Austria finished second in qualification Group 3 after beating Slovakia 3-2. 

After a minor surprise on the opening day of the qualification, where the Austrian team beat Czech Republic, the host was in pole position to finish second in the group after the Dutch team, who earlier on Saturday clinched the spot at the 2021 European Mixed Team Championships.

For the host it was important to finish second in the group:

- We want to show that we did a good job during the hard times we had, and that we did a good training at home. It will also show that we are on the right path, and that we one day can finish first and play the European Championships, Dominik Stipsits said.

Doubles for Austria – singles for Slovakia
Stipsits and partner Serena Au Young secured the first point for the hosts winning against Milan Dratva and Katarina Vargova, before the Slovakian team bounced back winning the women’s singles and the men’s singles.

After the women’s doubles it all was again even. Katarina Hochmeier and Serena Au Yeong won in three games, and thereby the tie should be decided in the final match for tie, which was also the last competitive badminton match on international level in 2020.

- It was an important win for the team. Now we just hope that the boys are on fire, Katarina Hochmeier said.

Deciding men’s doubles
Austrians Philip Birker and Dominik Stipsits were the favourite against youngsters Andrej Antoska and Jakub Horak, and with his second win on the day Stipsits did his job and secured the second place for the Austrian team. 

- It is a cliché, but is it right that the team was the key this week. We had a good spirit and this why we also won many of the close matches, Birker stated.

The Netherlands finish on top of Group 3 with Austria finishing second, Czech Republic third and Slovakia fourth.