The morning session is played at the European Mixed Team Championships Qualification. Finland and Ukraine both celebrated undisputed wins and took the top of their groups for now. 

Finland took on Lithuania in the first match of Group 5, Subgroup 2, in Sofia, Bulgaria. The team of coach Ville Lang showed a dominant performance and won 4-1. Lithuania only managed to win the women’s single and has only little chances to still make it out of Subgroup 2. “It’s nice to start the campaign with a win. Now we will get some rest and be back in two days to play Austria”, said Finland’s coach Ville Lang after the match. 

In Oberkirch, Switzerland the first match of Group 3 was an easy one for the national team of Ukraine. In the 5-0 victory over Greenland, only one match lasted longer than 30 minutes. Maluk Tiger and Cecilia Josenius from Greeland won the only game for their country in mixed doubles. After starting 22-20, their opponents Yakovlev/Tkach came back strong and won the match 21-5, 21-6. 

The afternoon session is already running with badminton action in four of our five qualification groups. 

Take a look at the matchups: 

Group 5: Bulgaria – Slovenia, 13:00 CET, Livestream 

Group 2: Estonia – Israel, 14:00 CET, Livestream

Group 4: Ireland – Portugal, 14:00 CET, Livestream

Group 3: Spain – Iceland, 15:00 CET, Livestream

Preview: Bulgaria eager to win on home soil

Bulgaria enters Group 5 as the top-seeded team. Their top-stars Stefani and Gabriela Stoeva will get support from some other famous names of the European Circuit. Daniel Nikolov and Kaloyana Nalbantova are two strong singles players on the list of the Bulgarian team making it hard for any opponent to beat the hosts in this group. In their first match, the Bulgarian team faces Slovenia. The third team of Subgroup 1, Belgium, will start its campaign on Saturday. The same applies to Austria which will have to beat Lithuania tomorrow in order to challenge Finland for the top spot in Subgroup 2. 

Can Scotland live up to its expectations? 

Group 4 will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, with the host being the top-seeded team with names like Kirsty Gilmour, Julie Macpherson, Alexander Dunn, Adam Hall, and the Grimley brothers. Scotland faces the Czech Republic and Luxembourg in Subgroup 1. In Subgroup 2 we have Ireland, Portugal, and Sweden. 

The first matchup of Group 4 is Ireland vs. Portugal on Thursday afternoon followed by Scotland vs. Luxembourg. 

Find our preview article on Groups 1-3 here.