Badminton: Nielsen reaches last four

ANDERS NIELSEN, whose season has been blighted by injury, surprisingly reached the semi-finals of the European Championships for the second successive time in 's Hertogenbosch yesterday, writes James Leigh.

The unseeded England No 2 also recovered from the disappointment of losing a substantial second-game lead to win 15-9, 14-18, 15-8 against Jeroen van Dijk, of the Netherlands. 'I wasn't so much tired as edgy. When I was within sight of a medal I tightened up,' he said.

Later England became sure of two more medals when Gill Clark and Julie Bradbury reached the semi-finals of the women's doubles and Simon Archer and Chris Hunt the same stage of the men's doubles.