All three Doubles Event at the European Under 21 Championships reached the penultimate stage which means medal winers are already know. In last two days at the tournament in Cluj’s BT Arena we will see how the colors will be distributed. In Women’s Doubles Event in the semi final Camille LUTZ and Prithika PAVADE of France will meet Nicole ARLIA and Gaia MONFARDINI of Italy whilst Anna BRZYSKA and Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland will meet Ece HARAC and Ozge YILMAZ of Turkey. In quarterfinal Camille LUTZ and Prithika PAVADE beat Anna WEGRZYN and Katarzyna WEGRZYN of Poland (9 5 -5 8). “We already met few times before so we were very aware how strong they are. We had to play at our best in order to win “ said PAVADE. LUTZ spoke about next challenge: “We are going step by step. It is only important to keep the level of the game high as we did tonight.” Anna BRZYSKA and Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland overcame Ioana SINGEORZAN and Elena ZAHARIA of Romania (6 9 -9 9). “It was really very close match. The win came as a surprise to us as well we did not expect to win it “ said Zuzanna WIELGOS The title holders Ece HARAC and Ozge YILMAZ of Turkiye succeeded against Zdena BLASKOVA of Czech Republic and Ema LABOSOVA of Slovakia (-6 6 7 6). “The first match we had played today was very stressful. We were losing 0:2 against Helga DARI and Malamatenia PAPADIMITRIOU before we managed to get the grip and to win it. This match we started much better. We are defending the gold medal here and we hope we will succeed ” said Ece HARAC. Nicole ARLIA and Gaia MONFARDINI of Italy beat Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia and Linda ZADEROVA of Czech Republic (8 -12 7 10). “We are excited and nervous because the match was very hard. After all they have won the gold at the European Youth Championships in Belgrade this year” said ARLIA. MONFARDINI was cautious when she spoke about the next round. “For us is only important to play each ball the best we could. We will have the same tactics as we had for quarterfinal. In the quarterfinal we did not think of wining or about medal; only on the last ball we realized we won the medal and we started to cry.” In the semi final of the Men’s Doubles Event Poland’s Maciej KUBIK and Samuel KULCZYCKI will meet Ivor BAN of Croatia and Csaba ANDRAS of Hungary. In other penultimate stage match Italy’s John OYEBODE and Carlo ROSSI will play against Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK of Austria and Vladislav URSU of Moldova. KUBIK and KULCZYCKI beat Borgar HAUG of Norway and Dimitrije LEVAJAC of Serbia (5 1 9). “It was great match. We had control from the very begining. However in the last game they commenced to recover after they called for time out. We also called for one for us and withstood their comeback ” said KUBIK. KULCZYCKI added:”We are the no. one seeds here and we want to justified our position. We are here for gold.” BAN and ANDRAS halted the progress of Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland and Iulian CHIRITA of Romania (6 7 -9 -9 7). “We were prepared because we knew it will be tough one. I am also very tired. The whole day I am in the venue playing in the singles and in the doubles. In that part BAN was very supportive ” said ANDRAS. Last year BAN and and ANDRAS lost in the final. “This year we are ready for the gold. It was great disappointment when we lost the final last year in Spa against Belgium pairings.” OYEBODE and ROSSI beat Romania’s Eduard IONESCU and Darious MOVILEANU (-6 10 5 8). “OYEBODE and I were not playing together for a while but we were good tonight. We were especially good at the first balls. Maybe not so good in longer rallies…we knew they are better than us in the open rallies but we managed to score with good quality of the first balls ” said ROSSI. KOLODZIEJCZYK and URSU succeeded against Nicolas DEGROS of Belgium and Alex NAUMI of Finland (9 6 4). “I was nervous because this is my last European Under 21 Championships and I want to finish it with some medals. We are playing together since we were 15 and it is good that we secured another medal ” said URSU. KOLODZIEJCZYK reminded that they are not so high seeded but they are aiming high nevertheless. “We are not favorites but we had a connections since a cadet days and already we have won four medals together at the European Championships. It gives us confidence to aim for gold. At the first place is that we show the best table tennis we can produce ” said KOLODZIEJCZYK. In the semi final of the Mixed Doubles event Romania’s Darius MOVILEANU and Elena ZAHARIA will meet their compatriots Andrei Teodor ISTRATE and Luciana MITROFAN whilst Lilian BARDET and Prithika PAVADE of France will play against Csaba ANDRAS and Helga DARI of Hungary In quarters Darius MOVILEANU and Elena ZAHARIA