For the first the two Dutch players won the gold medal at the European Games.

Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith, representing Great Britain at the European Games, were from the beginning one of the favorites to claim the gold medal in Minsk. On Saturday night Selena Piek and Cheryl Seinen from the Netherlands showed the world, that they could beat ‘The Ones to beat’.

From the beginning of the match the Brits were in the lead and they won the first game 21-14.

- We were defending well, but we were also attacking well, Chloe Birch said.

Got the right tactic
In the second game the Dutch came out strong and kept the momentum throughout the game. Piek and Seinen won the second game 21-13.

- We got the right tactic, and we did not make the unforced errors, Cheryl Seinen said.

- The speed in our legs was much higher in the second game and we could see, that they were nervous as well. We managed to switch things around and we said to each other, that we should have fun and enjoy the game, Piek added.

Party time
In the third game the Dutch kept on being aggressive and it paid off: Selena Piek and Cheryl Seinen were crowned European Games Women’s Doubles Champions winning the final 14-21 21-13 21-15.

- I am not sure how we are going to celebrate, but I am sure Selena will take me somewhere, Cheryl Seinen said with a smile on her face.

Women’s Doubles podium at the European Games 2019:

Gold: Selena Piek/Cheryl Seinen (Netherlands)
Silver: Lauren Smith/Chloe Birch (Great Britain)
Bronze: Ekaterina Bolotova/Alina Davletova (Russia) & Emilie Lefel/Anne Tran (France)