Anna HURSEY of Wales underlined her dominance in the Under 19 Girls Singles Event at the European Youth Championships by defeating top seed Veronika MATIUNINA of Ukraine, repeating her triumph from earlier this year at the Under 21 European Championships. Leana HOCHART of France and last year’s champion Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania took bronze.
HURSEY needed six games to seal victory in the final, limiting MATIUNINA’s chances with a composed and focused performance.
“I’m really happy. Every time I play against MATIUNINA it’s always a tough and demanding match, she’s a great player who keeps a lot of points alive, so I knew I had to stay fully focused. The last game was especially difficult because I started thinking I might actually win. It’s an amazing feeling to be champion!” said HURSEY.
In the semi-finals, a much-anticipated rematch unfolded between last year’s finalist MATIUNINA and defending champion Bianca MEI ROSU. As expected, it was a tightly contested encounter. MEI ROSU took the early lead, forcing MATIUNINA to come from behind in a full-distance seven-game battle.
“Bianca is a really good friend of mine, so it was emotionally tough to compete against her. But table tennis is table tennis, and friendship is friendship, so I had to put that aside,” MATIUNINA explained.“I lost to her 0-4 in last year’s final, so honestly I didn’t believe in myself that much beforehand. She’s very strong, and I felt like I had no power. We always have long rallies, it’s 50/50 on who wins the point. I really want to thank my coach, she pushed me after every ball and supported me the whole match. That gave me so much energy. I can say this was one of the best matches of my career. In the final, I played against HURSEY again. I lost to her in the U21 final this year, but I went into this one with a clear head and gave it everything I had.”
In the other semi-final, 8th seed Anna HURSEY overcame 3rd seed Leana HOCHART in straight games.
“I won 4-0 against HOCHART, and I think I played really well—especially tactically. I’ve played her a few times before and knew she’s a strong opponent, but today I was just better,” said HURSEY.“I stayed focused, especially because in my previous match I was 3-0 up and it ended up 3-3—that was still on my mind a bit. But I stayed calm and stuck to my game plan. Compared to the U21 event, this U19 tournament is definitely more demanding. There are more matches, and I also played in the team event. I just hope to keep doing my best.”
Final
- Anna HURSEY of Wales – Veronika MATIUNINA of Ukraine 4-1 (11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-9)
Semi final
- Anna HURSEY of Wales – Leana HOCHART of France 4-0 (11-5, 11-2, 11-7, 11-5)
- Veronika MATIUNINA of Ukraine – Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania 4-3 (9-11, 13-11, 6-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-8, 11-9)