beat Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK of Austria and Ece HARAC of Turkiye (9 3 -3 9). “We met very strong pairings with a good chemistry between each other. It was not easy but we prepared good tactics ” said ZAHARIA. Lilian BARDET and Prithika PAVADE beat Eduard IONESCU and Ioana SINGEORZAN of Romania (-9 8 11 3). “The opening game was in our hands but we made so many mistakes. After we managed to play simpler and we took over the control ” said PAVADE. Lilian and Prithika are playing together for a first time. Csaba ANDRAS and Helga DARI overcameGermany’s Kay STUMPER and Franziska SCHREINER (-6 6 9 -4 6). “This is surprise for us. We hoped we could do it but did not expect really to beat the favorites ” said ANDRAS. Andrei Teodor ISTRATE and Luciana MITROFAN

The Group stages in Men’s Singles Event at the European Under 21 Championships concluded with few upsets but for sure if we following the rankings the biggest of all is Vladimir URSU’s progress to the Round of 16. Moldova’s player came to Cluj without ranking points with the wild card but it did not prevent him of gaining the spot between top 16 players. In Group A in Men’s Singles Event Kay STUMPER of Germany progressed to the knock out stage as his rankings predicted but not from the top spot. Lilian BARDET of France emerged successfully to the top position. In the last round Kay beat Samuel ARPAS of Slovakia (9 9 7 2) whilst BARDET lost to Andrea PUPPO of Italy (10 -6 4 -7 10 8). Both BARDET and STUMPER have two wins and one defeat but it was BARDET who beat STUMPER in their direct clash. In Group B Maciej KUBIK of Poland is yet to lose the game. In the last match in Group Stage he beat Filip DELINCAK of Slovakia (8 6 7 8). “I played quite well the match against DELINCAK who played also at the high level today. I am in the main draw and I will continue to play at my best to go as far as possible. I remember with great pleasure that I won the cadets competition playing in this venue years ago so I am very happy playing here ” said Maciej KUBIK. Elias HARDMEIER of Switzerland is second. In last round he beat Italy’s Tommaso GIOVANNETTI (5 7 -2 11 -5 6). In Group C top two players justified their rankings. Darius MOVILEANU of Romani and Vladislav URSU of Moldova reached the knock out stage. In the last round Darius beat Kas VAN OOST of Netherlands (4 7 7 7) whilst URSU succeeded against Lleyton ULLMANN of Germany (4 3 5 7). “I am so happy that I won against Kas VAN OOST. Despite the score the match against Kas was not an easy one but today like yesterday I played really well. I am glad that I finished at the top of the Group in Singles and now I am looking forward to the doubles and mixed doubles and of course I am looking to the main draw. Getting at least one medal during these Championships is my main goal. But who knows maybe there will be more that one medal! I will fight in the next matches to my best that this will come true ” said Darius. His teammate Eduard IONESCU also progressed to the main draw. In the third match in the Group D he beat John OYEBODE of Italy (4 8 7 4). Poland’s Samuel KULCZYCKI is second. He beat Alex NAUMI of Finland (7 7 6 -9 8). In Group E Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland and Anton LIMONOV of Ukraine determined who will be no. and and no. 2 in their Group in direct clash. Polish player won the encounter (8 4 6 8) to progress to the Round of 16 from top spot. Ivor BAN of Croatia recorded fourth win today against David SZANTOSI of Hungary (8 8 8 11). “It was a good match I fought all the way and at the end I won 4-0 which looks quite easy but in fact it was not. The games were very close. I am so happy reaching the round 16. I will continue to fight trying to win. So we will see… My main goal for this competition was to reach round 16 which I did. In my last tournaments I could not play at my full potential due to some injuries. I reached my goal now so I may play very relaxed so we will see how far I can go. Last year I reached the quarterfinal but it looks that this year the competition is tougher. I would be more than happy to reach the quarters this year too ” said Ivor BAN There were no doubts who will be on the top spot but for the second place there were big fight. Eventually Carlo ROSSI of Italy moved to the next stage despite the defeat against Andrii GREBNIK (9 -8 10 -9 7 -10 -7). Iulian CHIRITA of Romania secured the top spot after third win in the Group. On the last hurdle he beat Borna PETEK of Croatia (2 -10 8 7 8). “Borna PETEK played a very good match toda. I was leading 1-0 and I had 10-5 in the second game which I lost 10-12. After wining the second game Borna played better and better. I stayed very focused changing the serves adjusting the tactics and I managed to win I think that I won also because played more aggresive. Maybe this was the key. I am looking forward to the main draw and