Badminton: Focused Ireland ready to create history in European battle with Belgium

Irish badminton will write a standout chapter in its history today when the national team faces hosts Belgium in the European Mixed Team Championships at the Sportoase Leuven arena outside Brussels. 

This is the 23rd hosting of the continental competition but the first time that an Irish team has made it past the qualifying stage, thanks to victories over Slovakia, Norway and Bulgaria in their preliminary group at Baldoyle last November.

The Irish have been drawn in Group 2 of four along with the Belgians and England and will need to win one of those matches — each consisting of five games of men’s and women’s singles as well as men’s, women’s and mixed doubles — to claim a place in the quarter-finals.

“Now we have established ourselves as one of the top 12 nations in Europe and if we can manage to win one of the two games in our group we could effectively be in the last eight,” said national coach Dan Magee.

“That would be a massive statement.”

Magee’s siblings will play a large role in determining the outcome this next five days. Sister Chloe and brothers Sam and Joshua are all part of an Irish team that also contains Scott Evans, Sara Boyle and Rachael Darragh.

Chloe Magee and Scott Evans are double Olympians who will be expected to provide most of the points, Sam Evans is another experienced operator while the others will bring the vitality of youth and no little potential to the table.

Boyle and Darragh, for example, are still only 17.

The omens are positive.

Evans is coming off the best season in his career in 2014 when he won the Brazil Grand Prix and reached the final of the Bitburger Open.

Chloe Magee made the quarter-finals of the French Super Series and the last 16 in the All-England Premier Super Series.

Chloe and Sam Magee, who it is hoped will make the Rio Olympics along with Chloe and Evans in singles, are ranked 28th in the world in mixed doubles, while Sam and Joshua Magees’s nascent men’s partnership is also bearing fruit.

The brothers earned a bronze medal at the Brazil Grand Prix last year and won a first Irish title together last month.

Boyle and Darragh reached the last eight of the Polish Open and earned vital points for the team in the qualifiers.

Today’s meeting with Belgium was due to be streamed live by Badminton Europe’s BETV but the cameras have apparently been pulled from the stands in order to make more space for the number of Belgian VIPs eager to be seen.

It’s easy to see why.

Belgian and Ireland are sides of similar quality, tier two countries below the favourites Denmark as well as Germany, Russia and England. So, this is the big chance for both and the hosts will rely on the siblings Yuhan and Lianne Tan for points in the best-of-five.

That said, Dan Magee is confident that Ireland can claim the three wins required to take the match and the points and is just as upbeat about the prospect of facing the English tomorrow in a match that will be streamed live.

“Ireland-England is always a massive match. There are always good games between us when we play. England would be, on paper, stronger but there are games in that that we can take. Chloe has a very good record against the English ladies in singles.

“She has beaten all their top players so we know that’’s a game we can compete in. Scott Evans had match point against their number one singles player in a previous match so we know there are games we can challenge in.”

Fixtures: Ireland v Belgium: today, 1.30pm

England v Ireland: tomorrow 9am

(Both are Irish times)