Winners and Losers from 2024 European Junior Championships

Why read this article?

• See the winners and losers
• Understand the state of badminton in Europe and why Denmark may be losing its place
• Spot some players that may become future stars

The European Junior Championships provided some exciting results this year with many unexpected victories and losses. It also gave the badminton world a glimpse into the future of badminton in Europe and the new stars breaking through.

The competition was held in the Spanish party Island of Ibiza from the 26th November – 06 December 2024. The bi-annual championships showcase the best under-19 badminton talent in Europe. These are all young hopeful players looking to break into the senior tour by showcasing their ability in the biggest junior tournament on the European tour.

Before the competition, there were a couple of key questions that were being asked.

Could Denmark hold on to the top spot in Europe?

Would Mateusz Golas avenge his defeat at the Jr World Championships?

Could Kaloyana Nalbantova prove she is the successor to Carolina Marin by defending the title she won 2 years ago at the age of 16?

Would Germany, England, and the Netherlands be able to stop the rot and stay at the top table of European badminton?

Would Spain find a new star to replace their star girl, Carolina Marin?

The tournament was littered with unexpected results this year.

European Junior Championships Singles!

In Men’s singles, Mateusz Golas of Poland claimed victory over the exciting Portuguese prospect Tiago Berenguer in the semifinal. Proceeding to sweep French hot shot Arthur Tatranov aside in the Final, Golas made it look easier than it should have been. With a simple two-set victory, he looked comfortable. Tatranov won a close semifinal against the energetic and resilient Scotsman Matthew Waring in 3 tough sets. A surprising position for 16th seed Waring who competed well. Poland Win!

In the Women’s singles, we saw the non-traditional badminton nations take over. Turkey’s Ravza Bodur overcame Siofra Flynn of Ireland in a clinical 2-set display in the semifinal. Likewise, Bulgarian sensation Kaloyana Nalbantova faced off against Czech 3rd seed Lucie Krulova, defeating her 6 and 8.

Nalbantova was not messing around in this competition, especially after her disappointing World championships. The final was no different, a dominant 21-16 21-9 victory to claim the gold medal. Bulgaria win!

European Junior Championships doubles!

The Men’s Doubles was a traditional affair with France, Denmark, and Germany making up the semifinal positions. Danes Robert Nebel and Otto Reiler took out 6th seeds Marzuan and Niemann of Germany.

The semifinal was straightforward for the Danes, who secured a two-set victory. In the other semifinal, Danes Philip Kryger Boe and Jesper Christensen were dispatched by French pair Gardon and Trescart. The Frenchmen calmly eased to victory in the third set 21-9.

This set up a tense final between France and Denmark. The latter was the established force in European badminton and the former the up-and-coming power in European badminton. The pairs met each other in the team finals only a few days prior where the French pair overpowered the Danes in straight sets.

This was no different! Trescart and Gardon took control of the final and never looked like losing the match closing the final 21-15 21-14. France win!

• Watch this interview with Denmark’s Otto Reiler

It was a similar story in women’s doubles. The French number one seeds, Elsa Jacob and Camille Pognante, faced Spanish unseeded pair Macarena Izquierdo and Carmen Maria Jimenez in a grueling three-set match. The French pair won a high-quality 50-minute match.

In the other women’s doubles semifinal, Amanda Aarebo Petersen and Maria Hojlund Tommerup obliterated Germany’s Shreya Hochsheid and Maria Sophie Stern, terminating their dreams of a final 21-5 21-6.

This left the two best pairs in the competition: Denmark vs. France once again, an exact rerun of the team final just days earlier when the Danes were victorious. This was a quick two-set match with some very high-quality rallies.

The French girls showed Europe how mentally strong they were and crushed the Danish dreams of European gold medals, winning in straight sets by 21-17 21-13! A great victory for Elsa Jacob and Camille Pognante! France Wins!

European Junior Championships Mixed Doubles

Last but not least the mixed doubles! Could Denmark gain some pride back and secure the title?

The semifinals saw Turkey’s 6th-seeded pair of Aktas and Yildiz against the French 12th-seeds Gardon and Desmots-Chacun. A tough 3-set match with both pairs competing well, showing their ability and prowess, ending with the Fench pair clinching the final set 21-17 / 14-21 / 16-21.

On the other side of the semifinal, Danes Otto Reiler and Amanda Petersen took on Spanish 8th seeds Lopez and Jimenez. The Danes looked strong, controlling the game and easing to a 2-set victory 21-14 21-18. This set up another Denmark – France final. Could this be the final Denmark could claim?

The final was by far the most competitive match. The Danes took an early lead and closed out the set 21-11. Then came the French Revolution, the French took an early lead but threw it away by the mid-game interval. Coming out of the break the game was tight, trading points until the French pair clicked. They pulled away, staying in front to close out the set 21-17. This set up the grandstand third set, the decider. The French now had their rhythm and some confidence. These pairs did not play the mixed team match so this was all new.

The first few points were tight, trading points back and forth. Then came the breakaway. The French pair played some nice badminton to put themselves 6-2 up and never looked back. They gained confidence as the match progressed to finish the match 21-13, showing Denmark they are no longer the force to be afraid of in Europe.

So who were the winners and losers of the competition?

Mathias Golas – Winner!

Mateusz Golas has been competing well on the European tour for a couple of years alongside his Danish nemesis William Bogebjerg. As William was out with an injury all the expectation was on Golas.

