While the final score of the clash between Germany and Bulgaria was closer, the other two teams from Group B playing on the neighbouring court had quite the challenge today. The second session on the first day of the 2023 European Mixed Team Championships was an arduous start for France and the Netherlands.

There were tough fights from start to finish. First off, Toma Junior Popov faced Mark Caljouw. The Frenchman got the first win for the host team with a win in three games, 21-14, 21-23, 21-14.

“It’s an important win because we open the tournament against a really strong opponent, the Netherlands. We knew it was going to be a tough team match so I’m really happy to have got the first point of the event in this really tight match”, said the older Popov brother after his win in the opener.

Léonice Huet secured the win in straight games against Nadia Choukri, 21-13 21-11, but what followed afterward were yet even more great battles both sides. Toma Junior Popov had to fight for his team once again together with brother Christo Popov, against Ruben Jille/ Ties van der Lecq. 

The duo won 14-21, 24-22, 21-17, meaning that it was already a win for the 2021 European Mixed Team Championships runner-ups. “We know that we have a hard group stage this year. Every match counts. Our goal today was to bring the win, and our match leading to 3-0 means that France wins. It’s always good to play at home, some people have come to support us and we are very thankful for this”, explained Christo Popov.

In a match that lasted an hour and fourteen minutes, Margot Lambert/ Anne Tran defeated Debora Jille/ Cheryl Seinen 21-19, 14-21, 21-18. The last match on court was between Thom Gicquel/ Delphine Delrue and Robin Tabeling/ Selena Piek. The Dutch pair turned it around to not let the French team get away with all the wins, finishing with a victory, 19-21, 21-18, 21-12.

The second day of the Group Stage starts tomorrow at 10:00AM (CET) with the first session of the day. You can watch all matches on badmintoneurope.tv.