Events

(Photo: Badmintonphoto)
A wonderful week fuelled by hard work and passion
Date: 2/21/2023 3:56 PM
Published by : Sara Gonzalez Martinez (BEC)
Hard work and passion have made the 2023 European Mixed Team Championships a success.

The reigning champions, Denmark, defended the title by winning once again. The hosts, France, made history in the last edition by winning their first medal in the European Mixed Team Championships and this year they finished as runner-ups once again with an incredible performance in the final, giving the home crowd so many memories to cherish. Two of Europe’s strongest teams, England and Germany, won the bronze.

We’re still recovering from a week full of amazing badminton in Aire-sur-la-Lys, France, and it is safe to say that it has been quite a success. Reflecting on the event, Acting President of Badminton Europe Confederation João Matos says: “It was a wonderful week. We’ve seen the best players in Europe here in a terrific European Championships, ending with a great final — with tough matches and a full hall”.

Team spirit and enthusiastic support
The atmosphere in the final of Denmark against France will be one to remember. Aire-sur-la-Lys is a small city but their message in the hall was loud and clear — the stands full of people, cheering until the last point.

Yohan Penel, President of the French Badminton Federation, highlights the importance of having hosted such an event. “There will be so many memories for the players, coaches, volunteers, and the audience. We’ve been waiting for this moment for so long, with an amazing final. The passion that we had in this extraordinary venue, in the stands. That warmth is maybe the most important thing from this week. All the people who came to see badminton — it could be the beginning of something because maybe tomorrow they will have one wish, to start playing badminton”.

France is once more consolidating their status as one of the strongest in European badminton. What do the team’s performance and the successful event show about badminton in France?

“We see that badminton is a team sport, that it’s not only an individual sport. We are also on the road to the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris, so it was important for the players to play at home and feel the passion of the French fans. We went to the fifth match in this final, it is a strong message to the whole world of badminton. We are here, we want to go up and up, and make people feel extraordinary emotions. It has been a great week for everybody. Thanks to Badminton Europe for enabling us to host this event, and thanks to the public, it has been amazing”, concluded Penel.

A small city showing grand passion
Pierre Lusset, International Events Manager of the French Badminton Federation, has been part of the hard work that was behind these five intense days of European Championships.

“It was quite a challenge to organise this event in Aire-sur-la-Lys, a city with only 10,000 inhabitants. For 18 months, the club Le Volant Airois and us have been working with volunteers to organise this event. It is a really small city, but we had a great atmosphere and Le Volant Airois is a top-level club”, explained Lusset.

The big event does not just give us incredible performances from Europe’s top athletes but it also goes to show the passion for the sport at all levels, from the hard-working volunteers and the local clubs that contribute so much to the sport. “These kind of events help us to get licenses of registered players. We are getting closer to 200,000 licenses in France so that is the goal of the year”, said Lusset.
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