Medals Table European Under 21 Championships 2022     Players           Pos. Name Assoc Gold Silver Bronze 1 Samuel Kulczicky POL 1   1 1 Elena Zaharia ROU 1   1 1 Csaba Andras HUN 1   1 4 Ivor Ban CRO 1     4 Ozge Yilmaz TUR 1     4 Ece Harac TUR 1     4 Luciana Mitrofan ROU 1     4 Andrei Istrate ROU 1     10 Pritikha Pavade FRA   1 2 11 Vladislav Ursu MDA   1 1 12 Franziska Schreiner GER   1   12 John Oyebode ITA   1   12 Carlo Rossi ITA   1   12 Nicole Arlia ITA   1   12 Gaia Monfardini ITA   1   12 Lilian Bardet FRA   1   18 Maciej Kolodzieczyk AUT     2 19 Milosz Redzimski POL     1 19 Zdena Blaskova CZE     1 19 Camille Lutz FRA     1 19 Maciej Kubik POL     1 19 Anna Brzyska POL     1 19 Zuzanna Wielgos POL     1 19 Helga Dari HUN     1 19 Dariusz Movileanu ROU     1                         Associations           Associations   Gold Silver Bronze 1 Romania ROU 2   2 2 Poland POL 1   3 3 Hungary HUN 1   1 4 Croatia CRO 1     4 Turkey TUR 1     6 Italy ITA   2   7 France FRA   1 2 8 Moldova MDA   1 1 9 Germany GER   1   10 Austria AUT     2 11 Czech Republic CZE     1            

In all-Polish semi final opening match in Men’s Singles Samuel KULCZYCKI overcame Milosz REDZIMSKI (6 -10 6 7 9). “Playing against a team-mate is always difficult especially when you are playing a semifinal at the European Championships. I felt that Milosz was a little bit nervous during our match. Maybe due to his nervousness the quality of his play suffered a little bit. I took advantage of this and I managed to win ”said Samuel KULCZYCKI. Vladislav URSU overcame Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK in the second semi final match in straight games (9 8 9 9). “Maciej and I know each other well. We play doubles together. He knows my playing style I know his … I did not expect to demonstrate such a good quality play during this morning match but on the other hand I guess that Maciej did not expect that I will play such a good table tennis neither. I felt very well during the match and maybe the key of my win was my constant aggressiveness whilst Maciej play was a little bit passive. I was more active playing very aggressive on both forehand and backhand. This was the main reason for my winning. Now I am eagerly looking to the final. I trained together with Samuel KULCZYCKI in some table tennis training camps. We also clashed at some European championships and if I well remember I won the group match against him years ago. But I must add that he improved his game a lot and became a very fierce adversary. I am eagerly looking to play the final ”said Vladislav URSU. Poland’s Samuel KULCZYCKI clinched gold medal in the Men’s Singles Event at the European Under 21 Championships in Cluj. In the final he overcame Vladislav URSU of Moldova. The bronze medalists are Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland and Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK of Austria. In the final Samuel KULCZYCKI overcame Vladislav URSU in six games (9 -8 7 10 -8 3). “It is hard for me to say something because I am overwhelmed after winning the final. During this tournament the most important match for me was the first match when I saved four match balls. After that I was playing constantly well during the whole tournament. The final match was tough. I was leading 2-1 and I was down 8 -10 in the fourth game but I managed to win the game 12-10. For me this was the most important moment of the match. It is easier to play when you are leading 3-1 compered to play when the score is 2-2. It is an amazing feeling to be European Champion ” said Samuel KULCZYCKI. Samuel KULCZYCKI is the 3rd male Polish player to win a European singles title. He joins European Cadet champion Maciej KUBIK (2018) and European Junior Champion Daniel GORAK (2001). Het is the second Polish player to win a U21 title after Natalia BAJOR who won the women’s doubles title in 2018 with Solomiya BRATEYKO (UKR). Vladislav URSU booked his best result in a Under 21 championships. He just came short for the second ever European title for Moldova after he won the Cadet Boys doubles title in 2016 with Maciej KOLODZIECZYK also his doubles partner as these Championships and also successful winning a bronze medal.