hopefully I will have a “lucky” drawing. My dream is to win a medal at this competition. I would be so proud to be able to present such a medal to my parents and to my friends. It might be a dream which will come true!” said Iulian CHIRITA Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK of Austria is second after the victory over Jan VALENTA of Czech Republic (8 5 -9 7 5). In the last round Csaba ANDRAS of Hungary beat Dimitrije LEVAJAC of Serbia (9 6 7 -7 19) and reached the top spot in the Group H. “I prepared well before this match. All the matches I played before against Dimitrije were fifty -fifty so I was quite stressed before the match. However it seems that my prepration before the match really worked so I am very glad that I won. The duel was really taugh when I led 3-1 I did not want to loose the fourth game I was really tyred and I would like to be focused and “fresh” for the doubles and mixed doubles. For me wining the group is something very special. For the next

Without due alarm top seeded player in Women’s Singles Event at the European Under 21 Championships in Cluj Elena ZAHARIA of Romania booked her place in the Round of 16. The biggest upset was created by Ukraine’s Anastasiya DYMYTRENKO who received to wild card to come to Cluj but booked her place in the knock out stage. ZAHARIA recorded all three wins in the Second stage of the event. Last in line to suffer against Elena was Bulgaria’s Tsvetelina GEORGIEVA (5 5 6 4). From the same group Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland progressed further after the win over Isa COK of France (5 6 6 -2 7). No. 2 seed Prithika PAVADE of France booked her place in the Round of 16 after third victory in the Group B achieved against Matilde PINTO of Portugal (3 8 4 4). “I did not play against Matilde PINTO before. Knowing that I am already at the top of the Group I played quite relaxed. It was a good match; I was very focused until the last point of the duel. For the next matches I will do my best to go as far as possible. I must admit that being so highly seeded makes me feel a little bit nervous. It seems that is easier to play when you are an outsider as I was for years ago at the European Youth Championships ” said Pavade PRITHIKA. In the direct clash for the second position in that Group Katarzyna WEGRZYN of Poland overcame Ioana SINGEORZAN of Romania in seven games (-10 -6 5 -5 12 7 7). In Group C Helga DARI of Hungary remained unbeaten after last round’s win over Eugenia SASTRE of Spain (8 7 7 13). Camile LUTZ of France is second. LUTZ beat top seeded Ece HARAC of Turkiye in the last round (4 -9 3 6 12). “We know each other very well because we played many matches before. I won our previous match at Top 10 last October in Tours. I knew how to play against Ece but I was almost sure that she will change something in her game in order to surprise me. I was ready to fight for each point and I am so happy that I won this match although I finished on the second place in the Group. This is not the result I was hoping for. I lost to Hari DELGA who played a really good match. I could not find the right level for her game. Being the second in my group does not change my will to play at my best in next matches ” said Camille LUTZ. Seeded only at the position no. 4 in Group D Zdena BLASKOVA of Czech Republic moved to top spot with all three wins. Last in line to suffer was Nicole ARLIA of Italy (7 5 10 -9 -7 -3 8). ARLIA recovered from three to null in reverse to level to 3:3 but in decisive game BLASKOVA regained the control. “This match was the most important match for me. If I would lose I would not reach the main draw. So I started the game knowing that I must win. I put a little bit of pressure on myself. I commenced very good I was leading 3-0 but then something happened I did some little mistakes and suddenly the score was 3-3. I was almost crying. I found a way to regain my focus a little bit more and I gave my best fighting until the last point so I am very happy that I won. From my beginning of playing table tennis I was always a fighter. During my match against Nicole when we played the seventh game and I was leading 5-2 – I new that I will make it. I do not have expectations for the next matches. It happened so many times before that IO had high hopes and eventually failed to reach the goal. I have to keep my feet on the ground and to go in little steps ” said Zdena BLASKOVA. Mia GRISEL of Germany also reached the third stage of the Event. She beat Ines MATOS of Portugal in third round (7 10 5 11 7). In Groups E and F Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia and Ema LOBOSOVA of Slovakia justified their leading positions in their respective Groups. Both reached top spot without being defeated. In Group E Anna BRZYSKA of Poland and Sophia KLEE of Germany moved to the net stage from position no. two. In Group