Big news coming from Switzerland. The Spanish badminton team, already with Carolina Marín in the team, has beaten the host team 5-0, so ends up first in its subgroup in the qualifying phase for the European Championship for mixed teams and will face Ukraine this Sunday for the ticket to the final phase. The pupils of Arturo Ruiz and Manu Vázquez have once again shown that they are in great shape, as they have concluded this first phase of the qualifying round without losing a single match.
The match against Switzerland began with Kike Peñalver as the protagonist. It was difficult for the Toledo player to enter the match against Tobias Kuenzi, something that the Swiss took advantage of to win the first set 7-21. However, Peñalver reacted at the beginning of the second round and managed to dominate the game to win 21-10 and 21-14, thus adding the first point to the Spanish box.
In the second duel the debut of Carolina Marín in the competition has arrived. The Olympic champion and three-time world champion has entered the scene to face Jenjira Stadelmann, who has given her a tough match. Proof of this is that the Swiss has managed to sign up the first game 20-22. Of course, Carolina is Carolina and far from collapsing, Huelva has pulled her claws to pull off a very even game, winning 21-17 and 21-14.
It was the turn of the men’s doubles of Joan Monroy and Carlos Piris, who jumped onto the track with the possibility of ending the match and ensuring the presence of the Spanish team in the final duel on Sunday. This has also been an even match, but the Spaniards have not failed and have been able to close it in two sets and after a heart-stopping finish (21-19 and 22-20).
With the victory assured, the time has come for the women’s doubles of Clara Azurmendi and Bea Corrales to face Aline Müller and Caroline Racloz. Like the first two matches, this one has also been decided in three tight sets and after almost an hour of play. The first set has been for the Spanish (21-19) but the Swiss have not given their arm to twist and have scored the second for the same result. The third and final match began with the dominance of the local players, but the Spanish managed to take the lead before the interval and stopped any comeback attempt by Müller and Racloz, closing the match 21-17.
The mixed doubles of Rubén García and Lucía Rodríguez had the possibility of closing the match with full Spanish victories… and so it has been (21-18 and 21-14). The duo made up of the Andalusian and the Galician faced Nicolas Mueller and Jenjira Stadelmann and had to pull their punches to prevail in the first set, as the Swiss tandem took the lead until the final stretch. Of course, García and Rodríguez have been better at the decisive points and have taken the lead. At the start of the second set there weren’t any big differences on the scoreboard either, but the Spaniards managed to take the lead after the interval and closed the match with solvency thanks to two 4-0 runs almost in a row.
The Spanish badminton team will play this Sunday against Ukraine for the ticket to the final phase of the European Team Championship. The meeting will begin at 10:00 and can be followed live. It will be a match of maximum emotion, since Ukraine has level athletes and also there is a lot at stake, since the final phase of the European team is reserved only for the eight best teams on the continent.
