Top 5 Players in the European Badminton Championships
All eyes will be on Madrid this April as the latest edition of the European Badminton Championships takes place. Even with the absence of Russia and Belarus, the competition is still as intense.
Here are the top 5 players in the European Badminton Championships to watch out for before the first serve.
- Carolina Marin
The Spanish ace leads their hometown armada in this tournament, which marks her competitive return after missing out both the Tokyo Olympics and the most recent World Championships.
Apart from the Rio Olympic gold and three world titles, the former World Number one is the reigning five-time European Champion, including a sweet homecoming win in Huelva four years ago.
Page Break
- Viktor Axelsen
The reigning Olympic champion is looking to make a statement in the Spanish capital, as his quest for a third European crown is on in a stacked field at men’s singles.
COVID forced him to yield the title to Anders Antonsen without a single serve in Kyiv a year ago, that put up a fire in the belly for the great Dane.
Page Break
- The Stoeva Sisters
All eyes will be on the Bulgarian sibling act, with the top seeds head to the championships on the back of their sweeps in Basel and Orleans on the tour, respectively.
Taking the cudgels from Denmark’s Pedersen and Juhl, Gabriela and Stefani are looking to claim their third successive crown, having won the first two after losing to the former in Kolding way back in 2017.
Page Break
- Marcus Ellis & Lauren Smith
Ranked tenth in the world by BWF, the English duo as they are fortunate that the best in their discipline is in Asia.
With the absence of holders Alimov and Davletova from Russia, the pair are by default the top seed in the competition, as they seek to extend England’s dominance in the continental stage.
Page Break
- Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel
It was a total chaos at the men’s doubles with the absence of the Danish top-seeds Astrup and Rasmussen and Russian holders Ivanov and Sozonov left the field wide open. Also, the top European pair by BWF rankings (Ellis and Langridge of England) have not even been together since last year.
That means, the German twosomes from Saarland are the newly-installed favorites in this competition, being the second-seed in the tournament and ranked 17th in the world. Lamsfuss was the on-form of the two, having won the Swiss Open mixed doubles plum with Isabel Lohau as they are also in the EBC as the fourth seed.