After winning the cadet girls title in 2018 and 2019 Elena Zaharia now adds a 3rd European title to her collection. She is the 2nd Romanian woman to win the Under 21 title after Adina DIACONU won in 2019. The day commenced with drama. Elena ZAHARIA and Zdena BLASKOVA opened the ultimate day of the Championships with their semi final duel which ended in favor of home crowd favorite after seven close games. YAHARIO recovered from 1-3 in reverse to win the match (7 -4 -6 -9 11 8 7). “It was a very difficult match. Zedna BLASKOVA is an exceptionally good player. She won matches against important names in table tennis in addiction she is three years older than me. It is difficult to play against more experienced players. Also she is playing with material and I always felt a kind of discomfort playing against players who use materials on their rackets. As I said the match was a very difficult one “ stated ZAHARIA. Despite initial lead ZAHARIA found herself under severe pressure. “When I was down 1-3 I said to myself that I should enjoy the game playing at my best without paying much attention to the score. Also thanks to my coach I changed the tactic in the game five. It worked and I am in the final now. Reaching the final at this competition means a lot to me. I lost the semifinal in Belgrade playing at the Under 19 European Youth Championships. Reaching the final at Under 21 is a special achievement for me. I would like also to mention how much I appreciate the constant support of the fans. This venue is one of my favorites bringing me memories about the 2018 Youth European Championships when I enjoyed excellent results here ” said Elena ZAHARIA. There were no lack of suspense in the second match of the day when Franziska SCHREINER overcame Prithika PAVADE in seven games (-9 5 9 -5 -5 4 7). It was PAVADE’s 14th match at the tournament whilst Franziska played four less but on the other side experience of getting out of difficult situations worked in Germany’s player favor. At the tournament SCHREINER already won seven games matches against Anna BRZYSKA of Poland and Matilda HANSSON of Sweden. PAVADE lost only two games against two players in Group Stage. When the goings get tough psychology worked in favor of Franziska this morning. “We played a very good match this morning with some very close long rallies but there also a lot of quality on the first balls. Again I played a seven games match. If I well remember I played against PRITHIKA two times before in junior competitions three or four years ago. I lost the first match against her after I was leading 3-0 but I won the second match.Of course it was a years ago. Today it was a new story said SCHREINER. “There were two key moments of the match. In the third game I was leading 8-2 and it got really close in the end but I managed to win the game. After winning the third game I became more confident. In the seventh game I was down 1-5. When we switched the sides I taught and I said to myself “ok common let start as a new match again”. I think that this attitude helped me a lot.”   Romania’s Elena ZAHARIA is crowned champion of the Women’s Singles Event at the European Under 21 Championships in Cluj. In breathtaking final she beat Germany’s Franziska SCHREINER. Bronze medalists are Zdena BLASKOVA of Czech Republic and Prithika PAVADE of France. In the final ZAHARIA needed full seven games to overcame Franziska SCHREINER (5 8 -8 10 -9 -10 7). Both girls had to work very hard to be in the final and also in the final itself. ZAHARIA played 42 games in 7 matches. “Fraulein 4-3” SCHREINER went to a 7th game no less than 4 times and played 44. It was just one too many. “I expected an extremely difficult match. Franziska is an excellent player and she deserves congratulations for her outstanding play. Last year she won 4-3 in the quarters at the Under 21 European Championships. It was hard to forget experience. That is why I said that I expected a very difficult match today ” said ZAHARIA. Elena had a better start. “ I was leading 3 -1. Maybe I started to relax too early and SCHREINER leveled A tough moment was at the end of the sixth game. I was leading 10-9 and I missed a match point and she won the game 12-10. The score became 3 – 3. That was tough. At the beginning of the seventh game I told to myself that I should do something to get rid of the pressure I felt during the previous games. I started to enjoy the game without paying to much attention to the score. I played smiling and with a joy into my heart. I enjoyed each minute of the seventh game and amazingly I won the title. For me wining the gold medal at this edition of U21 European Championships is a very important achievement ” said Elena ZAHARIA.

