Turkish badminton stars aim for glory at European Championship
IN THE upcoming European Badminton Championships hosted by Germany from April 8-14, Turkish athletes are aiming to make history.
Four players from Türkiye will compete in the 30th European Badminton Championships in Saarbrucken.
Neslihan Arın and Özge Bayrak Bağcı will participate in the women’s singles category, while Bengisu Erçetin and Nazlıcan Inci will compete in the women’s doubles.
Arı and Bağcı, who have bronze medals from previous European Championships, are looking to reach their first finals, while Erçetin and Inci aim to become the first Turkish badminton players to win a medal in doubles.
Ahead of the championships, the Turkish national team held a training camp in Ankara, where head coach Barış Boyar and star athletes Arın, Erçetin, and Inci spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA).
Boyar mentioned the disappointment from the European Team Championships in February, where they narrowly missed a medal chance against France, losing 3-2.
He expressed their determination to represent Türkiye well and return with a medal from the individual championships.
Boyar discussed the paths of the four players in the championship’s main draw: Arın, seeded seventh, will skip the first round with high expectations for a medal match against Mia Blichfeldt (seeded second) in the quarterfinals.
Bağcı will face Lisa Curtin in the first round.
The women’s doubles team, comprising young players aiming for future Olympic qualifications, is in good form and well-prepared, anticipating tough competition from Denmark’s top-seeded pair.
They had a close match against them in the European Team Championships and are motivated for success.
Reflecting on the recent European Team Championships, Arın said, “We lost to France in the semifinals. It was a close match, and things could have turned out differently. Sometimes, luck is not on our side. I had defeated my opponent just a week before, but lost to her during the team match. If only we could have won, we would have had a medal. However, our youth development looks promising.”
Having won bronze in the last two European Championships, Arın highlighted the importance of the European Individual Championships for her.
She emphasized her goal of reaching the finals and changing the color of her medal this time. She acknowledged the challenging preparation period and expressed her hope for a successful tournament.
When asked about their approach compared to previous championships, Arın admitted feeling more pressure now as she aims to maintain her success and upgrade her medal color.
She emphasized her focus on reaching the semi-finals first and then targeting the finals, hoping for a stress-free match and a medal win.
Bengisu Erçetin and Nazlıcan Inci, who have been in great form in doubles, are excited about their debut in the Senior European Badminton Championships.
Erçetin mentioned their preparations in Erzincan before the camp in Ankara, where they trained intensively.
Nazlıcan added, “Our partners have been supportive, and we have focused on doubles training. It has been an intense and exhausting program.”
Both players expressed their excitement and determination to perform well and hopefully win a medal, focusing on progressing through each round regardless of the medal’s color.
Inci also highlighted the championship’s significance as their first step toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, emphasizing their ambition to return with a medal and make history in women’s doubles badminton for Türkiye.