What a day it has been at the European Junior Team Championships. Both the quarterfinals and semifinals have been completed, and we now know the finalists.
In the semifinals, the matchups were the Netherlands vs. Denmark and Poland vs. France.
Netherlands vs. Denmark
The only unseeded team left in the semifinals was the Dutch team, which has played an incredible tournament, defeating strong nations like Spain and Romania along the way. In the semifinals, they faced their toughest challenge yet, as the second-seeded Danish team was their opponent.
Unfortunately for the Dutch, the challenge proved too great, and the Danes dominated the match throughout. The Danish mixed doubles pair, Otto Reiler and Amanda Aarebo Petersen, won the opening match in two sets, followed by Phillip Kryger Boe securing a second win to make it 2-0.
Dutch player Kajsa Van Dalm, alongside teammate Flora Wang, played a strong women’s singles match where Wang reduced the overall score to 1-2.
The fourth match was the men’s doubles, where the Danes again showed their strength, winning in two sets and securing the final result of 3-1.
Poland vs. France
The top-seeded French team entered the semifinal as clear favorites against the 3/4 seeded Polish team. The first match was the mixed doubles, where the French pair, Tom Lalot Trescarte and Elsa Jacob—top-seeded for the individual tournament and undefeated in both mixed doubles and their respective doubles—faced a strong Polish duo, Krzysztof Podkowinski and Kinga Stokfisz. In a shocking turn, the Poles won 11-21, 23-21, 21-18, paving the way for an upset.
In the second match, the roles reversed, as Poland’s top-seeded men’s singles player, Mateusz Golas, faced 16-year-old Arthur Tatranov. Golas lived up to expectations, bringing Poland to a 2-0 lead.
In the third match, France clawed back as Malya Hoareau secured a win, 21-15, 21-14, reducing the overall score to 2-1.
In a high-intensity men’s doubles fourth match, France managed to push the tie to a decisive fifth match with a 21-23, 21-11, 21-14 victory.
In the final and decisive match, the two nations faced off in the women’s doubles. France's Elsa Jacobs and Camilla Pognante proved too strong for the Polish team, securing the tie in France's favor with a 3-2 victory.
Congratulations to Poland and the Netherlands for an outstanding team tournament throughout! And best of luck to both France and Denmark in tomorrows finals.
The finals will be played tomorrow at 9:00 AM (GMT+1) Follow along on Badminton Europe’s social media or watch the finals live and free on Badmintoneurope.tv