G Anastasiya DYMYTRENKO of Ukraine overcame Gaia MONFARDINI of Italy (9 8 -10 10 4) to secure top position. After first defeat in the Group Gaia still managed to move further from the spot no. two. “I am so happy that I won this match. MONFARDINI is a very good player. I am now in the main draw and the next matches will be tougher But I want to do my best to go as far as possible ” said Anastasyia DYMYTRENKO In Group H two top players booked their places for knock out stage. Franziska SCHREINER of Germany overcame Agathe AVEZOU of France (4 -11 -8 5 11 3) whilst Anna WEGRZYN of Poland beat Swede Matilda HANSSON (6 -9 3 4 9). “General speaking is not easy to play against defenders. AVEZOU is a very young player so I did not have the chance to play against her. Playing against player you did not know is a little difficult. I am so happy that I won. After I won the opening game I was thinking that this match will not be a difficult one. The match was always close but after wining the fifth game I felt that I could make it. All the players on the main draw are very good but I hope to be able to do my best in order to win my next match ” said FRANZISKA.  

Top seeded player in the Women’s Singles Event Elena ZAHARIA of Romania successfully started her journey at the European Under 21 Championships in Cluj. She overcame Isa COK of France on her first exit to the table 4-2 (11-7 11-3 11-8 4-11 8-11 11-5). In the second round ZAHARIA overcame Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland by same margin (5 -2 -7 4 2 4). “It was an unexpectedly difficult match to play against Zuzanna WIELGOS. At least I hope that it was a nice match to watch. My adversary managed to lead 2-1 when I realized that I must change the tactic. I started to play to her middle forehand and the course of the match changed to my favor. Tomorrow I will give everything in order to win the last match in the Group. I compete also in doubles and mixed doubles and I will do my best in order to win the medals in all three events ” said Elena ZAHARIA. No. 2 seed Prithika PAVADE of France needed one game less to beat Poland’s Katarzyna WEGRZYN (12-10 11-9 9-11 11-9 11-3). Previously she overcame Ioana SINGEORZAN of Romania (10 -9 10 6 2) PAVADE’s teammate Camille LUTZ followed her suit and overcame Eugenia SASTRE of Spain by same margin (11-9 11-13 11-6 11-7 11-6) but failed to repeat the outcome in second match. No. 10 seed Helga DARI of Hungary succeeded in six games (-8 11 7 9 -11 9) “It was a really difficult a tough match for me. She was the top seed in the group but I started the match telling to myself that I can do it. This morning I lost my first match in the group against Ece HARAC so I didn’t have a good start. I tried to forget about this match and I started the duel against Camille like a fresh new start. I managed to win and I can not describe how happy I am. Tomorrow morning I will have a match against SASTRE and I still hope to reach the main draw ” said DARI. Croatia’s Hana ARAPOVIC inflicted the pain in the harts of host nation supporters by beating Bianca MEI ROSU (11-8 8-11 11-8 11-6 11-8). “I played before against Bianca I think it was a tournament in Tunis I won also that match. I may say that I knew what to expect during this one. On the other hand the duel I just played was my very first match in this competition. Usually the first matches are not easy. But I am satisfied the way I played. I stayed focus throughout the whole match. I felt well mentally and physically. I knew which tactic to play so I managed to win ” said Hana ARAPOVIC. In next duel ARAPOVIC beat Anna BRZYSKA of Poland in straight games (9 8 4 8). Ozge YILMAZ of Turkiye was the only player from top 8 list to suffer against the lower ranked opposition in the first round. In long seven games Gaia MONFARDINI of Italy recorded the victory (9 9 8 -9 -7 -10 5) after she halted Ozge’s spirited recovery from 0-3. OZGE lost another thriller against Ukraine’s Anastasiya DYMYTRENKO. “ Ozge YILMAZ is a very strong player and I was very concerned before this match. The match was very difficult for me I was down 1-3 and now I am so happy that I won 4-3. It happened when I started to be more focused to fight hard for every point and when I was not worried about the result of the match. Maybe this was the “secret” of my win. I am so happy that I won my morning match against an Italian player so with two victories it looks that I have serious chances to qualify on the main draw ” said Anastasiya DYMYTRENKO. Ema LOBOSOVA of Slovakia overcame Rebecca MUSKANTOR of Sweden (6 2 11 2) and Sophia KLEE of Germany (10 5 3 -8 -7 10). Speaking about the win over Swede LOBOSOVA said: “We played against each other at the European Championships in Munich quite recently in Munich. I won the match 3-1 but despite this result I expected a hard match against Rebecca. I am very happy that I won and I am looking forward for a little rest to be able to play at my full potential the next matches. I will play also in doubles and mixed doubles so I must have a good sleep. I would love to reach the quarter finals as I did last year in Belgium. Hopefully this will happen.“  

