Fischbach (iba) – The European badminton elite came to the tranquil Fischbach to play the European Championship qualification for three days. Who would go to the European Championships in Istanbul in February 2026? Can the Staufenhalle also do big sports? Would Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren come to cheer on their respective national teams? And who brought the unicorn…?
Friday: Twice 5-0 at the start
The Germans came out of the starting blocks at full steam, the other nations already knew after the first day of the tournament who was the master and lady of the house or the hall.
In the team tournament, the German women competed against Sweden, Iceland and Finland, the German men against Belgium, Norway and Poland. In order to go straight to the European Championships, the teams had to come first in the “everyone against everyone” group mode.
In the men’s event, Poland had won 4-1 against Belgium in the early afternoon before it was the Germans’ turn. A smooth 5-0 win was played against Norway, a clear signal to the competition.
In the women’s category, the Swedes won the Scandinavian duel against Finland, before Germany had a clean sheet for the second time, with the game against Iceland ending 5-0. Remarkable: Lisa Bonnemann, born in 2008, made her debut in the senior national team, not anywhere, not against anyone, no – at the European Championship qualification! Although she is not yet allowed to drive a car alone, is not yet allowed to vote and is not yet allowed to buy schnapps, she was able to win her game against Edda Ingvarsdottir for Germany in a packed hall without losing a set.
Saturday: Closer than the day before, but the winning streak holds.
Poland has produced many great things and many great athletes over time. The legendary crime scene detective Horst Schimanski was born in Stettin, we have our neighbors to thank for the street lamp as well as the walkie-talkie. And Robert Lewandowski, perhaps the best center forward in the world for years, came from Poland, as did the team that defeated Belgium 4-1 on the first day – and made the Germans sweat badly on the second day: Matthias Kicklitz had to go the full three-set distance in the singles, as did his doubles colleagues Jansen and Seidel.
Poland’s Matheusz Golas won his game in straight sets just as easily as his teammate, the agile Dominik Kwinta.
Only the German doubles Dresp and Geiss didn’t show any weakness and won easily in two sets, the final score in the team ranking was 3:2 for Germany, a victory, but also a show of strength – perhaps a setback at the right time?
It was similarly close for the women; as expected, two-time Olympian Yvonne Li ensured a victory that was never in jeopardy, and Lisa Bonnemann (yes, she!) didn’t give up a set in her second individual triumph either. The Finns were then able to win a singles and a doubles, now it depended on Lohau and Michalski, who won in two sets with 21:15 and 21:9, a 3:2 victory in the daily total, task accomplished!
Sunday: Two comebacks for the women, game turned!
On the last day of the tournament, the country that once produced karate champion Dolph Lundgren and heptathlon Olympic champion Carolina Klüft demanded everything from the German women.
Isabel Lohau and Thuc Nguyen’s doubles match was not for the faint of heart; against Tilda Sjöo and Elin Öhling they first fended off the match point, turned the game around and finally won 21:23, 21:17, 22:20 – a victory on the famous gums, but one that carried the entire team along. Katharina Nilges’ singles against Julia Tuvesson also turned into a thriller, she was already well behind in the third and decisive set – and then fought her way back into the game, 21:12, 11:21, 23:21. In the end, the women won 4-1 against Sweden, but the Sunday games were definitely closer than the supposedly clear result suggests.
The men had to play against Belgium. Good: They didn’t have Jean-Claude Van Damme with them. Bad: Belgium’s number one Julien Carraggi (2024 Olympian) smashes the way Van Damme usually kicks.
However, Matthias Kicklitz was not very impressed; after his win on Friday, he also won this game with 21:15 and 21:17.
His colleagues followed suit, Sanjeevi Vasudevan won his singles in two sets, Bjarne Geiss and Simon Krax won their doubles in two sets, Aaron Sonnenschein won his singles in two sets, only Malik Bourakkadi and Jones Jansen had to go into “extra time”; and then won their doubles match in three sets.
Today the 18 goes to Istanbul
The European Team Championships will take place in Istanbul from February 11th to 15th, 2026, and the German delegation can now start packing their bags.
The German athletes cannot rely on the home advantage factor there, but the performance in Fischbach certainly gives reason for optimism: Intermittent setbacks were quickly overcome, and in the tight games that were sometimes on the brink, the Germans showed strong nerves. They will also need them in Istanbul when they go to the big badminton stage; The people of Kelkheim will definitely keep their fingers crossed! And if all else fails, the DBV can still rely on the lucky unicorn.
