General

(Photo: EYOF Banská Bystrica 2022)
EYOF Banská Bystrica: Türkiye wins the mixed doubles gold
Date: 8/1/2022 11:32 AM
Published by : Sara Gonzalez Martinez (BEC)
With many players winning their second medal for their country and Germany securing their first medal of the event, Türkiye claimed the gold in the mixed doubles.

After an exciting four days of the badminton individual event in EYOF Banská Bystrica 2022, it was time for the mixed doubles event to close what has been a fantastic return for the sport in the European Youth Olympic Festival. 

Denmark, Poland, and Türkiye had already secured medals — Salomon Thomasen and Maria Højlund Tommerup had won a medal each for Denmark, while Poland’s Mateusz Golas and Türkiye’s Ravza Bodur had also reached the podium in the individual event, and they would all be fighting for a spot in the mixed double semifinals, meaning that they would all be winning two medals in total.

Germany had been close to securing another medal in the individual event, with Luis Pongratz reaching the quarterfinals, and this would be their chance to not leave EYOF empty-handed thanks to the eighth-seeded pair of Luis Pongratz/ Marie Stern.

Danes Salomon Thomasen/ Maria Højlund Tommerup had to take on Mateusz Golas/ Maja Janko, Poland. Both pairs got to show their strengths in the first game, a long struggle to take the important first step towards the win. The Polish pair won 28-26, but the Danes got back at their opponents with a win in the second, 21-16. The final game was close but not as much as the first one, with Golas/ Janko getting to seal the deal 21-19. 

On the other court, Bugra Aktas/ Ravza Bodur faced Luis Pongratz/ Marie Stern. The German pair gave quite the show in the quarterfinal the day before against another strong pair, Switzerland’s Keishin Rimmer/ Leila Zarrouk. The German duo lost the first game 20-22, and Aktas/ Bodur gave even less chances for their opponents to strike back at their powerful shots, closing the match with a score in the second game of 21-7.

The finalists Mateusz Golas/ Maja Janko and Bugra Aktas/ Ravza Bodur, who had never faced each other before, started off the match with a close score, but the Turkish pair managed to control the game. In the second game, the Polish duo had a strong second part of the second game, but it wasn’t enough to stop Aktas/ Bodur from taking the win and therefore the gold medal. 

The medals were awarded later in the day, hours before the closing ceremony took place. Due to the weather forecast, the ceremony had to be moved indoors and would only consist of the protocol part, including the handing over to the Slovenian Maribor, next year's EYOF host.
©badmintoneurope.com. All rights reserved.

Related news
27/03/2024
EOC Executive Committee awards 2027 European Games to Istanbul
The European Olympic Committee...

27/03/2024
Madrid Spain Masters day 2: Victories, upsets, and excitement on court.
French siblings sweep to victo...

26/03/2024
A first action-packed day unfolds at the Spain Masters
The Madrid Spain Masters 2024 ...

26/03/2024
Spain Masters begins today with an unexpected withdrawal!
Madrid is buzzing with excitem...

25/03/2024
Lane/ Vendy and Marin, victorious at Swiss Open
The Swiss Open concluded this ...

24/03/2024
Marin and Lane/Vendy secure finalist spots at the Swiss Open
The semifinals have concluded ...

More news