The atmosphere in the BP Arena in Cluj is heating up. Two rounds of the second stage of the men’s and women’s Singles at the European Under 21 Championships concluded today after the fierce fights. Top seeded player in the Men’s Singles Germany’s Kay STUMPER suffered the defeat by the hands of Lilian BARDET of France on his first exit to the table in Cluj. “I am more that happy about my performance today. It was my first match in this Stage and I felt good I played well. I played against Kay before when we were juniors and I never beat him so far so I am really happy. My guess is that the key moment of this match was in the game four when Kay was leading 8-4. I changed my service because I taught that this was the only option I had in order to improve my game. I managed to win the fourth game my fighting spirit was up so I managed to win the match. There are still two matches more on this group I do not know the other players so we will se what will happen said Lilian BARDET. French player overcame Samuel ARPAS of Slovakia in next round (6 6 4 2) to secure the top spot. Kay STUMPER is currently second after win over Andrea PUPPO of Italy 4-1(8 -7 5 3 8). Player who received the wild card to come to Cluj Vladislav URSU of Moldova suffered his first defeat in his seventh match at the tournament. He is still unbeaten in doubles but lost first match in Singles after four wins in two stages. He failed to take advantage of match point and let Darius MOVILEANU of Romania to recover to win 4:3 (6 4 -8 -6 -4 12 9). With the great sense of relief MOVILEANU said: “I am really proud that I managed to win this match. I knew very well from the very beginning that this match is going to be a very difficult one for me. Vladislav is an excellent player and this match was the first match I played against him. It was a crazy match… I was leading 2-0; then Vladislav managed somehow to take the lead so he led 3-2. I saved three match points. It was not the first time when I saved match points but this time it was just crazy. At this level every point is important and we are supposed to fight fiercely for every point. I did my best to be focus on the service and the receiving of the service. After taking the lead 2-0 the quality of my services decreased But I improved significantly my play in the last game which I won.” Tomorrow is the last round of second phase of the singles event. Now I have two wins in two matches and tomorrow I will play my third match against Kas VAN OOST. I have never played against him but I will give my best in order to win my last match in the group said ” Darius. Dimitrije LEVAJAC of Serbia prevailed against Borgar HAUG of Norway in the opening round of the Second Phase. “Uuuf!!! It was a very tough match. HAUG is a very good player and also we play in doubles together at this tournament so it was not easy at all. I would say that overall it was a great match 4-2 it was not an easy one. I was leading 1-0 then 2-1 but he always somehow managed to make a draw. I was trying to stay focused thinking only to the next point I kept going and it was a successful tactic for me. The key to win it might be the fact that I was a little bit more aggressive. I was trying to attack more. It seems that it worked ” said LEVAJAC. “The group I am playing now might be the strongest group of the tournament. Everything is open every match is fifty fifty. However I should say that his first win doesn’t mean anything. I must stay very focused for the next two matches because it is going to be tough.” It proved right because he lost the next match against Andrei ISTRATE of Romania (7 -4 -8 -9 5 -11). In Group F Ivor BAN of Croatia justified his rankings with the wins over Carlo ROSSI of Italy (9 8 8 -8 7) and Andrii GREBNIUK of Ukraine (3 9 9 -8 7). After initial defeat ROSSI overcame David SZANTOSI of Hungary (-12 8 5 2 5). “David SZANTOSI is few years younger than me so I did not know him very well. It was a nice surprise to see that David played a very good game. In the beginning of the match I tried to find the best approach to play. My first service and first ball were good and I managed to win points. In the end he started to miss a little bit more balls. The Group I am in is not an easy one. This morning I lost my first match against the Croatian Ivor BAN who played very well. Tomorrow I will play the last match in the group to get into the main draw. I will play against Andrii GREBNIUK tomorrow morning and I do not expect an easy math. Its very important for me to win it and I will give everything in order to win ” said Carlo ROSSI.  

