The stage was set for an exciting quarterfinal in men’s doubles on court 1; 3rd seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark vs 5th seeds Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis of England. And actually, the ‘stage’ in Huelva contributed to the excitement.
Trouble with lights over court 1 and 2 lead to a couple of breaks during the first round of the quarterfinals. And eventually matches were stopped on court 2 and divided onto the remaining three courts.
The men’s doubles clash was interrupted two times, but the players kept the fire going and gave the crowd an entertaining start of the quarterfinal’s day.
- We were mentally stable through the whole match. It was a long and difficult match for us, but I am satisfied with the way we managed to stay cool and keep our focus all the way through, Astrup said to Badminton Europe when they stepped off court.
Hunting gold
The Danish semifinalists are happy to beat the recent Commonwealth Games champions but stay focused on the matches still ahead.
- It is a really good pair. They are playing well at the moment, so I think it is a good sign that we closed the match pretty safely in the third set, Skaarup said.
- We are definitely on the hunt for gold, but we want to qualify for the final first, said Astrup before the two could walk off to a well-deserved break.
Find more results from the 2018 European Championships here