Events

(Photo: Badminton Europe)
Preview: EJC previous winners
Date: 10/28/2020 3:02 PM
Published by : Alan Raftery
The day we have been awaiting so eagerly is nearly upon us. The 2020 European Junior Championships (EJC20) kicks off with the team event tomorrow. We take a look at previous winners to gauge what we might witness this year. 

The podium in Tallinn, Estonia, for the 2018 European Junior Team Championships was: 

Gold – France
Silver – Denmark 
Bronze – Russia & Germany

The current double European Junior Team Championships gold medallists, France, having won also on home soil in 2017, will be keen to hold onto their crown. Although, they come here with a new team. The only remnants of the 2018 team who defeated the Czech Republic in the quarterfinal, Russia in the semifinal, and then Denmark in that unforgettable final, is Christo Popov. 

The 18-year-old left-hander played second fiddle to Arnaud Merkle in the singles slot in the key ties, a player who defeated him in the individual men’s singles final. Merkle’s versatility in also playing a significant role in mixed doubles ultimately won France the title in Tallinn. 

Popov, has since shown great levels of versatility in his game also. Winning the World Junior Championship silver in singles, the Bulgarian Open men’s doubles title with his brother Toma Junior, and now he has entered into the EJC20 in two events, men’s singles and mixed doubles with Flavie Vallet. Perhaps this is déjà vu for France, and Popov, like Merkle, can lead the way to a team treble by partaking in different categories and then attempt to win that individual gold he wants so much. 

Danish destiny
Denmark, beaten finalists last time out are more focused than ever to regain the title after a seven-year wait. This time they hope to bring momentum with their U17 European Team Championships winning team from last year.

A key cog in the Danish machine has always been the men’s doubles. Christian Kjaer, who won the U15 gold with Jakob Houe and then U17 gold with Mads Møller last year, is on for a clean sweep of titles in the individual event. This time he plays with Marcus Rindshøj and will be hoping to play a big part in the team matches. 

The Danes also have strong options in mixed doubles, with Mette Werge, the U17 European Champion, teaming up this time with Marcus Rindshøj and will be hoping for another strong performance. Although, William Boe and Emilia Nesic are a tried and tested partnership aiming to build on their U17 European bronze.

One player who will be particularly geared up to make an impression is Magnus Johannesen, after being on the losing team in that final two years ago against France. He lost to Arnaud Merkle, 21-19, 21-9 and will be looking for redemption this time around. 

On paper it’s Russia
Second seeds Russia have never won this event, but this year have top seeds in all individual categories apart from men’s singles, so are looking to build on their six-medal haul from the U17 European Championships, as well as the bronze in the team event last year. 

There is an opportunity for a clean sweep for Russia’s Mariia Golubeva, as she won the U15 and U17 European titles back to back, and now will be gunning for the European Junior title, as well as a gold for Russia in the team event.
 
Russia’s Georgii Lebedev and Egor Kholkin are number one seeds in the men’s doubles. The winners of the Swedish and Polish Junior Opens will hope to form a solid foundation for Russia to build their team event campaign on.

Repeat of 2011?
Germany, four-time winners of the team event, making them the second most successful nations behind Denmark, find themselves in the same group as their northern neighbours for the team event. They will be hoping for a repeat of their 2011 encounter where they secured a well-fought 3-2 victory over the Danes on their way to their most recent team title. 

Germany this year have a well-rounded team, with seeded pairs in every category bar the traditionally strong women’s singles. Their strongest category on paper is the mixed doubles with second and fourth seeds, Aaron Sonnenschein/ Leona Michalski and Matthias Kicklitz/ Thuc Phuong Nguyen. This may put them in good stead with multiple options for the team event. 

Play starts at 14:00 (local time/EET) tomorrow. For the full list of fixtures, click here

Make sure you catch the action starting tomorrow on badmintoneurope.tv

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