Tinne and Nele Gilis lead Belgian team to European gold: “This had to be our day” (Mol)

It could. It was allowed. It was hoped and… it happened. The Kempen world top players and sisters Nele and Tinne Gilis gave the national women’s team the European country title. The joy was immense. Admiration for a top performance by a small country in a global sport.

“We have wanted this for so long and so badly,” says Tinne Gilis. “We knew that as a team we had a chance if everything fell into place. There was a moment of doubt when Nele surprisingly lost her match against the Welsh Tesni Evans, but thanks to a strong performance by Marie Van Riet we also won against Wales. Then I felt that we would be close. Especially because in these types of tournaments Nele gets better with each match. Something she also proved afterwards, especially in the final with a win against Georgina Kennedy. This morning we cheered each other up and said to each other: This will be our day. It has to happen today. If it succeeds, the joy is enormous. Of all the medals I have won, this is by far the most beautiful.”

The same feeling also prevailed with sister Nele Gilis. “Winning together with your sister makes it extra special. That is not possible at the regular PSA tournaments. My loss in the group stage against Wales was tough to swallow, but the difference with other tournaments is that you could still put things right at this European Championship. At an individual tournament it’s all about packing up and going. To have taken advantage of that extra opportunity feels fantastic. This victory gives us both a boost for the World Cup that starts on Thursday, but now we will enjoy our performance together today. On Tuesday we fly to Egypt where we will both play our first match at the World Cup on Thursday.”