BAN and ANDRAS prevailed in the final in three games (3 7 11). “This was our best match ever. Finally we made it. This is our first gold after not being able to reach the title in two previous finals. Last year we lost 2-3 in the final of the Under 21 European Championships and we lost also 2-3 a doubles final at juniors World Championships! Now you can imagine our happiness after wining 3-0 ”said Ivor BAN. BAN and ANDRAS won bronze at the European Youth Championships 2021 in Under 19 Event and silver later the same year. “We started to play doubles last year in April or May. Our first tournament was the Slovenian Open where surprisingly we won the gold. It was amazing because it was as I said before our first tournament. We feel good playing together and I am pretty sure that we will win together many other medals. For us this medal is a dream come true ” added Csaba ANDRAS. John OYEBODE and Carlo ROSSI became the best Italian Men Doubles in Under 21 winning the silver medal after Antonio AMATO and Daniele PINTO won bronze in 2019. After silver last year in Spa Ivor BAN of Croatia and Csaba ANDRAS of Hungary clinched gold medal this season in Cluj in the Men’s Doubles Event at the European Under 21 Championships. In the final they overcame Italy’s pairings John OYEBODE and Carlo ROSSI. The bronze medalists are Poland’s Maciej KUBIK and Samuel KULCZYCKI and Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK of Austria and Vladislav URSU of Moldova.

“It was a great match. Despite the final score 3-0 it was not an easy one. From the very begining of the match we were focused to win the gold medal. Compared to our play of the last year in Spa I strongly believe that the level of our play was higher. We have a better communication and a better understanding of each other during the matches ” said HARAC. Speaking of their way to the final hurdle HARAC said: “I must say that at the Under 21 European Championships in Cluj Napoca our start was very difficult. I remember that we were down 0-2 when we played our first match here against Malamatenia PAPADIMITRIOU and Dari HELGA but we managed somehow to win it. The quality of our play went up match after match and here we are. We are playing doubles together for five or six years. In 2016 at Youth European Championships we wont bronze at cadets. After 2016 we also won some other medal. But here we are now – finally we won gold. Ozge YILMAZ added: “During today’s match we were less stressful compared to the last year final when we were down 2-0 but we managed to win 3-2. This year we started our match very calm and felt highly motivated. And we won. This is absolutely amazing!” For Italy it is the first medal in women’s Event at Under 21 Championships but for family MONFARDINI is not the first at Europeans. Gaia is following the footsteps of her mother who won two silver and two bronze medals in the European Championships in Women’s Doubles. The winners of the Women’s Doubles Event at the European Under 21 Championships in Cluj are Ece HARAC and Ozge YILMAZ of Turkiye. For a first time in a 6 years old history of European Under 21 Championships title holders managed to retain their title in any event at this Championships. In the final Turkiye’s pairings overcame Nicole ARLIA and Gaia MONFARDINI of Italy.The bronze medalists are Anna BRZYSKA and Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland and Camille LUTZ and Prithika PAVADE of France. Ece HARAC and Ozge YILMAZ were in fast line in the final against Nicole ARLIA and Gaia MONFARDINI (8 4 9).

