The quarterfinal line-up is complete in the Under 19 Boys Teams event at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar. Top seeds France will face sixth seeds Italy, second seeds Poland meet fifth seeds Sweden, third seeds Slovakia take on Spain, while Austria and Romania will battle for the remaining semifinal place.
Top seeds France justified their status with a commanding 3-0 victory over 12th seeds Switzerland.
Nathan LAM set the tone by defeating Noe KEUSCH in straight games, allowing his opponent just 14 points. Nathan PILARD then doubled the advantage with another dominant display, overcoming Lowis VOGLER 11-7, 11-5, 11-3.
The closest contest came in the third singles, where Antoine NOIRAULT had to save game points before edging Severin SCHERER 13-11 in the opener. After surviving that early scare, NOIRAULT took full control, winning the next two games 11-7, 11-7 to complete France’s convincing victory.
Fifth seeds Sweden also advanced with a 3-0 win over 18th seeds Bulgaria.
Noa DAHLSTROM opened with a four-game victory over Stefan DIMITROV before Adam WALLIN defeated Yoan VELICHKOV in three closely contested games. William BERGENBLOCK wrapped up the tie with a dominant straight-games success over Daniel DIMITROV, conceding just 12 points.
BERGENBLOCK praised the collective effort: “Everyone gave their best and played very well. We fought for every point, especially in the crucial moments, and we did it together as a team. We focused on playing our own game and stayed united throughout the match.”
Looking ahead to the quarterfinal against Poland, he remained composed.
“We’ll just play our game and see how it goes.”
Second seeds Poland were pushed to the limit before defeating 19th seeds Denmark 3-0, with every singles match going the full five games.
Samuel MICHNA recovered twice from behind to overcome Dominykas SAMUOLIS before Marcel BLASZCZYK produced an even more remarkable comeback, rallying from 0-2 down against Johan HAVSTEEN and edging the deciding game 14-12.
Mateusz SAKOWICZ completed the sweep in similar fashion, recovering twice against Adam NOTTELMANN before dominating the deciding game .
BLASZCZYK credited Poland’s mentality for the victory.
“It was a very close match and we knew Denmark had very strong players. The biggest difference was our mentality. Everyone came under pressure during their matches, but we stayed focused, trusted our tactics and kept believing. In the end we managed to win, so we’re very happy.”
He also explained how Poland approached the physical challenge posed by their opponents.
“Their height definitely made a difference. When you’re a bit smaller it’s easier to move around the table, while taller players have to move their whole body and have less space close to the table. Our plan was to push the ball deep and, when they stayed close to the table, block deep to the forehand. We felt that was the best way to put them under pressure.”
Third seeds Slovakia defeated 14th seeds Belgium 3-1 to secure their place in the last eight.
Samuel ARPAS gave Slovakia the perfect start with a straight-games victory over Charles JANSSENS, but Belgium responded as Per GEVERS edged Damian FLORO in five games.
Pavol KOKAVEC restored Slovakia’s advantage with a convincing win over Maxime DEGIVE, before ARPAS returned to defeat GEVERS in another five-game battle, recovering after letting a two-game lead slip to take the decider 11-6.
Sixth seeds Italy overcame eighth seeds Czechia 3-1. Francesco TREVISAN opened with a four-game victory over Jindrich MORAVEK, while Danilo FASO recovered from losing the first game to defeat Jan SKALDA in four.
Jakub KABELKA kept Czechia alive by beating Jacopo CIPRIANO, but FASO completed the job in dramatic fashion. After trailing MORAVEK by two games, he fought back to win the next three, dominating the decider 11-5.
Spain progressed with a 3-1 victory over Hungary. Francesc CARRERA recovered after losing the opening game to Balazs LEI, while Botond VARGA levelled the tie by defeating Luca KHIDASHELI.
Dario SALCEDO restored Spain’s lead with a dominant straight-games victory over Mark GERGELY, before KHIDASHELI returned to overcome LEI in four games and seal Spain’s place in the quarterfinals.
Austria recovered from an early setback to eliminate hosts Portugal 3-1. Tiago ABIODUN gave Portugal the lead by defeating Julian RZIHAUSCHEK, but Petr HODINA levelled the tie with a four-game victory over Guilherme CARDOSO.
Tobias HOLD then put Austria ahead by overcoming Lourenço SARDINHA, before RZIHAUSCHEK secured qualification with a straight-games victory over CARDOSO, surviving a thrilling opening game 16-14.
Romania completed the quarterfinal line-up with a 3-1 victory over England. Robert ISTRATE opened by defeating Abraham SELLADO in four games before Robert PODAR edged Max RADIVEN in a five-game battle to double Romania’s lead.
Isaac KINGHAM kept England alive by beating Andrei TIBIRNA, but ISTRATE returned to finish the tie. After narrowly losing the second game 13-11 to RADIVEN, he responded by taking the next two games 11-9 and 11-8, sending Romania into the last eight.
