We are pleased and proud to see that four players currently in our BEC High Performance Centre have achieved strong enough results to qualify for the 2026 European Championships.

Three players who are fully based at the centre are competing in men’s singles, while one player, partially training at the centre, is competing in women’s singles.

In men’s singles, the players are Dimitar Yanakiev from Bulgaria, Markus Barth from Norway, and Milan Dratva from Slovakia. 
Yanakiev was already in action on the opening day of the championships, where he faced Dicky Dwi Pangestu of Azerbaijan in a close and well-played match, which Pangestu won 19–21, 21–16, 21–14.

Tomorrow, Markus Barth will face seventh seed Arnaud Merkle in what will be a tough challenge for the Norwegian. Milan Dratva will also be in action against Switzerland’s Tobias Kuenzi. Dratva is currently ranked number 42 in Europe, while Kuenzi is ranked 33, setting up what promises to be a competitive match.

In women’s singles, Hungary’s Agnes Korosi, who is partially training with the BEC High Performance Centre, faces a very difficult draw. In her opening match tomorrow, she will take on Kirsty Gilmour, who returns to competition after being sidelined with a calf injury at the end of February. You can read more about that here. 

You can follow their performances, along with all the top European players, live and free on BadmintonEurope.tv.