Events

Imke van der Aar and Jelle Maas from Team Netherlands (Credit: Badminton Photo)
Group 3: Netherlands expected to reach finals
Date: 12/4/2018 9:25 AM
Published by : Tom Hazlewood
Portugal hosts Group 3 of the European Mixed Team Championships Qualification stage in Caldas de Raninha. 

Three team matches in three days will take place for the four sides in Group 3 from the 7-9 December. Group 3 consists of four teams with the host Portugal that has been drawn alongside Switzerland, Iceland and the Netherlands. 

The winner of the group at the end of the three days will qualify for the finals in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the 13-17 February. 

Opening days matches

The Group 3 matches are taking place at the High Performance Centre in Caldas de Raninha, Portugal, and will begin on the 7th of December with the host playing against Switzerland, followed by the Netherlands taking on Iceland on the opening day.

Check out Saturday and Sunday’s schedule here

The Netherlands come into this one as the favourites. It has been 12 years since the Dutch reached the semi-finals of this competition but are ranked over 25 places higher than any of their group opponents in the team rankings. 

Strong Doubles team for the Netherlands

The Netherlands come into this group as the heavy favourites, mainly due to the strength of their doubles line-up.

In the Men’s Doubles, the pair of Robin Tabeling and Jelle Maas are a strong pair and currently ranked 31st in the world.

The Mixed Doubles pairings of both Robin Tabeling and Cheryl Seinen and the pair of Imke Van Der Aar and Ruben Jille are strong opponents which could cause the rest of the group some problems. 

Also, in the Men’s Singles, the Dutch will be strong through Mark Caljouw. He is coming off a semi-final defeat in last week’s Scottish Open and will be expected to bounce back with a few wins. 

Teams chosen

Switzerland and the Netherlands have both nominated each seven men and women for the European Mixed Team Qualification.

Switzerland will be looking to Celine Burkart to lead them to victory whilst the Netherlands will be looking for big performances from the likes of Mark Caljouw and Robin Tabeling.

Portugal and Iceland have selected a smaller team however. The hosts have selected ten players for the tournament (five men and five women) whilst Iceland come into the competition with just six players (three men and three women) so have selected the least players from Group 3.

Find the players chosen for each team 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