France wrapped up the European Cadet Championships (U17) in Slovenia this Sunday, in Podcetrtek, with four medals in the bag: two gold, one silver and one bronze. And all of them have a strong Alsatian coloring.
Tuesday, the Mulhousienne Camille Pognante and the Strasbourg Malya Hoareau and Alex Lanier had, with their partners of the French selection, conquered the team money, after a short defeat in the final against the Russians (2-3). The best result of French badminton in this European U17 team competition, after bronze in 2007, 2014 and 2016. On Saturday, the duo Hoareau – Pognante, eliminated in the semi-finals of the women’s doubles, had won bronze.
This Sunday, Alex Lanier gave even more sparkle to the hexagonal harvest. The multiple young French champion went to seek what his status as seed n ° 1 in both tables allowed him to aspire: gold in men’s singles and doubles with Baptiste Labarthe.
He broke Axelsen’s record
Winner of his first senior international Open in Lithuania at the beginning of June, finalist of another in Latvia at the end of August, the Strasbourg postman (16 years old) flew over the tournament in singles: in six matches, the minimal European champion (U15) in 2018 did not drop a single set, not even in the semi-finals against the Swede Romeo Makboul, his successor to this minimal Euro in 2020 (21-16, 21-11).
He, who captured bronze in the same European U17 championship in 2019, made short work in the final of the Danish William Bogebjerg, crushed 21-6, 21-9. He thus became the first French junior European champion in singles. “I think I was better prepared than William, because I have already played finals on the European senior circuit. I was able to stay completely focused on this game. “
His second coronation, in DH with Baptiste Labarthe therefore, was much less easy. Faced with the Russians Daniil Dubovenko and Gleb Stepakov, n ° 3, who had beaten her by a hair Tuesday in the team final (21-19, 14-21, 21-19), the French pair, very quickly led 1 set to nothing, had to wait for his 8th set shuttlecock to tie one set everywhere. Then she hung in the 3e while still chasing the score at 14-16. With courage, she conquered the continental crown (16-21,26-24, 21-17).
With this double, Alex Lanier, who had already broken this year the record for the 2017 world champion and Tokyo Olympic champion, the Danish Viktor Axelsen, by becoming the youngest player to win an international senior tournament, achieved an unprecedented feat in the story of the ” bad ” tricolor. He also offers the latter his first gold charms since the coronation of Mulhousien Kenji Lovang and Fosséen Christo Popov in doubles in 2017 in Prague.
