This is the 31st edition of the European Championships, but it will be the first time we’ll see a men’s singles podium without the Danish flag being raised. Since Denmark’s first medal in 1968, won by Elo Hansen and Jørgen Mortensen, there has always been at least one Dane on the podium, but not this year. That became certain earlier today when the last remaining Dane, Magnus Johannesen, lost his quarterfinal match to Christo Popov.

Before the tournament even began, Viktor Axelsen was forced to withdraw due to a minor back operation. Then, on the day of his opening match, Anders Antonsen also had to pull out due to illness, which after a hospital check fortunately turned out not to be serious. And to complete the unfortunate hat trick, Rasmus Gemke twisted his ankle in yesterday’s match against Joakim Oldorff.

That leaves Denmark, for the first time ever, without a medal in the men’s singles category.

France, on the other hand, is celebrating a historic achievement. For the first time ever, they will have three players standing on the podium Sunday evening: Alex Lanier, Christo Popov, and Toma Junior Popov. They’ll be joined in the semifinals by surprise semifinalist Aria Dinata from Croatia, you can read more about his story here.

Tomorrow we will find the first winners of the European Championships, when we are playing finals in Womens doubles and Mixed doubles. 
All matches can se seen on BadmintonEurope.tv