The Russian male team had to fight for it but was able to win their opening tie against Bulgaria.

There is a lot of pressure on the Russian players. Russia is hosting the first big European event of the year, and with a strong line-up the Russian team are also aiming for a the play off.

LIVESTREAM: 2018 EUROPEAN MEN’S & WOMEN’S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS http://badmintoneurope.com/cms/default.aspx?clubid=4685&cmsid=239&pageid=5381&m=5642916

In their opening tie against the underdog Bulgaria, the Russians were under pressure in the first two men’s singles. Vladimir Malkov and Sergey Sirant both won their matches three games.

- A little nervous
The strongest card in the Russian line-up is the current World number 7 in the men’s doubles category, Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov, and the former YONEX All England champions are for sure ready.

See all the results from the 2018 European Men’s & Women’s Team Championships here

Leading 3-1 before the last men’s doubles Russia already won the tie against Bulgaria, but Ivanov and Sozonov performed well on home court winning 21-8 21-13 against Nikolov and Rusev.

- It was an easy win today. It was a good result, because you are always a little nervous, when you play in your home arena. We played some good badminton, and we are looking forward to tomorrow, where we will have a difficult tie against Spain, Ivan Sozonov says.

Gallery: EMWTC18 – Day 1