Fresh from his gold medal triumph, Dan Bethell is one of a raft of Badminton England stars ready to carry momentum from the Four Nations into the European Para Championships in Rotterdam.
Krysten Coombs and Jack Shepard are also searching for valuable points in the SH6 men’s singles that go towards Paralympic qualification.
The event also provides a golden opportunity for Badminton England athletes and the rest of the Great Britain para badminton team to bolster their world rankings.
Badminton England national coach James Boxall believes his squad are in the best possible position going into the multi-games environment.
He said: “It’s come at a really good time for us because we’ve had a big training block into the Four Nations and now this, so the guys are all ready to go.
“There are only three players out of the top 10 in the world that are here and players like Dan would still get the same amount of points.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity to boost our Paralympic qualification with the all the other events and it’s great to be here with the whole GB squad.
“The SH6 men’s singles will certainly be one to watch, our two boys against the French with Charles Noakes being number five in the world, Jack fourth in the world and Krysten at six in the world so that little tussle between those three will be interesting.”
Rachel Choong is also eyeing a good run in the SH6 women’s singles and her chances of medalling with Shephard are also high in the SH6 mixed doubles after they made the Four Nations final.
The European Para Championships also present a chance for pathway players to gain valuable experience on the world stage with Robert Donald, Emma Stoner, Isaac Maison, Anya Butterworth ones to watch across the tournament.
Boxall said: “The good thing about this as well is that all our pathway guys get in so we’ve got our juniors coming through who are now on a new Paralympic Badminton pathway, a Badminton England initiative where we started to get younger, talented players involved.
“It’s brilliant because it gives them exposure to top class badminton, it gives us a chance to watch and, on the flip side, to get a gauge on performance.
“The training sessions we’ve had have been fantastic and they seem really up for it because we have quite lengthy tournament break after this.
“It gives us a block of training and the guys can have some down time with their families after. It’s the last big push this week and so far so good.”
