Carolina Marín will be joining Spain in the fight to top Group 3 to qualify for the upcoming European Mixed Team Championships in February 2023.
Carolina Marín leads the list of Spanish players that have been called up by national coach Ernesto García for the qualifying stage of the European Mixed Team Championship. Spain is part of Group 3, with matches taking 15-18 December in the Swiss town of Oberkirc. Spain and fellow Group 3 teams will aim to top their group which would allow them to be in the final phase reserved for the eight best teams of the continent.
The reigning European champion will be joining Bea Corrales, Clara Azurmendi, Ania Setién, Lucía Rodríguez, Kike Peñalver, Joan Monroy, Carlos Piris, and Rubén García. "Carolina will contribute to the team with her experience and competitive level," says Ernesto García, that by including several young players, seeks to "give them experience and responsibility." "This is about consolidating a group of athletes who work together continuously in the CAR — Spain’s High Performance training center —, while qualifying for the final phase of the European Mixed Team Championship that will be held in France in February 2023".
Along the same lines, the sports director of the FESBA and head of the CAR, Arturo Ruiz, explains that "doubles will be played by players who are training specifically for such discipline, while in the men's singles we have opted to give Kike Peñalver a greater responsibility".
Spain already knows the path it must follow if they want to be in the European Mixed Team Championships. In the draw that took place at the Badminton Europe headquarters last June, the team led by Ernesto García was placed in Subgroup 1 of Group 3, where they will face the host, Switzerland, and Iceland. In case of being first in this subgroup, they will have to play against the winner of Subgroup 2, formed by Ukraine, Greenland, and Hungary.
You can find more information about the 2023 European Mixed Team Championships here.