Rotterdam 2023: Fantastic France shine in Para badminton

French Para badminton players shone on the final day of the first multi-sport European Para Championships, winning seven of the 20 gold medals on offer. The Championships came to an end following 13 days of action in Rotterdam, Netherlands, featuring 1,500 Para athletes from 45 countries competing in 10 sports.

Magnificent Mazur 

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion Lucas Mazur led France’s strong run in Para badminton, sweeping all three golds in his category.  

He started the day with victory in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 alongside Faustine Noel, beating Sweden’s Rickard Nilsson and Norway’s Helle Sofie Sagoy 21-14, 21-14. He followed that with a second triumph over Nilsson, 21-5 21-12, this time in the men's singles SL4, before rounding off a stunning performance with gold in the men's doubles SU5 with Meril Loquette. The French pair came from behind to seal a 21-17, 21-15 victory over Poland’s Bartlomiej Mroz and Great Britain’s David Jack Wilson. 

“It’s a huge day for us, France, because we got a lot of gold medals, also a silver and bronzes. So we are very happy that we got to this level because years and years ago we started from nothing,” said Mazur, who won the men’s singles SL4 at Tokyo 2020. 

His doubles partner Loquette added a fourth gold for France, beating Mroz 21-11, 21-13 in the men’s singles SU5. Guillaume Gailly and Mathieu Thomas then topped the podium in the doubles SL3-SL4, triumphing 21-18, 17-21, 21-17 against Nilsson and Great Britain's William Smith. 

France's final two golds both came in the women's competition - Maud Lefort completing a double victory, defeating Cathrine Rosengren Andersen 21-15, 21-14 in the women’s singles SU5 and winning the doubles SL3-SU5 with Coraline Bergeron - 21-14, 21-10 against compatriots Lenaig Morin and Milena Surreau. 

Age is just a number 

Of all the Para badminton players in Rotterdam, Thomas Wandschneider is the oldest. But the German athlete, who turns 60 later this year, displayed his wealth of experience on the court, taking home two gold medals.  

With Rick Hellmann, he beat France’s Thomas Jakobs and David Toupe 21-19, 21-18 in the men’s doubles WH1-WH2, before returning a few hours later to beat Toupe 21-15, 21-17 in the WH1 singles. 

“It’s very very crazy. I’m nearly 60 years old and I’m a double European champion. It feels very good,” Wandschneider said. “Now I’m the oldest player to win the European Championship title.” 

Playing in Rotterdam as the reigning world champions, Wandschneider and Hellmann faced a stern test from Jakobs and Toupe. 

“It was a very close match, unexpectedly so, to be honest. But it was very important for us to get those points for Paralympic qualification,” said Hellman, who is 24 years younger than Wandschneider.  

“It was a reassurance that we are the best doubles pair in Europe. As current world champions, we haven’t had much luck in our draws and matches since the last World Championships.” 

Later in the day, Hellmann added another gold medal for Germany, taking down Switzerland’s Luca Olgiati 21-11, 15-21, 21-13 in the men’s WH2 singles. 

Display of bravery 

In one of the day’s longest matches, Great Britain’s Jack Shephard claimed a 23-21, 17-21, 22-20 victory over France’s Charles Noakes in the men’s SH6 singles.  

Shephard, who competed at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was forced into a decider by Noakes, but ultimately sealed his second gold medal of the day. After the match, he lay down on the court and took a deep breath. 

“To be honest, I’m speechless,” Shephard said. “Hopefully my opponents look at that and think when they get to that stage they have to be able to close the game out, because I’m always going to come back.” 

Earlier in the day, Shephard and and fellow Brit Rachel Choong came out victorious in the mixed doubles SH6, beating Krysten Coombs of Great Britain and Oliwia Szmigiel of Poland 21-16, 21-11.  

“The partnership was really only established about eighteen months ago. So, this is our first European title together and we’re really pleased that we could win it,” said Choong, who also took silver in the women’s singles SH6. 

Norway’s rising star 

In the women’s singles SL4 final, Norway’s rising star Sagoy defeated France’s Surreau 21-6, 21-6 and celebrated with her coach Sonja Waaland. Sagoy, the reigning world champion in the category, is the only Para badminton player representing Norway in Rotterdam. 

“It feels fantastic. I’ve been working for this day for a long time now. I really felt I did my very best and I had good movement on the court. I felt strong today,” she said.