New champions of the Mixed Doubles Event at the European Under 21 Championships are Andrei Teodor ISTRATE and Luciana MITROFAN. In the final they overcame Lilian BARDET and Prithika PAVADE of France. Bronze medalists are Csaba ANDRAS and Helga DARI of Hungary and Darius MOVILEANU and Elena ZAHARIA of Romania. In the final ISTRATE and MITROFAN needed only four games the seal the victory (7 -5 6 5). Luciana MITROFAN said:“We were expecting to play a difficult match but again and again we believed in each other we trusted in our own abilities and skills. We worked and prepared very hard for this competition.” Andrei ISTRATE added: “In the begining of the competition we were outsiders and here we are now winning the gold medal. After wining the semifinal I told Luciana we have got nothing to lose. Going back to our previous matches at these Championships I may consider that it was a miracle to win in th quarters after we were down 0-2. I guess that was a key moment during our previous matches. Now we dare to hope that who knows hopefully we will win a medal at the World Championships. And of course what about an Olympic medal the dream of any player.” Romania’s pairings playing together in doubles since few years but this is their very first major result. “Last year at the European Juniors Championships our performance was rather poor. But for this competition we worked very very hard. It seems that it paid off ” said Luciana MITROFAN. In the semi final BARDET and PAVADE beat Csaba ANDRAS and Helga DARI of Hungary (5 5 7). “I think we played a very solid game from the very first point to the last one. We managed to find and use the best tactic. It was a really good match for us ”said Prithika PAVADE. BARDET explained:”We played a really good match. We were better at service receive and first ball so I think that is why we won the match. It looked like an easy one because we played on the safe side of the game. The gold medal is in sight and we will fiercely fight for the European title.” In the other semi final match Andrei Teodor ISTRATE and Luciana MITROFAN prevailed against teammates Darius MOVILEANU and Elena ZAHARIA (7 -2 10 -5 2). “Yesterday evening we managed to win after we were down 0-2 and we were so happy to reach the semifinal. We woke up this morning with a fresh spirit and it seems that we played well the match against Darius and Elena. When I was serving it was a little bit difficult for us however when Darius served to Cami it was more difficult because Cami was worried when receiving Darius’s serves. When the score was 2-2 at the beginning of the final game I encouraged Cami to be more focused. We changed the table when we led 5-2 and we managed to win the game and the match. We knew that Darius and Elena were the favorites but we didn’t care. We fought at our best so we reached the final ” said Andrei ISTRATE Luciana MITROFAN added: “As Andrei said when Darius served I did not know how to receive his serves. I was a little bit nervous I did not know what to do but in the final game I was more focused and I told myself “common it’s the final game I trust that we can win”. We believed in ourselves so we did it.”  

In the semi final of the Women’s Singles Event at the European Under 21 Championships tomorrow will play Prithika PAVADE of France against Franziska SCHREINER of Germany and Zdena BLASKOVA of Czech Republic against Elena ZAHARIA of Romania. In the quarterfinal Prithika PAVADE was the first player to finish her match. In straight games she overcame Anastasiya DYMYTRENKO of Ukraine (8 7 7 9). “It was much harder than the result predicts. My service game was good but so was her. I was not very strong on receive. In addition the way I moved was very important. Days are very long here. We have played so many matches here so far and it is important that you stay at the top. I reached the finishing stages of all three events and I am so happy that I managed to play a solid match from the first until the last point and to reach the medal rostrum. That was our goal ” said PAVADE. In all German match Franziska SCHREINER beat Sophia KLEE (8 10 6 5). “It is never easy to play against teammates but I was prepared well. Last year I won the medal at Under 21 Championships and it took off some pressure . I was not that nervous like last year ” said SCHREINER. Zdena BLASKOVA overcame Anna WEGRZYN of Poland (11 6 -7 3 5). “It is very difficult to play when the medal is on your mind. I was under pressure but the good performance from the morning session when I beat LUTZ helped. I felt good but it was hard to overcame the though of medal rostrum. I have already beat Anna before but the stake was much higher now. I am happy that it lasted only in opening game. When I won it I was released ” said Zdena. Elena ZAHARIA overcame Katarzyna WEGRZYN of Poland (-9 5 -7 12 7 -7 8). “This match was unbelievable hard! WEGRZYN is a very strong player. I want to congratulate her for playing an amazing match. She bit me last year in the U21 European Championships. She won that match 4-2. This evening the atmosphere in the venue was fantastic I would like to say a big thank you to the spectators for their support. I was always so happy to play here at home ” said Elena ZAHARIA. Previously no. five seed Hana ARAPOVIC was halted in the Round of 16. Katarzyna WEGRZYN prevailed in six games. “I started very good this match leading 3-0. During these first three games I played one of my best table tennis but then my adversary played even better while I was starting to lose my focus. I got a little bit insecure when hitting the ball… So I lost the next two games. The match became really close and for one moment I was thinking that I will lose the sixth game. I taught that the score is going to be 3-3. But I managed to improve my focus during the sixth game winning the game and the match ” said Katarzyna WEGRZYN. Sophia KLEE overcame Helga DARI of Hungary. “Dari HELGA was playing the tournament very good. I was not feeling that good. Today I was able to show that I can still play very good despite my knee injury which did not allow me to follow the usual practice routine during the last months. I am so happy that I won this match ” said Sophia KLEE. KLEE’s teammate Franziska SCHREINER overcame Anna BRZYSKA of Poland in seven games. “I had a difficult match. I think that my performance was ok not the best of my level but in the end it matters that I won. I am very happy about that ”said Franziska SCHREINER.  

