Prior to the start of the European Qualifiers, Germany and Denmark had already qualified (in both men’s and women’s triples) by virtue of their place in the World Team Ranking list of 3 January 2023. The men’s triples saw the upset of both these teams in the semifinals, with Netherlands getting the better of Germany 3-2 and France taking down Denmark 3-1. The final became a shootout for the qualification place; Netherlands were too strong for their opponents, with the team of Gijs Duijs, Russell Muns and Wessel Van Der Aar beating Dimitri Jacquart, Corentin Lecerf and Thomas Vallez in straight games, 11-4 11-5 11-6 in 25 minutes.
“We decided on an attacking approach, and we also used the direction of the wind. We hit the shuttle to the right, and the wind was kicking in from the left, and they had some trouble with that,” said Gijs Duijs.
“I’m feeling really great. I had some doubts if we could manage, but after the semifinal, we were really tired, so we’re happy that we won 3-0.”
In women’s triples, Germany and France qualified for the semifinals from Group A and Netherlands and Denmark from Group B. The Denmark versus Germany semifinal was a close affair, with Denmark prevailing 3-2 to make the final.
The France versus Netherlands semifinal was an all-important contest for the qualification spot; France shot down the hopes of the hosts with a 3-1 score.
“We decided to direct the shuttle towards the middle of the court, and we managed to play with the wind and managed to control the game,” said Lorraine Baumann.
“We are all happy to win this game because it was our goal to go to Bali, so mentally we stayed focussed and we knew what we wanted.”
The women’s triples final was another exciting contest, and the Danish team of Irina Amalie Andersen, Iben Bergstein and Anne Fuglsang edged the French (Lorraine Baumann, Ophelia Casier and Charlotte Ganci) 11-13 11-9 4-11 11-9 11-9 in 42 minutes.
