In today’s second semifinal, we had to determine Denmark’s opponent for the final. The match was between England and France.
Since both Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue were set to play in both mixed doubles and men's and women's doubles, the tie started with the mixed doubles match.
Europe’s highest-ranked mixed doubles pair was pushed to the limit by England’s Callum Hemming and Estelle Van Leeuwen. The English duo kept up throughout the first set, but in the end, the French stars pulled away and took the set 21-16. The second set was even closer, with both pairs staying level until 18-18 before Delrue and Gicquel showed their experience and closed the match 21-19.
The second match saw another French star take the court, this time Alex Lanier. On the other side of the net was Harry Huang. The two hadn’t faced each other since 2021, and Huang put up a solid fight, but it was evident that Lanier is used to playing at a higher level. The match ended with a French victory, 21-15 21-11.
For England to avoid a 3-0 defeat and elimination, young Leona Lee needed a standout performance against Léonice Huet. She started brilliantly, reaching the 11-point interval first and later leading 15-10. But from that moment, things turned around. Huet played flawlessly for the remainder of the set, winning 11 of the next 12 rallies to secure it 21-16. She continued her dominant play at the start of the second set, quickly establishing an 11-2 lead. She went on to win the set 21-10, securing France’s place in the final.
A very happy Huet spoke to us after the match, particularly grateful for the support from her teammates on the sidelines:
"For me, I have the best team because they are always cheering for everyone, especially when we have this kind of pressure."
Tomorrow, France will face the defending champions, Denmark, in a repeat of the last European Mixed Team Championships final. Or as Huet puts it:
"Again and again and again."
But she made it clear that their goal is to dethrone Denmark:
"We are here to beat them, for sure. We want the victory, we want the gold medal." The full interview can be seen here
Whether France can achieve that remains to be seen, but all matches will be streamed live tomorrow on BadmintonEurope.tv.