England Claim European Silver
England Claim European Silver
by James Skitt - 17.04.08
England claimed silver at the European Mixed Team Championships this week despite a 3-0 final defeat to hosts Denmark in Herning.
After three wins from three in the group stages, which included victories over Iceland (5-0), Czech Republic (4-1) and France (4-1), the England team, which claimed bronze in the same event two years ago, enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 semi final victory over Poland before their final defeat.
The first match of the final, the mixed doubles, was always likely to set the tone and despite Anthony Clark and Donna Kellogg battling back from a game down and successfully defending a match point in the second, they eventually lost out to Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl 21-15, 22-24, 21-18.
In the next contest, the men’s singles, Andrew Smith, ranked 33 in the world, took on Joachim Persson, ranked 31. The contest was as close as their rankings suggest but despite two close games, Persson won them both to put Denmark 2-0 in the tie.
All then rested on Tracey Hallam keeping the tie alive by winning the women’s singles clash, but up against Yonex All England Champion Tine Rasmussen she was comfortably beaten as Denmark secured the title.
England Head Coach Ian Wright said: “The mixed doubles was vital. If we could have won that, it would have put pressure on Denmark in the men's singles. After that, if we could have got Nathan Robertson and Anthony Clark on court for the fourth match, it might have been a different story.”
"But we musn't be downhearted. I think this final will make our players more determined for the individual event during the rest of the week. I think Andrew Smith played well despite losing the singles. He's only young and isn't used to playing at this level. This will stand him in good stead.”
The European Championships now continue in Herning through until Sunday, and England will have hopes of success in the Mixed Doubles with Nathan Robertson/Gail Emms and Anthony Clark/Donna Kellogg through to the quarter finals, where Clark and Kellogg will face Robert Blair, who partners Scotland’s Imogen Bankier. Whilst in the women’s singles Tracey Hallam and Sarah Walker are both through to the third round.
The English Institute of Sport (EIS) provide a full range of services to Badminton from the National Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes including Performance Analysis, Strength and Conditioning, Performance Lifestyle, Sports Psychology, Nutrition, Physiotherapy and Medical support.
Photography © Getty Images
Quote sourced from Badminton England website