The Under 19 Boys Team Event at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar opened with thrilling contests across all groups, highlighted by ninth seeds Romania upsetting second seeds Poland 3-2. Top seeds France survived a major scare against Austria, while Slovakia, Hungary, Czechia, Italy, Spain and Sweden all opened their campaigns with victories.
Top seeds France were given a stern examination by 11th seeds Austria before emerging with a 3-2 victory in their opening Group A match. Nathan LAM edged Petr HODINA in four games to put France ahead, but Julian RZIHAUSCHEK responded with a four-game victory over Antoine NOIRAULT to level the tie. Nathan PILARD restored France’s advantage with a convincing straight-games win against Patrick SKERBINZ. Austria fought back once more as RZIHAUSCHEK held his nerve in a dramatic fourth game before defeating LAM 19-17 in the decider to force the fifth match. NOIRAULT then secured victory for the top seeds, overcoming HODINA in four games.
Seventh seeds Hungary opened with a 3-0 victory over 13th seeds Norway, although the scoreline did not fully reflect the battle. Botond VARGA survived a thrilling five-game encounter against Noah Khai LAM, recovering from deficits twice before pulling away in the deciding game. Balazs LEI doubled Hungary’s advantage with a straight-games victory over Jonas FROSETH, before Mark GERGELY wrapped up the tie by defeating Mathias HALVORSEN in four games.
Group B produced the opening day’s biggest surprise as ninth seeds Romania stunned second seeds Poland 3-2. Robert ISTRATE recovered from two games down to defeat Samuel MICHNA and give Romania the perfect start, but Marcel BLASZCZYK responded with a straight-games victory over Robert PODAR to level the tie. Andrei TIBIRNA restored Romania’s advantage by overcoming Patryk ZYWORONEK in four games, before BLASZCZYK edged ISTRATE in a dramatic five-game encounter to force the decider. PODAR then completed the upset, recovering from a two-game deficit to beat MICHNA in five games and seal a memorable victory for Romania.
Eighth seeds Czechia also opened their campaign in impressive fashion, defeating Belgium 3-0. Jindrich MORAVEK overcame Per GEVERS in four games before Jan SKALDA beat Charles JANSSENS by the same margin to put Czechia firmly in control. Jakub KABELKA then completed the clean sweep with a straight-games victory over Maxime DEGIVE.
In Group C, third seeds Slovakia overcame 10th seeds Portugal 3-2 in one of the most entertaining ties of the opening round. Tiago ABIODUN gave the hosts the perfect start with a commanding straight-games victory over Pavol KOKAVEC, but Samuel ARPAS quickly levelled the match by defeating Dinis YE in straight games. Damian FLORO then put Slovakia ahead with another convincing victory, beating Carlos GONCALVES in three games. ABIODUN kept Portugal’s hopes alive by overcoming ARPAS in four games, but KOKAVEC responded superbly in the deciding match, defeating YE in straight games to seal the victory for Slovakia.
“I am happy that I managed to recover after the opening match defeat against ABIODUN and to play at a really high level. I overcame the stress by telling myself that it was not the end of the world. It was only the group stage and there was still room to recover from the defeat,” said KOKAVEC.
Italy also made a winning start in Group C, defeating Israel 3-0. Francesco TREVISAN recovered after losing the opening game to overcome Natanel ABRAMOV in four games, before Danilo FASO produced a remarkable comeback against Or MAGEN. Trailing by two games, FASO fought back to win the next three, including a tense fourth game 12-10, to double Italy’s advantage. Giacomo IZZO then completed the clean sweep with a straight-games victory over Yali MOR, edging the third game 14-12.
In Group D, fourth seeds Spain recovered from an opening-match defeat to overcome Switzerland 3-1. Noe KEUSCH gave the Swiss the perfect start with a four-game victory over Francesc CARRERA, but Luca KHIDASHELI responded emphatically, defeating Lowis VOGLER in straight games. Dario SALCEDO then edged Levi ULRICH in a dramatic five-game contest to put Spain ahead before KHIDASHELI completed the comeback with a straight-games victory over KEUSCH.
Sweden also made an impressive start, defeating England 3-0 despite two fiercely contested encounters. Noa DAHLSTROM put Sweden ahead with a four-game victory over Abraham SELLADO, while Adam WALLIN battled past Max RADIVEN in five games after twice surrendering the lead. William BERGENBLOCK then sealed the tie, overcoming Isaac KINGHAM in another five-game thriller to complete Sweden’s clean sweep.
