Heading for a 14th gold? Not impossible. Most people take it for granted that the Swedish men’s team will be able to beat Hungary in the quarterfinals and advance to the semifinals. The blue-and-yellow medal row in the team EC is a bit unbelivable since the EC started in march 1958 in today’s opponent’s capital, Budapest: 23 medals. Of these, 13 are of the finest denomination, gold. Three are silver and seven are bronze.
No later than 2021 in Romanian Cluj-Napoca, it was a Swedish bronze. Russia won the semi-final 3–0 before falling to Germany in the final, 1–3.
If we examine the players in the Swedish team, Kristian Karlsson was the first to play in the EC, in Stuttgart 2009. Both in a team and individually. He was involved in the first team medal in 2014. The same year that both the ladies and the men won the bronze in Lisbon. Year and doubles mate Mattias Falck joined the EC the following year – in Ostrava.
You are well aware – that Kristian, born August 6, 1991, is one month older than Mattias, born September 9, 1991. Mattias took part in winning the team bronze last year. But not Kristian. But together it was a complete hit in 2022 in their third doubles final.
Otherwise, 21-year-old Truls Möregårdh’s streak of three team ECs is impressive: ten victories in eleven games.
The quarter-final between Sweden and Hungary starts at 19.00.
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