Daily Sabah (Turkey)

Turkish badminton stars aim for glory at European Championsh­ip

- ISTANBUL / DAILY SABAH WITH AA

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.

 ?? ?? Neslihan Arın trains ahead of the European Badminton Championsh­ips, Ankara, Türkiye, April 3, 2024.
Neslihan Arın trains ahead of the European Badminton Championsh­ips, Ankara, Türkiye, April 3, 2024.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Türkiye