From intense Para Judo battles, explosive Wheelchair Tennis duels to thrilling Boccia semifinals and the debut of Goalball

Day 3 was an incredible day full of sporting highlights! We closed the Para Judo with a bang during the Team Events and at the same time welcomed a brand new sport, Goalball. But that’s not all, as another exciting day awaits us tomorrow with Wheelchair Basketball!

Besides the best of European sports, there is much more to experience during the #EPC2023! At Rotterdam Central Station there will be Wheelchair Basketball clinics on the station square for the next few days. Join the Wheelchair Basketball clinics and discover for yourself how fun and challenging this sport is. The next sessions will take place on August 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19. Will you come and join us as well?

Dutch duo Maikel Scheffers and Ruben Spaargaren have reached the finals of the men’s doubles tennis, defeating the Spanish Martin De La Puente and Fransisco Garcia Vena.

The Dutch started strong by quickly taking a 4-0 lead, but the Spanish duo fought back to 5-3. In the end, Scheffers and Spaargaren secured the first set (6-4). The second set was won by the Dutch with a score of 6-3.

Scheffers and Spaargaren will face the French pair Nicolas Charrier and Geoffrey Jasiak on Saturday 12 August. The French team won in the semi-finals against the Brits Ben Bartram and Dahnon Ward.

The final will take place on Saturday 12 August on the City Centre Court at Schouwburgplein.

The final day of Para Judo concluded with the Team Event and final medal ceremonies. Congratulations to all the athletes. We had successful Para Judo competitions with lots of action, dedication and victory at the European Championships!

Meanwhile, we are busy behind the scenes at the City Centre Courts. The finals of Boccia and Wheelchair Tennis are getting closer and closer! Starting August 12, the athletes will compete in the finals for the European title on the Schouwburgplein in Rotterdam. Be sure to come and watch as admission is free!

The Dutch tennis duo Maikel Scheffers and Ruben Spaargaren will face off against the Spanish pair Martin De La Puente and Fransisco Garcia Vena in the men’s doubles match at TV Victoria.

Scheffers and Spaargaren reached the semi-finals by convincingly defeating the Israeli players Adam Berdichevsky and Sergei Lysov with a score of 6-2 and 6-0.

De la Puente and Garcia Vena managed to defeat the Austrian duo Nico Langmann and Martin Legner with a score of 6-4 and 6-2.

The winning pair will compete against Great Britain or France.

The semi-final can be watched live via EPC2023.tv.

The battle for gold has ignited in Rotterdam. In both men’s and women’s categories, the semi-finals of Boccia are currently underway. Who will advance to the finals and which athletes will compete against each other in the third place playoff? Follow the semi-finals now at EPC2023.tv.

In Group B, Hungary won for the second time today. In a sensational match against Italy, the win seemed to go to the Italians. However, after a 4-0 lead, Hungary came back to 4-4, after which the match went even. 16 seconds before the end, Hungary scored the winning goal, leaving the Italians in tears. The final score was 12-11.

The Dutch goalball team lost its first game at the European Para Championships to France. National coach Krista van Alten knows where things went wrong for the Netherlands. “We were full of nerves before this match because we didn’t know very well what to expect. The boys have never been at such a big tournament before. Let alone in their own country and in front of their own crowd.”

Read the entire article about the Dutch Goalball team’s first game down below.

This afternoon, Switzerland’s Nalani Buob and Angela Grosswiler and Germany’s Katharina Kruger and Britta Wend faced off in the finals for the bronze medal in Women’s Doubles Wheelchair Tennnis. Katharina Kruger and Britta Wend just secured the bronze medal. After an exciting second set, the German ladies were too strong for the Swiss 6-2 6-4.

The very first edition of the EPC 2023 will take place in Rotterdam. The home to iconic landmarks like the Euromast. Join Maverick as we explore this city gem!

Don’t miss the chance to visit Euromast between August 7 and 20, using code EPC2023 for 10% off the platforms and Euroscoop. Get your tickets now at euromast.nl

Coming up shortly at 3:45 pm is today’s final Goalball match between Italy and Hungary. This promises to be an exciting match, as both teams won their first match this morning. Watch it live on EPC2023.tv.

Together with the creative sports marketing agency TDE, we launched the Paraverse. The Paraverse is an interactive metaverse in Roblox. In addition to the many digital opportunities to follow the event (live), the Paraverse also provides the opportunity for fans to interact with each other as well as athletes. From 15:00 you will have the opportunity to meet Bo Kramer (Dutch wheelchair basketball player) in the Paraverse and ask questions. Check out our Paraverse here.

