Russia reign supreme in Group 2 after a 5-0 win against Switzerland
Russia did not lose one match this event and was just too strong for any of the teams. However, not every match went as smooth as the scoreboard makes you believe. Anastasiia Akchurina and Olga Morozova from Russia had some difficulties against young Swiss pair Caroline Racloz / Jenjira Stadelmann.
- The first game did not go well for us. We did not know what to expect from our opponents. But then during the second game, we changed our tactics and it went better. And in the third game, we just kept going and won the match.
Tobias Kuenzi and Nicolas A. Mueller from Switzerland played the men’s doubles against badminton stars Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov, and they were impressed by the high level of the Russians.
- I think we played well, especially in the second game. We could play some long rallies. Of course, we are not used to their speed. We don’t have that in practice. Also, we are actually singles players, so we are not used to playing doubles that much. And the speed was just different and that was really difficult. But overall, we are happy.
Russia will advance as the winner of Qualification Group 2 to the Final Stage in Vantaa, Finland.
Host Belgium takes second in Group 2 after defeating Poland 3-2
The Red Shuttles from Belgium manage to secure second in the group after winning against Switzerland on Thursday and Poland earlier today. Maxime Moreels won the second match in the men’s singles against Mikolaj Szymanowski from Poland and explains how wonderful it is to be able to play in his home country Belgium.
- It is a really nice advantage and playing at home is always something special. Of course, this year there are no spectators. So hopefully next time we can do it again with spectators, that would be just amazing. But already now it is really nice.
Jakub Melaniuk and Szymon Slepecki from Poland lost the men’s doubles, which gave Belgium the third point of the tie and therefore the win. As they are still juniors and it being the first time that they are part of the adult squad of the Polish national team, they were nevertheless very positive about the match.
- We are very happy with our performance. We are still young players and we came here to gain experience.
- It is an amazing feeling to be here. We are very happy that our coaches gave us this chance to be here and to learn new things. It is amazing and we are very grateful.