The reigning champions Germany’s Women’s Team have never lost a match at the European Games. They claimed the title in Baku 2015 and Minsk 2019. In Krakow they have already secured their spot in the final of the 2023 European Games Krakow after a dominant performance against Portugal in the opening match of the day. In the second match of the day Romania beat France to join Germany in the final to be played on Saturday 2.30 PM. Match for bronze is scheduled for 11AM – Portugal will meet France.
Romania (2) – France (3) 3-1
Adina DIACONU Elizabeta SAMARA – Prithika PAVADE Camille LUTZ 2-3 (9-11 11-8 11-9 4-11 9-11)
Bernadette SZOCS – YUAN Jia Nan 3-0 (12-10 11-6 11-9)
Elizabeta SAMARA – Camille LUTZ 3-0 (11-6 11-8 11-3)
Bernadette SZOCS – Prithika PAVADE 3-1 (11-9 6-11 11-7 11-7)
Romania defeated France to secure their place in the final of the European Games. After a shaky start in the doubles Romania regained control in the singles matches.
“Adina and I didn’t have much chance to practice together but despite that we played a good match. It was close ” stated SAMARA. “Against LUTZ I remained very calm. My experience came forward.”
Bernadette SZOCS displayed the same level of performance as she did in the first part of the tournament when she won gold in singles. Firstly against YUAN Jia Nan and then against Prithika PAVADE she led the team to success in the semifinals.
“I’ve always had close matches against YUAN. At the beginning I was trailing 2-3 but then I managed to win 3-2… However this is the first time I’ve won in straight matches ” said SZOCS.
The match against PAVADE proved to be a closer affair than the one against YUAN.
“I’ve never played against PAVADE before so I needed some time to settle into the rhythm.”
Next in line is Germany the team that defeated them four years ago in Minsk in the final.
“I hope we can avenge our defeat from the last final. Both SAMARA and I have beaten their best players in singles. Eliza overcame HAN Ying and I prevailed against Nina MITTELHAM here. I hope we can replicate the success once again in the team event ” said SZOCS.
Portugal (4) – Germany (1) 0-3
Ines MATOS SHAO Jieni – Nina MITTELHAM SHAN Xiaona 0-3 (5-11 6-11 7-11)
YU Fu – HAN Ying 1-3 (6-11 4-11 11-6 7-11)
SHAO Jieni – SHAN Xiaona 1-3 (7-11 12-10 13-15 12-14)
In the semi final Germany dominated.
“We performed better than yesterday against Sweden. SHAN Xiaona’s match was a bit closer but it was her first singles match here in Krakow. She should have another singles match before the final ” said coach Tamara BOROS.
HAN initially had complete control in her match against YU Fu but the Portuguese player managed to put pressure in the later stages.
“The first two games were not too challenging as FU Yu didn’t display a high level of play. However she improved as the match went on and I’m glad I was able to secure the victory ” said HAN Ying.
Three out of the four games in the match between SHAN Xiaona and SHAO Jieni were decided by the narrowest of margins.
“Jieni performs exceptionally well against me – I’ve won by a slim margin every time. I always have to engage in numerous rallies against her. From a tactical standpoint I should have focused more on ball placement rather than playing every shot too tightly ” stated SHAN.
