Europe Youth Loutraki: Three golds in the team event for Poland, one for Romania

The third day of the Europe Youth tournament in Loutraki concluded on Friday evening at the Sport Camp with thrilling team finals across four categories, featuring Greece's 3rd place in the boys' competition, electrifying atmosphere in the stands, and a festive ambiance. Poland emerged as a dominant force in the event, clinching three gold medals out of four finals. They secured 1st place in the boys' Under 15 and the girls' Under 13 and Under 15 categories. Meanwhile, Romania emerged victorious in the boys' Under 13 competition.

"We are very pleased with our team's performance. Securing three gold medals and one silver indicates that we are on the right track. Facing Romania in three finals, winning two and losing one, was a testament to their tough competition, and the results are encouraging for us. While we respect every team, defeating Romania boosts our confidence," said one of Poland's two national coaches in Loutraki, Maciej KARMOLINSKI, speaking to ETTU. When asked about his country's remarkable progress in the youth categories, he commented, "I believe that Poland's mentality has shifted in recent years. We have intensified our training efforts significantly. Players like REDZIMSKI, KUBIK, ZALEWSKI, and now ZYWORONEK dedicate themselves to rigorous training daily. This dedication primarily explains our development."

In the "small" final, Greece 1 showcased another impressive performance, securing their third victory against a foreign team. Initially trailing 1-0 after Konstantinos ALEXOUDIS's 3-1 set loss to Maxime DEGIVE, they bounced back when Konstantinos FAKAROS defeated Noah GENART 3-0 in straight sets. The crucial doubles match, featuring the successful right-handed/left-handed combination of ALEXOUDIS and FAKAROS, sealed their victory with a 3-0 set win over DEGIVE and GENART, giving them a 2-1 lead. The fourth match, where FAKAROS overcame DEGIVE in a spectacular and suspenseful encounter, finalized the score. Manolis ALAROUPI served as the team's head coach, with assistance from Dimitris PAPADIMITRIOU, FAKAROS's coach at AO Tatavla.

Three other Greek teams secured podium positions, each earning a bronze medal. Greece 2 in the Under 13 category (comprising Michalis BITCHAVAS, Spyros FOUSEKIS, under the technical guidance of Christos TSARSITALIDES), Greece 1 in the girls' Under 15 (featuring Vasiliki BOULA, Angela NOURE, coached by Roula LABBRINIDI), and Greece 1 in the girls' Under 13 (including Alexandra MAYRIDI, Afroditi SARIKAKI, coached by Konstantinos DIMITRAKOPOULOS).

Croatia, Belgium, and Poland 1 also secured 3rd place in the competition, with Belgium clinching bronze in the girls' category and Poland 1 in the women's competition. Belgium 1 secured the bronze medal in the boys' competition.

The awards were presented by Nikos KERASOVITIS, the general director of Sport Camp, in the girls' Under 13 category; Sakis PAPATHANASIOU, the deputy mayor of Sport in the Municipality of Loutraki-Perachora-Agii Theodoroi, in the girls' Under 15 category; Vlasis GEORGIOU, the secretary-general of the Greek Federation, in the boys' Under 13 category; and Konstantinos PAPAGEORGIOU, the president of HTTF, in the boys' Under 15 category.