Sofia, July 5 (BTA/GNA) – Three-time European women’s doubles champions Stefani Stoeva and Gabriela Stoeva said they were delighted to have won the gold medal at the badminton tournament at the 2023 European Games in Krakow.
On Sunday, the Bulgarian sisters defeated debutants Debora Jille and Cheryl Seinen from the Netherlands by two games to nil (21:7, 21:17) in the final after 38 minutes of play and took their second European Games title after Baku 2015.
Stefani Stoeva said that they are both happy with this result. “It was a tense competition as we had problems between us. We went in with no expectations but made sure we were focused in every game. Judging by the results, everyone can say it was easy, but it was not like that at all. I think our toughest match was in the semifinal […] we just had to survive the long marathon against the French [The Bulgarians defeated Margot Lambert and Anne Tran from France in the semis by two games to one – 17:21, 21:14, 21:12]. I’m really happy that we managed to win the gold”, she explained.
Her sister Gabriela Stoeva also said she is happy with the achievement and their next big goals are to perform well at the World Championships in August and to qualify for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
“It was tough, we had three games in the group and three more to the final. It was quite a marathon in the semifinal, we played for 84 minutes […] We are really happy. It’s been a tough week, but this time we are on the winning side. Next month, we have the World Championships in Copenhagen, that’s our next big goal and the biggest one, of course, is to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris next year,” the Gabriela Stoeva said.
BTA/GNA