ETTU - European Table Tennis Union - News (2 Cititori)

[Milica Nikolic]

Several leading contenders saw their title hopes ended in the opening knockout round of the Under 19 Singles events at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar. While most of the favourites advanced, both the boys’ and girls’ draws witnessed notable upsets that opened up the competition.

The Under 19 Boys Singles Round of 64 produced a series of surprises, with four of the top ten seeds eliminated.

Top seed Marcel BLASZCZYK of Poland made an impressive start, beating Spain’s Alvaro GIMENO in straight games. Second seed Nathan LAM of France also progressed, although Montenegro’s Stefan RADONJIC provided strong resistance before LAM sealed a five-game victory.

Fourth seed Antoine NOIRAULT of France had to dig dip against Poland’s Mateusz SAKOWICZ. Portugal’s fifth seed Tiago ABIODUN delighted the home crowd with a commanding straight-games win over Israel’s Natanel ABRAMOV, while seventh seed Robert ISTRATE of Romania recovered from losing the opening game to defeat Israel’s Or MAGEN in six.

The biggest upset came when third seed Samuel ARPAS of Slovakia was eliminated by Serafim ORLOV (AIN). After trailing by two games, ARPAS fought back to level the match, but ORLOV regained the initiative to clinch the deciding game 11-9.

Another major surprise followed as sixth seed Balazs LEI of Hungary suffered a straight-games defeat to Croatia’s Deni VALE.

VALE admitted that facing a higher-ranked opponent allowed him to play freely.

“Before the match, I didn’t feel any pressure because he was the sixth seed. I just focused on playing my own game and doing what I normally do. I’m very happy with my performance today. My tactic was to serve to his forehand and be aggressive from the start. If he was able to make the first attack, I knew I would be in trouble because he’s a very powerful player on both sides. That’s why I tried to keep the serve short and make the first attack myself. That worked well today.

“I just want to take it one match at a time. Every player at this stage knows how to play, so I don’t think about whether I have a good or a bad draw. Everyone is strong, and I just want to focus on the next match.”

Eighth seed Ivan KAHN of the Netherlands also exited the competition after losing in six games to Poland’s Jan MRUGALA, while tenth seed Samuel MICHNA of Poland fell to Sweden’s Peter ALESTEDT in five games.

Nathan PILARD of France advanced comfortably against Belgium’s Matt CLOSSET, Romania’s Robert PODAR defeated Spain’s Dario SALCEDO in five games, and Hungary’s Botond VARGA impressed with a straight-games victory over Austria’s Julian RZIHAUSCHEK.

Among the closest encounters, Scotland’s Kailun YUAN edged Denmark’s Dominykas SAMUOLIS 12-10 in the deciding game, while Poland’s Patryk ZYWORONEK recovered from two games down to defeat Estonia’s Pert LEHTLAAN in another seven-game thriller.

Spain’s Francesc CARRERA also needed the full distance before overcoming Germany’s Noah HERSEL 11-8 in the seventh game. Ukraine’s Nazarii SOLODKYI, Sweden’s Noa DAHLSTROM, Slovakia’s Damian FLORO and Serbia’s Uros NINKOVIC were among the other players to secure places in the Round of 32.

The Under 19 Girls Singles draw was considerably kinder to the favourites, although it still produced one major upset.

The biggest shock came when Poland’s Matylda HADRYS eliminated eighth seed Maria BERZOSA of Spain in emphatic fashion. HADRYS dominated the encounter from start to finish, recording a convincing 11-6, 11-2, 11-6, 11-8 victory.

Top seed Nina GUO ZHENG of France recovered after dropping the opening game against Poland’s Zofia SLIWKA before prevailing in six games. Third seed Leana HOCHART of France advanced comfortably in straight games, while fourth seed Julia LEAL delighted the home supporters with a commanding victory over Austria’s Mariia LYTVYN.

Fifth seed Karolina HOLDA of Poland and sixth seed Veronika POLAKOVA of Czechia also advanced without dropping a game. Seventh seed Natalia BOGDANOWICZ of Poland progressed against Bulgaria’s Sidelya MUTLU.

Ninth seed Alesia Sofia SFERLEA of Romania survived one of the most dramatic matches of the day, edging Denmark’s Maja HANSEN in seven games after recovering from an early deficit.

Tenth seed Lilou MASSART of Belgium enjoyed a comfortable straight-games victory over Romania’s Andreea BAIASU, while 11th seed Nina SKERBINZ of Austria fought back from 2-1 down to eliminate Sweden’s Gabriela AALTONEN in six games.

France’s Alexia NODIN, Germany’s Lisa-Sophie WANG, Israel’s Elinor DAVIDOV, Hungary’s Judit NAGY, Luxembourg’s Enisa SADIKOVIC, Hungary’s Rebeka NAGY, Eseniia SHIROKOVA (AIN), Uliana TIMASHEVA (AIN), Poland’s Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA and Zlata TEREKHOVA (AIN) also advanced to the Round of 32.

The post Upsets Shake Under 19 Singles Draw as Top Contenders Progress in Gondomar first appeared on European table tennis union.

