - Tai Tzu-Ying (TPE)
MD - Kim Jaehwan / Seo Seungjae (JPN)
WD - Hsu Ya-Ching / Wu Ti-Jung (TPE)
XD - Wang Chi-Lin / Lee Chia-Hin (TPE)

Article and photos by the National Badminton Federation of Russia