Almost two decades ago, the badminton world enjoyed the golden era of Dutch ladies. Current star Selena Piek talks about whether these significant moments in history can return for the Netherlands.
The first indication that the Dutch ladies were a little bit special was seen in Guangzhou, China, at the 2002 Uber Cup, where they won the bronze medal, defeated strong teams such as Denmark, Hong Kong and Indonesia. Then in 2006, at the first-ever European Men's and Women's Team Badminton Championships (EMWTC) at the ‘Palais des Sports’ in Thessaloniki, Greece, the ladies took gold. This team also then went onto go get silver at the Uber Cup later that year, cementing their status as the best in Europe.
In contrast to these glory years, at this year’s EMWTC in France, the Netherlands ladies failed to exit their group and had a surprise defeat to Estonia. Piek sheds some light as to where they are as a team at this moment in time.
- Our women’s team is very young, and a lot of girls do not have the experience of playing on the big stage. We are also short of women’s singles players and that’s pretty substantial if you want to win matches in a team competition.
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The potential
With such a young team, there is great opportunity to mould the team for the future. Piek agrees and says.
- We definitely have the potential but it’s all about hard work and making the right decisions. Badminton isn't big in Holland, so we need to take good care of the talents we have.
Lastly, when asked whether the Dutch team will defeat Denmark, like they did during the golden era, before she calls it a day. Piek jokingly responds.
- I already did that when I was younger. Does that count?
The next opportunity for the Dutch ladies will be the Uber Cup, which has been postponed until 3-11 October 2020.