On the final day of play at the European Under 21 Championships in Cluj in the semi final of the Men’s Singles will play Vladislav URSU of Moldova vs. Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK of Austria and Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland vs. his compatriot Samuel KULCZYCKI. In the quarterfinal Vladislav URSU beat Eduard IONESCU of Romania in straight games (9 10 5 6). “I was under pressure before this match. This is my last European Championships in this age category and I realized that I have a chance to win a medal. I was nervous. I had to study Eduard’s play very carefully because he is good on all positions. He has strong forehand flip top spin backhand…so I had to find a way to block him and I managed. Next in line is my doubles partner Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK. It is very good because I love to play against him ” said URSU. KOLODZIEJCZYK beat Ivor BAN of Croatia (7 9 9 -7 7). “I had a good start of the match. In the first three games I was always on attack. His service is very good but I managed to have good returns. In the first game I had a 4-0 lead but somehow I lost the opening game. I told myself that I must keep pushing to move my legs and to return as many balls on the table as possible. It looks that it was a good tactic so I managed to win ” said KOLODZIEJCZYK. Milosz REDZIMSKI beat Borgar HAUG of Norway (13 9 -8 11 8). “This is amazing for me. I was down in each game. I was down 4:7 but at any point I did not ive up. I was focused on my game. That means I play my service with lot of variations I attacked constantly ” said REDZIMSKI. Samuel KULCZYCKI beat Iulian CHIRITA of Romania (8 10 -11 -1 -9 6 4) in the longest match of the Round. “I was 2 -0 up then I lost the next three games but I managed to have a better play in the sixth game. In the last game I was a little bit lucky and I won two points with the help of the net. I had a very good start in the seventh game and I won. I am so happy to win my very first medal in U21 European Championships ”said Samuel. In the Round of 16 top seeded player in Men’s Singles Kay STUMPER of Germany was out. Romania’s Eduard IONESCU beat him in straight games. “ It was not an easy match as the result predisted. I know STUMPER for a long time. He was number one at the World youth ranking. He is also having a very good season in the German League. I knew that it will be a difficult match for me. But with my coach I made a good tactic and and I stayed with that tactic from the begining until the last point of the match `’ said Eduard IONESCU. No. 24 seed Haug BORGAR of Norway beat player listed at the position no. 3 Darius MOVILEAN of Romania. “Playing against Darius is always tough. He is a very strong young player. It was very difficult to win a duel against him. I won a previous encounter against him in close seven games some time ago ” said Haug BORGAR. Csaba ANDRAS of Hungary no. 11 seed suffered by unranked Vladislav URSU of Moldova. “Playing against Csaba ANDRAS is always challenging. He always has a very good game against me. I could not beat him two or three years ago. For me it was impossible to win against him He knows how to answer on my my topspins. My tactic was to always change my serves. I alternate sometimes my short serves with long ones. It looks that it was a good tactic ” said Vladislav URSU.