Leuven: England are one step away from their first European Mixed Team Championships final since 2009 after beating the Netherlands in Friday’s quarter-finals in Leuven, Belgium.
After two convincing 5-0 wins in the group stages against Ireland and Belgium respectively on Thursday, head coach Jakob Hoi’s team defeated a tough Dutch outfit 3-1 in the last eight.
Having guaranteed a bronze, they will now meet Russia for a place in Sunday’s final of the biennial event. Both nations have finished with bronze medals at the last two European Mixed Championships.
Against the Netherlands, Chris and Gabby Adcock got England off to the perfect start on Friday in their mixed doubles’ rubber, but the world number six pair were made to work hard before beating Jacco Arends and Selena Piek 21-15 21-18.
In the singles, Rajiv Ouseph, who revels in the team environment, then ousted Eric Pang in the men’s singles before Fontaine Chapman lost a gruelling clash against Soraya de Visch Eijbergen 15-21 21-16 21-11.
It meant that England needed a men’s doubles victory by Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge to progress, though the pumped-up English national champions found the going tough before winning 21-13 17-21 21-13.
“We were really happy with a solid team performance,” said Gabby. “We felt really comfortable on court and played the right tactics throughout the match.
“We kept our discipline and were focused with each point. The team were really behind each other and we were the dominant team. I’m really proud of the team and looking forward to playing tomorrow. It will be tough against Russia but I have strong faith in the team.”
England will play Russia tomorrow at 1pm GMT. The Russians beat Scotland 3-1 on the adjacent court in their last eight clash, while Denmark will face Germany, the defending champions in the semi-finals.
Badminton England
