General

Poland's Bartlomiej Mroz full of smiles at the European Championships 2018 (credit Badminton Europe / Mark Phelan)
Mroz hungry for victory, whilst Tuzcu crashes out
Date: 3/26/2019 11:32 PM
Published by : Bobby Griffin (BEC)

The SU5 men’s singles European Champion made a great start to his Turkish International today with two solid wins in the group stages, as his European rival and home crowd favourite retires with injury



World number 3 Poland’s Bartlomiej Mroz was in superb form today in Antalya. In a difficult group of 4, the Pol faced veteran Frank Dietel first thing this morning and easily dispatched the German in straight games 21-3, 21-5.


His tougher match today was late this afternoon against new kid on the block, China’s Shi Shengzhuo. The Chinese player was new to Mroz, known only by reputation. He has previously beaten top 10 players such as Singapore’s Tay Wei Ming and Korea’s Kim Gi Yeon in the Asian Para Games last year.


With a stunning display of power, Mroz managed to overcome Shi Shengzhuo in another 2 sets 21-9, 21-18 proving that he is in good form and ready for the fight. He had this to say:


“I felt good, I felt very comfortable out there. I’ve been hungry! We haven’t played a tournament since the Euros in November and my training has been great. I’m feeling strong and full of energy. My next opponent, the Malaysian, is a good player too. I’ll be preparing my tactics tonight and I’m looking forward to the match. 



READ: Leverdez is ready to fire



We asked Bartlomiej for his thoughts on the tournament so far: 


“It’s the first tournament where we play over 6 days, a lot of matches and a huge entry here in Turkey. We’re started at 8am this morning and play will go on until 10pm so it’s a long day and a long week. But that has positives too, I might play one tough match and be able to rest until the next round the next day, rather than 2 or 3 tough matches in one day. That’s so important for us now as the standard of play is getting so much better, the rest in between is important for a high quality performance.”




Tuzcu’s dream shattered on home soil





The European Championships SU5 singles final over the past 8 years has featured just two men. Bartlomiej Mroz and Ilker Tuzcu. For the first time in many attempts, Mroz was the victor in France just a few months ago. 


And whilst the Pol enjoys today’s success and prepares for another tough battle tomorrow, recent reports are that the home nation’s favourite Tuzcu is recovering in hospital after tearing a Quadricep in his first group F match against Netherland’s Joshua Donker.


Retiring from that match and providing a walkover in the next, we are waiting for confirmation that Ilker Tuzcu will not be back tomorrow to face Japan’s world number 10 Tetsuo Ura who looks favouite to progress from this group.


We wish Ilker all the very best with a speedy recovery. 



Look out for updates from the Turkish para-badminton international this week. For the full list of entries, see tournament software here with this link.

©badmintoneurope.com. All rights reserved.

Related news
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 ...

24/03/2024
Marin and Lane/Vendy secure finalist spots at the Swiss Open
The semifinals have concluded ...

More news