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[Milica Nikolic]

Antoine NOIRAULT and Leana HOCHART of France claimed the Under 19 Mixed Doubles title at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar, defeating Romania’s Robert ISTRATE and Bianca MEI ROSU 3-1 in a high-quality final. Bronze medals were awarded to France’s Nathan LAM and Jade HUYNH, and Portugal’s Tiago ABIODUN and Mariana SANTA COMBA.

The final lived up to expectations, with three of the four games decided by the narrowest of margins. After edging a tense opening game 13-11, the French pair responded to dropping the second by taking both the third and fourth games 12-10 to seal the title.

NOIRAULT and HOCHART had booked their place in the final with a commanding straight-games victory over teammates Nathan LAM and Jade HUYNH. Although the scoreline looked one-sided, NOIRAULT explained that facing fellow French players brought its own challenges.

“It was a difficult match because we were playing against another French pair, and it’s never easy in that situation. But I think we prepared really well together and played a very good match. We had a clear strategy, we stuck to it throughout, and it worked really well for us. We’re very happy with this victory, and now our goal is to win the title. We’re delighted to keep our run going and have the chance to fight for gold.”

The Romanian finalists reached the title match after overcoming Portugal’s Tiago ABIODUN and Mariana SANTA COMBA in a gripping five-game semi-final, using a well-prepared tactical plan to neutralise the home favourites.

MEI ROSU explained that varying the rhythm was central to their success.

“We knew before the match that it was going to be very tough because we know our opponents well. Tiago is a very strong player, so before the match we discussed our tactics and stuck to the plan throughout. The main idea was to change the rhythm, especially against Tiago. We also wanted to keep the rallies short and keep the ball close to the table, because he likes to stay well behind it. That was our game plan, and it worked well.”

The partnership of ISTRATE and MEI ROSU has been playing together for around three years, but Gondomar marked their first European Youth Championships as a pair, and already their best result.

ISTRATE highlighted the importance of executing their tactical approach.

“The key was to keep the ball short and make sure we were the ones starting the rallies, not our opponents. We knew we were facing two very strong players. If they were able to attack first, it would have been very difficult for us. I think we followed our plan well and that made the difference.”

Final

• Antoine NOIRAULT, Leana HOCHART (France) – Robert ISTRATE, Bianca MEI ROSU (Romania) 3-1 (13-11, 4-11, 12-10, 12-10)

Semi-finals

• Antoine NOIRAULT, Leana HOCHART (France) – Nathan LAM, Jade HUYNH (France) 3-0 (11-4, 11-9, 11-6)
• Robert ISTRATE, Bianca MEI ROSU (Romania) – Tiago ABIODUN, Mariana SANTA COMBA (Portugal) 3-2 (11-5, 11-13, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7)

The post NOIRAULT and HOCHART Capture Under 19 Mixed Doubles Crown first appeared on European table tennis union.

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[Milica Nikolic]

Ladimir MAYOROV of Spain and Aleksandra NAWROCKA of Poland captured the Under 15 Mixed Doubles title at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar, overcoming Türkiye’s Görkem OCAL and Ela Su YONTER 3-1 in the final. Bronze medals went to Artem SAVELEV and Daria KHARLOVA (AIN), and Sweden’s Emil ELLERMANN and Siri BENJEGARD.

After dropping the opening game, MAYOROV and NAWROCKA took control of the match, winning the next three games to seal the title 4-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5.

The champions had already shown their resilience in the semi-finals, where they twice came from behind to defeat Sweden’s ELLERMANN and BENJEGARD in a thrilling five-game encounter. Their opponents in the final, OCAL and YONTER, reached the title match by defeating SAVELEV and KHARLOVA in four games.

For NAWROCKA, the victory crowned a memorable tournament.

“I feel very good and I’m really happy to play mixed doubles with Ladimir. We complement each other very well and I feel very comfortable playing with him. This is also my first medal and my first final at a European Championships.”

MAYOROV, who reached his second Under 15 final in Gondomar after winning silver in boys’ doubles last year, highlighted the strength of their partnership.

“I feel very good after reaching my second Under 15 final. I really enjoy playing with my Polish partner. She is left-handed, which suits my playing style very well, and we complement each other really well. We knew we would face the Turkish pair in the final, and we were determined to give everything to win.”

Despite missing out on the title, OCAL remained positive after the semi-final victory that secured Türkiye a place in the final.

“We didn’t play our best today, but we’re very happy to have won. We knew the final would be difficult and that we would have to play much better. This was also the first time we had faced the AIN pair, and although they are a good team, we managed to do enough to reach the final.”

Final

• Görkem OCAL, Ela Su YONTER (Türkiye) – Ladimir MAYOROV, Aleksandra NAWROCKA (Spain, Poland) 1-3 (11-4, 5-11, 6-11, 5-11)

Semi-finals

• Görkem OCAL, Ela Su YONTER (Türkiye) – Artem SAVELEV, Daria KHARLOVA (AIN) 3-1 (11-7, 15-13, 8-11, 11-8)
• Ladimir MAYOROV, Aleksandra NAWROCKA (Spain, Poland) – Emil ELLERMANN, Siri BENJEGARD (Sweden) 3-2 (9-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-3, 11-7)

The post MAYOROV and NAWROCKA Claim Under 15 Mixed Doubles Crown first appeared on European table tennis union.

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