In women’s Boccia, Chantal van Engelen of the Netherlands will take on Sona Aghayeva of Azerbaijan. The match was evenly matched for a long time, but in the end Chantal van Engelen won 4-3. Off to the Semi Finals.

Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot will compete in the finals of the women’s singles. Diede managed to secure a victory during her match against Katharina Kruger. This match ended with a 6-3 6-0 score. Aniek convinced by winning her semifinal match 6-3 6-1 against Lucy Shuker.

The final will be shown next Sunday, August 13, around 12:30 p.m. on the City Centre Court, Schouwburgplein.

Several IBSA teams at Para Judo are scheduled today, a composite team consisting of judokas from different countries. This concept allows different judokas to still participate as a team, as all weight categories are represented within one team. In this way, broader participation and cooperation is encouraged.

Watch it live on EPC2023.tv.

In the Goalball match between the Netherlands and France, France is building a nice margin. The French are scoring wildly and currently led 5-1.

Watch it live on EPC2023.tv.

In a fairly even first set of semi-final tennis, Katharina Kruger seemed to keep up well with the play of Diede de Groot. In the end, Diede managed to win the first set 6-3 to her.

Watch the match live now on EPC2023.tv.

In addition to all the Goalball, Para Judo and Wheelchair Tennis matches, Boccia is in full swing. Around 12:45 it is the turn of Dutchman Daniel Perez again. Watch the live stream here.

Watch now live on our livestream the first Goalball match of the Dutch team. They will take on France in a challenging match.

The next matches at Para Judo were between Ukraine against IBSA and France against Georgia. Ukraine had a one-point lead in the first match and finally managed to secure victory with an ippon. On the second mat, both men in the under -73 kg category remain tied for a long time. But after a quick action and persistence in the fight, France wins his first ippon.

Watch the matches live via epc2023.tv.

The second match of Goalball is Bulgaria vs. Italy. The match goes at lightning speed and many goals are scored. Despite good defensive work of Bulgaria, Italy was in the lead. Bulgaria came back well to 7-11, but after a fantastic match with lots of speed and action, Italy goes off the field victorious 8-15.

The first matches of the men’s teams in the Para Judo finals are over. After some exciting matches, Ukraine walks away with the victory over Georgia. The final score is 3-2.

The Turkish men’s team goes neck and neck with their French opponents. After an impressive match, the Turkish judokas take the lead and beat the French with a difference of 2 points. The final score is 4-2 in favor of the Turkish judokas.

In a few minutes, the Wheelchair Tennis semifinals will start. Dutch tennis star Diede de Groot will enter the court for her showdown with German opponent Katharina Kruger. De Groot managed to win with conviction yesterday, earning her spot in the semifinals.

On the second court Lucy Shuker from Great Britain and the Dutch tennis star Aniek van Koot will compete for a place in the final. This match promises to be exciting, as both ladies are very evenly matched.

Watch the semi final live at epc2023.tv.

Exciting first match during #EPC2023, Sweden vs. Hungary. After falling behind 4-8, Hungary came back strongly two minutes before time and won: 7-8!

Next game: Bulgaria vs. Italy! Check out the livestream at epc2023.tv #EPC2023

Besides all the top sports competitions, there is much more to experience in Rotterdam Ahoy in the form of clinics you can participate in yourself. Throughout the day wheelchair basketball clinics will be given on sports square 1. There are also goalball clinics (morning), Kickit (wheelchair soccer) clinics (afternoon) and archery clinics (afternoon). These clinics will take place on sports square 2.
In addition, there will be a House of Esports area in the Sports Plaza starting at 10 a.m. Check the program to see the full schedule of Side Events

Today is the very first day of Goalball at the EPC2023, with some interesting games right away. Check out the explanation of Goalball below, so you are completely up to date with the sport.

After 2 fantastic first days, today is day 3 of EPC2023! Get ready for more Boccia, Wheelchair Tennis and the final finals of Para Judo. Also on the schedule today are the first matches of Goalball in Rotterdam Ahoy! Check out the program of EPC 2023 Day 2 and see the highlighted matches for each sport.

Follow all finals and matches of Court 1 live via our livestream EPC2023.tv.

Get ready for day 3 of EPC2023. At 09:30 we kick off with Boccia and Goalball in Rotterdam Ahoy. Half an hour later it’s the turn of the judokas, where the Team Events finals will be played today. At 11:00 we will start Wheelchair Tennis, where the first medals will be earned today.

Stay tuned for today’s program here.