In the Under 19 Girls’ Event at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava, Portugal upset the odds by defeating third-seeded Ukraine. In the much-anticipated clash between the no. 1 and no. 2 teams in Group D, spectators witnessed a thrilling encounter. See the pictures here.
European Under 21 champion, last year’s EYC Under 19 singles silver medalist, and Top 10 Under 19 winner, Veronika MATIUNINA, secured two points for Ukraine with little trouble. However, Portugal’s Matilde PINTO, Julia LEAL, and Mariana SANTA COMBA displayed exceptional patience and capitalized on every opportunity. Particularly impressive was LEAL, who won a tense five-game decider in the final match.
“We started the match with Matilde PINTO against Veronika VASYLENKO, which she won convincingly 3:0 and gave us a great start. The next match, I played against MATIUNINA — she played really well, as she also did against Matilde. In the third match, Mariana SANTA COMBA played brilliantly and won 3:2 against Olha PONKO – I think that was a really important match for us.
In the decider, I faced VASYLENKO and won 3:2. I think the most crucial moment in the match was when I started playing softer and stopped trying to kill every ball. That shift in approach is what helped me win,” explained LEAL.
Both Ukraine and Portugal had recorded straight-match victories the previous day, against Bulgaria and Croatia respectively.
“I think we got a good group. Ukraine was the top seed, so beating them helped us a lot. We’ve already beaten Croatia, and now we have Bulgaria, so I think we have a pretty good chance against them.”
In the morning session in Group A, there were no major surprises. France remains at the top, and the battle between Spain and Slovakia later in the afternoon will decide who secures the second position in the group — which guarantees direct qualification to the round of 16.
In Group B, Germany recorded two straight-match victories, defeating both Czechia and Belgium. However, their toughest test comes later in the afternoon against Austria – a team that has already delivered two upsets. Despite being seeded only fourth in Group B, Austria beat both the host nation and Belgium.
Last year’s semifinalists and current top seeds in Group D, Poland, are yet to record their first win. After losing to Hungary yesterday, they suffered another defeat today, this time against Romania. Hungary and Romania now sit at the top of the standings and are set to face each other later today.
