After the first couple of matches on semifinals’ day in Huelva, one thing is now clear; the European men’s singles gold will go to either the defending European champion or the reigning world champion.
Wild card Jan Ø. Jørgensen challenged the reigning champion from England in the first semifinal of the day. The match was, as expected, very close, but at the end, Rajiv Ouseph managed to handle the pressure;
- I’m very happy to win today! And I just look forward to the challenge of one more game tomorrow and giving it everything I’ve got.
- Playing against Viktor, who is a world number one, in a European final on such a big stage; I’ve got nothing to lose so I will just go out there and try and play my game if I can.
Happy to be back in a final
Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen beat France’s Brice Leverdez in two games; 21-7, 21-9, and is the opponent for the reigning European champion tomorrow.
- I felt very strong today and maybe Brice didn’t have his best day, so I tried to take advantage of that. And I think I showed a good performance.
- I have been out for three months now so to be back here and to step into tournaments again with a final is of course really nice for me, Axelsen told Badminton Europe after his match.
Find more results from the 2018 European Championships here