European Games | 1 Jul 2023

Gold for Romania after nail-biting final against Germany

Romania clinched gold in the Women's Teams Event at the 2023 Eurooean Games in Krakow. Afer more than 3 hours of play they overcome defending champions Germany in thrillig five matches clash. Portugal won bronze medal after the duel against France.

Germany (1) – Romania (2) 2-3

Nina MITTELHAM, SHAN Xiaona – Adina DIACONU, Andreea DRAGOMAN 2-3 (11-8, 17-19, 7-11, 11-8, 5-11)

HAN Ying – Bernadette SZOCS 2-3 (11-4, 12-10, 8-11, 9-11, 8-11)

SHAN Xiaona – Andreea DRAGOMAN (9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 15-13)

HAN Ying - Adina DIACONU 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-9)

Nina MITTELHAM - Bernadette SZOCS 0-3 (9-11, 9-11, 4-11)

Four years ago, HAN Yang, SHAN Xiaona, and Nina MITTELHAM defeated Elizabeta SAMARA, Daniela DODEAN, and Bernadette SZOCS of Romania in the final, claiming the title. In the 2023 Krakow tournament, Germany retained the same team, but Romania had a different lineup. Unfortunately, they were without Elizabeta SAMARA, who had won a bronze medal in singles but suffered an injury worsened by her clash with HAN few days earlier. DODEAN also stopped playing for the team, allowing Adina DIACONU and Andreea DRAGOMAN to step in for the 2023 final.

After a close game and a victory for DIACONU and DRAGOMAN in the doubles, Bernadette SZOCS showed great patience to overcome HAN Ying's fantastic defensive skills. In the first two games, HAN Ying once again demonstrated her equaly lethal attacking skills against SZOCS. However, the singles gold medalist from Krakow, Bernadette, raised her game in the second set and began an impressive comeback. She recovered from being down 0-2 to win the match in superb style.

DRAGOMAN made her first appearance in the singles event at the tournament and had two match points that could have secured Romania's place at the top of the medal podium. However, SHAN narrowly survived and won the fourth match by the slimmest of margins.

The decisive match was one way street for SZOCS. MITTELHAM could not find the game for Bernadette.

"I feel like the queen of the tournament. It is the first time I have won three medals and haven't lost a match in singles. I had dreamed of a tournament like this, and it's amazing to see my dreams come true," said SZOCS, before adding, "I was trailing 2-0 against HAN Ying, but I never stopped believing that I could win. I had never defeated this player before and had sometimes lost quite easily."

Reflecting on her gold medal in singles just three days prior, Bernadette continued, "Both gold medals are important to me. I love playing for the team, being there for my colleagues and representing my country. I think I might cherish the individual medal a little bit more since it is my first singles medal. I am incredibly proud of my team. I asked my teammates to win one match, and I knew I had to win both of my singles matches, and that's exactly what happened."

Andreea DRAGOMAN made her debut in Krakow 2023 in a very last match.

"We learned yesterday that Elizabeta SAMARA was injured. I was prepared to play from the first day, but naturally, I was nervous. I had two match points, but SHAN Xiaona, being more experienced, proved decisive in my 2-3 loss," said DRAGOMAN.

Photo: Manfred SCHILLINGS, DTTB

Germany's national coach, Tamara BIOROS, explained that the team failed to capitalize on all the opportunities they had in the two opening matches. "In the doubles, we had a 7-4 lead in the last game, but our opponents fought for every point. We gave it our all, but it wasn't enough today. Romania had a fantastic tournament. We need to take some time to recover and then focus on the European Championships. We have to perform better there to secure our spot in the Olympic Games."

HAN Yin expressed, "I have been facing SZOCS quite often recently. Today, she was always in the lead and had the belief to win. I had to stay ahead and play aggressively, but in the end, I lacked a bit of power. She played well, and I didn't have a good feeling about facing her throughout the week in Krakow."

Match for bronze

Portugal (4) – France (3) 3-0

Matilde PINTO, YU Fu – Camille LUTZ, Prithika PAVADE 3-1 (11-4, 9-11, 11-7, 11-4)

SHAO Jieni - YUAN Jia Nan 3-2 (6-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7)

YU Fu - Prithika PAVADE 3-1 (11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9)

YU Fu and Matilde PINTO paved the path to success for Portugal in their match against France. Camille LUTZ and Prithika PAVADE had a few opportunities but failed to put significant pressure on Portugal's pairings.

"They were very strong, but I believe we approached the match with a much calmer mindset. It proved crucial during the decisive moments when we made fewer mistakes compared to our opponents," said Matilde PINTO.

Following their victory in the doubles, SHAO Jieni made an impressive comeback from being down 0-2 to win the match against YUAN Jia Nan, which opened the doors wide for the team's triumph.

"We have faced each other numerous times, and every match has been closely contested. It could have gone either way," said SHAO.

YU Fu had previously defeated Prithika PAVADE in the Round of 16 in the singles event here in Krakow.

"It provided me with a better starting position in the team's event. Additionally, since we had already secured a win in the doubles and SHAO secured the second point in singles, it allowed me to play with less stress," explained YU.