Lubin: Denmark got off to a flying start with a 4-1 demolition of Bulgaria at the European Mixed Team Badminton Championships first Group 1 tie in Lubin, Poland on Wednesday.
Anders Antonsen started the tie for defending champions Denmark by defeating Bulgaria’s Philip Shishov 21-8, 21-11 in the men’s singles match in only 30 minutes.
However, Bulgaria’s World No. 100 women’s singles player Mariya Mitsova gave a spirited display of fight and savvy badminton shots to upset Denmark’s World No. 21 Lin Kjaersfeldt 13-21, 21-16, 24-22, levelling the score to 1-1.
Next up, former World No. 1 men’s doubles pair Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen proven to be in an elite class of their own by trashing Bulgaria’s Ivan Rusev/Philip Shishov 21-3, 21-3.
World No. 2 women’s doubles pair Kamilla Rytter Juhl/Christinna Pedersen sealed Denmark’s victory over Bulgaria by beating Mariya Mitsova/Petya Nedelcheva 21-18, 21-13.
Mathias Christiansen/Sara Thygesen barely break a sweat to clinch victory in mixed doubles after their Bulgarian opponents Ivan Rusev/Stefani Stoeva retired when trailing 0-4 in the first set.
That was Bulgaria’s second defeat of the day as they lost to France 1-4 early Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the England team also got their campaign off to a winning start, sweeping Ireland 5-0 without dropping a single set in the entire tie.
