EMWТС 2016: Day 2 results

Here are the results of the second competition day of the European Badminton Men’s and Women’s Team Championships that are underway these days in Kazan.

EMWТС 2016. Group stage. February 17

Men

Group 1

Denmark - Croatia 5-0

Turkey - Finland 0-5

“We have shown that our team is stronger than any other. I hope that we will be able to keep our unbeaten run going,” said one of the leaders of Team Netherlands, Viktor Axelsen. “Of course, our team counts on taking gold at this tournament. I think that we have the strongest national team. As for the event management, everything is to the highest standard here. Athletes are provided with perfect facilities.”

Group 2

England - Bulgaria 4-1

Estonia - Hungary 3-2

“We are happy with the outcome of the match but the hall is a little bit of a challenge. It’s not very big but all players have their best shots – smashes – and they simply do not work,” said Bulgaria’s Blagovest Kisyov. “It’s a pity we lost to England but we keep believing that we will make it to the quarterfinal.”

Group 3

Germany - Ireland 5-0

Lithuania - Czech Republic 0-5

Group 4

France - Sweden 3-2

Scotland - Slovakia 5-0

“I played a good tournament in Sweden a few weeks back and since then I have been working hard on my physical condition,” said Henri Hurskainen of Sweden, who beat French number 1 Brice Leverdez. “Brice was of course the favourite for the match but I knew I had been training well and with my team behind me it was an extra motivation to win the opening match.”

Group 5

Russia - Austria 4-1

Slovenia - Ukraine 0-5

Group 6

Poland - Italy 5-0

Belgium - Spain 2-3

Women

Group 1

Denmark - Belarus 5-0

Finland - Lithuania 4-1

Group 2

Spain - Belgium 5-0

Bulgaria - Estonia 5-0

“Yesterday we lost to Bulgaria so there was no reason to be happy about,” said Spain’s Sara Penalver Pereira. “Anyway, we count on winning medals and everything else is of little importance.”

Group 3

Germany - England 4-1

France - Wales walkover

“This hall suits my game and helps me a bit against the heavy power players,” said German Karin Schnaase. “I had a slow start yesterday and again today so I know I need to work on that as I am fully aware that my match is a must win for our team.”

Group 4

Turkey - Czech Republic 4-1

Ukraine - Italy 5-0

Group 5

Russia - Slovakia 5-0

Ireland - Hungary 2-3

“It’s early to speak about my impression of the tournament because so far we had to compete against weaker opponents. But we are about to face strong competition any time soon. One can say that we’ve been gearing up for matches against them,” said Ekaterina Bolotova of Team Russia. “As for the event management, we were pleasantly surprised. We have a lot of volunteers; they all speak English and are always ready to provide any kind of assistance to foreign guests… The hall is dressed very beautifully; the courts' layout has been changed. All things considered, we like everything!”