France have confirmed gold medals in men’s singles and doubles – their first in the disciplines at the European Championships.
Both finals on Sunday will be all-French. In men’s singles, Toma Junior Popov will face off against Alex Lanier, who booked his place after a hard-fought 21-15 21-23 21-19 victory over Toma’s younger brother Christo. Meanwhile, the elder Popov eased past Croatian Aria Dinata 21-11 21-13.
In men’s doubles, the Popov brothers advanced after an epic 76-minute battle against Daniel Lundgaard/Mads Vestergaard, edging it 19-21 21-18 25-23. Their challengers for the gold will be fellow Frenchmen Eloi Adam and Leo Rossi, who progressed after Rasmus Kjær/Frederik Søgaard retired in the third game of their semifinal.
Elsewhere, Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva cemented their place in the history books, becoming the joint-most successful women’s pair in tournament history by equalling the four European titles won by Danish greats Kamilla Rytter Juhl/Christinna Pedersen.
The Bulgarian sisters did not drop a single game throughout the week and sealed the championship with a 21-11 21-16 win over Denmark’s Natasja P. Anthonisen and Maiken Fruergaard.
In the other final played on Saturday, Jesper Toft and Amalie Magelund captured gold by defeating top seeds Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue 21-18 21-19.
Reflecting on the triumph, Magelund told Badminton Europe: “It’s really nice to stand here with the gold instead of bronze like last year. I’m so proud of us for keeping this level all week.”
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