The knockout stage of the Under 19 Girls Team Event at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava heated up the atmosphere in the RT Torax Arena. The beginning of the Round of 16 brought the surprising absence of the Czech team, seeded no. 7, which caused disappointment among home supporters but opened the door for no. 30 seed Greece to feel the heat of the action. See photos here.
However, Greece failed to prolong their stay among the top 16 teams and lost to Hungary in straight matches.
The top-seeded team and reigning champions, France, showed no mercy against Bulgaria. Nina GUO ZHENG, Lena HOCHART, and Jade Quynh-Tien NUYNH won in straight matches. No. 2 seeds Germany followed suit – Lorena MORSCH, Mia GRIESEL, and Eireen KALAITZIDOU defeated Türkiye.
Austria dropped one point against Italy. The team composed of Nina SKERBINZ, Elina FUCHS, and Julia DÜR overcame Irene MORETTI, Candela SANCHI, and Francesca SEU 3-1.
“Our goal was to remain in the top division, but here we are in the top eight! I am very happy that we achieved it with a very young team. All the players are in their first Under 19 year, and it gives us great hope for the future,” said coach Ivana MALOBABIC, who is also a Croatian Olympian from Paris 2024.
Austria is seeded at position 13, while Italy is just two places below at no. 15.
“We were aware that in the Round of 16 there was no chance of an easy adversary. The Italian players are very aggressive, two of them play with materials, which makes it very difficult to find the game to beat them. We had to make very detailed tactics to manage it.
Our no. 1, Nina, secured two wins and proved herself as a leader. She did exactly what we planned: being aggressive and focused, showing discipline. However, Elina FUCHS brought the crucial win to the team with a 3-2 victory over Candela SANCHI. She was 1-2 down and on the ropes, but she managed to recover. There wasn’t a single easy point in that match. I also have to say that our third player, Julia DÜR, gave a very brave performance. She faced a player with very strong spin.”
Spain prevailed against Croatia, with Maria BERZOSA justifying her status by winning both of her matches against Neva GOJKOVIC and Victoria PUSTAJ. Mariona MUNNE added a point with a victory over Leeloo HAN VUKELJA.
“When we saw the draw, we knew it would be a difficult match. All of us were under a lot of pressure. In the first match, Camila Renata MOSCOSO lost 1-3 — she was really nervous, and that’s why I think she lost. In the second match, I played against Neva GOJKOVIC. It was a really hard duel for me because she plays with a defensive style. The first game was 17-15 for me, so it gave me more power, and I won 3-1. I think this match was the most important for us, because if we went 0-2 down, it would’ve been really hard to make a comeback.”
Maria BERZOSA continued:
In the third match, Mariona MUNNE played against HAN VUKELJA and won 3-0. In my last match, I won 3-0 against PUSTAJ, but in the third game I was up 10-7, then it became 10-10. I stayed calm and focused. I think the most important point was when I played a really good counter-spin on match point. In the next round, we will play against Romania, which is a really strong team, but we will try our best for sure!”
Last year’s runners-up, Romania, overcame Belgium.
