Baku: Spain’s Pablo Abian has beaten Denmark’s Emil Holst 2-0 to claim the European Games men’s badminton singles gold medal at Baku on Sunday.
Abian was riding a massive wave of form to start the men’s final, with the Spaniard quickly won game one with 21-12. Holst’s frustration set in midway through that game, when his racket broke in the middle of a point as he raced into a 14-8 lead. With a remarkable blend of defensive prowess and controlled aggression, Abian battled back to secure the victory by clinching the second set 23-21.
Both Germany’s Dieter Domke and Lithuania’s Kestutis Navickas won the men’s singles bronze medals.
Denmark’s Line Kjaersfeldt who was the flag bearer at the European Games closing ceremony, knocked out Belgium’s Lianne Tan 18-21, 21-19, 21-9 in a gripping women’s badminton singles final to win the second gold medal for Denmark.
“It was very special to win in the first European Games, I didn’t play so well in this match, but I gave everything on my every shots, and that made the victory even more special for me,” said Kjaersfeldt.
The 21-year-old Kjaersfeldt is expected to fill the gap left in the Denmark women’s game after the retirement of Tine Rasmussen (Tine Baun).
Denmark’s mixed doubles duo of Niclas Nohr and Sara Thygesen went on to win the nation’s third gold in Baku after beating France’s Audrey Fontaine and Gaetan Mittelheisser with 21-16, 21-16.