Mateusz dealt with this pressure very well and showed the rest of Europe just how good he was, even against the very competitive Tatranov. Golas has now conquered Europe if he can get to grips with the Asian styles he has a great future ahead of him. Alex Lanier, the last European Junior Championship men’s singles winner in 2022, is now in the top 20! Can Mateusz Golas follow his lead?

Kaloyana Nalbantova – Winner!

This was one of the most dominant displays we have ever seen in European badminton. Nalbantova is the future of European Women’s singles, it was astonishing. She dispatched every opponent with ease and never looked in trouble, fully in control of every match.

Nalbantova was expected to win the title here, yes, she did her job, but sometimes how you do it is more impressive than the achievement itself. She didn’t drop a single set, never went to setting, and only lost more than 15 points in 1 set! If she continues to progress in this way she will more than replace Carolina Marin as Europe’s golden girl…

Nella Nyqvist – Loser!

This might seem quite harsh to those who followed the competition. However, we think Nella should be disappointed with her result. She came into the competition unseeded, so you might think there was very little expectation, well that’s not true as Nella reached the SF in 2022 at the age of 16! A great achievement!

To her credit, this year she competed well in the early rounds winning in straight sets against all her opponents. She barely lost more than 10 points in any set. Dominant some might say, however, she came up against Nalbantova, just as she did in the semifinal in 2022. A comfortable straight-set victory for Nalbantova ejected Nella from the competition.

We think this will be a rivalry for years to come as the top two female singles players in Europe with many more matches to come in this saga however Nella now has to overcome huge mental blocks to challenge and beat her Bulgarian nemesis. Could this be the European version of Lin Dan VS Lee Chong Wei?

Matthew Waring – Winner!

The Scottish hope! Matthew is fairly unknown in Europe compared to some of his rivals. He has been competing well on the European junior circuit, achieving quarter or semi-final finishes, and being beaten by the top European and Asian players, demonstrated by his seeding of 16th!

Based on ranking Matthew should not have made the semi-final but he competed extremely well, dealt with the pressure, and was able to think and act calmly in tense situations.

We got to know Matthew a bit better at the Danish Junior Cup in 2023. Watch it here:

Malya Hoareu – Loser!

The second seed from France is unfortunately a loser out of these championships. Sometimes it is only the smallest of margins that can turn something from promising to disappointment. That is definitely the case for Malya.

To be ranked 2nd shows what level of player she is with good performances against Ananya Agrawal, Naaisha Bhatoye, Freya Redfearn, and Irina Andersen. However, she isn’t consistent enough, especially in high-pressure situations. This season alone she had losses to Nyqvist, Nalbantova, Alymova, and she was surprisingly defeated by Anja Blazina of Slovenia in the first round of the Junior World Championships.

We hope to see good progress from Malya Hoareu in the near future.

Denmark – Losers!

Yes, they won the mixed team gold with a narrow victory over France but they took zero titles from the individual event with no singles players reaching the QF in either singles event and losing all 3 doubles finals to France! Now they were down a player in singles who likely would have won, but this is now a trend that will not stop. Denmark is losing ground on France and this could be the turning point for that change.

The signs were there 2 years ago when Denmark only had 2 finals and 1 title, but they did compete in 8 semi-final matches, showing that maybe they lost that elite edge. With their pedigree, coaches, and clubs Denmark should be the China of Europe, taking 2 or 3 semi-final places in every discipline. Can anything be done to turn this around?

Suffering sudden injuries and sudden illness are part and parcel of competing in badminton. Denmarks favorite to win men’s singles, William Bøgebjerg, did not compete due to an injury. And Marie Viscovich, one of Denmark’s strongest girl’s singles players, also pulled out of the tournament last minute.

France – Winners!

For the past 5-7 years France has been building an impressive national team powered by their improved club system. While everyone focuses on the world tour results, the junior results show a much more realistic version of how good the talent system is for a country, before they go abroad and find different coaches. This is a huge success for France, to compete in the final of the team event with Denmark which they arguably could have and should have won.

England – Losers!

A huge disappointment for a former badminton superpower. In 2022 the English team competed in 2 finals, the women’s singles with Lisa Curtain and women’s Doubles with Curtain and Van Leeuwen. In 2024 they had no semifinals or finals! This was not expected as England did have a seeded men’s doubles pair of Ben Horseman and Jia Bin Lee.

Having only one seeded entry to start with must be seen as extremely poor for Badminton England which has resulted in a serious failure to compete at this top level in Europe. With their current senior players retiring, where is the next generation of English players? Is England on the verge of badminton irrelevancy?

Germany & Netherlands – Losers!

These two national teams feel quite similar to us. Both compete at the top of European badminton but have never been dominant. Now they are slipping below their normal levels. No finals, semi-finals or Quarterfinals in 2024, and only one final or semi-final in 2022. Instead, Spain seems to be taking their sport as the competitors to France and Denmark now, 2 finals and 1 titles in 2022, 2 semi finals in 2024. If these two nations do not change something they will fall out of relevancy.

What have we learned from the European Junior Championships 2024?

It is no longer a given that Denmark will come out victorious when tallying up the placement points at the European Junior Championships. Apart from France, several European countries have upped their game in recent years.

As mentioned, the junior championships of Europe are indicative of what’s to come. At the senior world tour level, Denmark is still ahead of the rest of Europe. However, we believe that the recent accomplishments of junior players from countries such as Poland, Bulgaria, Turkey, Portugal, Spain, and France could fuel additional resources and commitment to the badminton ecosystem in these countries.

What’s swell to see is the current enthusiasm for badminton in countries such as France, Spain, and Portugal. These countries will likely rise to the top in the near future.