European Junior Championships Preview: Scotland’s Young Stars Ready for European Test

17th August 2026 by Robert McLean

Scotland’s top young badminton stars are in Tatabánya, Hungary, ready to take on the very best Under-19 talent from across Europe as the European Junior Championships get underway tomorrow.

The championships provide a fantastic opportunity for Scotland’s emerging players to test themselves against some of the continent’s leading junior talent, with both team and individual competitions taking place over the coming days.

Team event gets underway

Scotland’s campaign begins tomorrow with a challenging opening tie against one of the tournament favourites, France. The young Scottish squad will then face another strong European nation in Slovakia on Wednesday, with every match providing valuable experience on the international stage.

The Scottish team consists of seven talented players:

  • Alfie Martin
  • Lewis Smith
  • Arnav Saraswat
  • Qingyang Xiao
  • Pranavi Singh
  • Deepti Vijayakumar
  • Jaagruti Mannem

With a mixture of experience and exciting young talent within the squad, Scotland will be hoping to make a strong start to the team competition and put in performances that demonstrate the progress being made across the junior programme.

Coaches ready to support the squad

The players will be ably supported throughout both the team and individual competitions by a strong coaching team.

Familiar faces Gordon Haldane and Julie Hogg will be joined by Scotland’s new National Junior Coach, Jonhattan Martinez Maseda, as the coaching team works alongside the players throughout the championships.

Following the conclusion of the team event, attention will turn towards the individual competitions, giving Scotland’s young stars another opportunity to compete against Europe’s best Under-19 players across the singles, doubles and mixed doubles events.

Follow the action

Fans can follow both the team and individual competitions live on Badminton Europe TV.

Stay tuned to our website and social media channels throughout the championships for updates from Tatabánya, with a full roundup of Scotland’s performances coming at the conclusion of the individual event.

We wish Alfie, Lewis, Arnav, Qingyang, Pranavi, Deepti and Jaagruti, along with the coaching team, the very best of luck in Hungary!

Come on Scotland!