The top 8 seeded players had a free morning during the opening round of the Men’s Doubles Event whilst the rest were fighting to reach the Round of 16 to be played tomorrow at the European Under 21 Championships in Cluj. Radim MORAVEK and Jan VALENTA of Czech Republic went full distance against Adrian DILLON and Jonas PROMBERGER of Austria 3:2 (-8 -10 6 8 2). Italy’s Tommaso GIOVANNETTI and Andrea PUPPO of Italy also were under pressure in the match against Tom SCHWEIGER and Lleyton ULLMANN of Germany 3:2 (0 -3 7 -10 10). The combination of Kas VAN OOST of Netherlands and Aljaz GODEC of Slovenia proved too strong for Hungary’s Balasz LEI and David SZANTOSI 3:2 (6 -14 9 -6 7). Ukraine’s player had a very successful opening day in Singles and they continued to walk the same path this morning. Andrii GREBENIUK and Anton LIMONOV overcame Borna PETEK of Croatia and Arnau PONS of Spain in straight games (7 7 9). “Despite the 3-0 win it was not an easy match as the result predicts. It was our first double match at this competition and it is always a little bit difficult to adjust in the beginning. During this match in the third game PETEK and PONS had 4-1 advantage but we get focused and we won. We played together for a long time and we communicate very well so we tried to play at our maximum. We think that we have a good chance to win our next matches and that’s why we hope for the best ” said LIMONOV and added:”I would like to say that at home in Ukraine as you already know the situation is not normal. For us it is very difficult to train and to participate in national competitions. Due to this reason we feel a kind of emotional pressure playing here at U21 European Championships 2022…” In Women’s Doubles Event Polish players also continued with the wining trend; Anna BRYSKA and Zuzanna WIELGOS overcame Portugal’s Ines MATOS and Matilde PINTO in straight games (5 9 8). “I am happy to be back in Cluj Napoca. I played here in 2018 at the European Youth Championships and for me it was an exciting experience. The match we just played against Ines and PINTO looked like an easy one what but it wasn’t. They are very good players so we are happy that we won said ” Anna BRYSKA. Zuzanna WIELGOS talked about the match:”I would like to add that at the end of the third game we had a very close lead at 9-8 and I think that our trainer was inspired to ask for a time out. After the time out we won the last game11-8.” Romania’s pairings Bianca MEI ROSU and Luciana MITROFAN overcame Spain’s Ainhoa CRISTOBAL and Eugenia SASTRE 3-1 (6 5 -11 9). “It was not a so difficult match; we managed to play quite well. During the third game I could not play at my maximum. On the fourth game Luciana encouraged me and I really appreciate her help ” said Bianca MEI ROSU. Luciana MITROFAN: “Despite the fact that we are team mates we do not know each other very well. We played as a doubles at Romanian National Championships but this was long time ago. However we worked hard during the training sessions before these Championships. The future matches will be tougher but I feel that we will play better said Luciana MITROFAN.

The opening day at the European Under 21 Championships in Cluj was packed with action. There were no lack of upsets in the Group Stages of both Men’s and Women’s Event. At the end of the day Poland Ukraine and Romania recorded very impressive wins. In Group 1 Poland’s Zuzanna WIELGOS secured the top position after the five games win over the Ece HARAC of Turkiye who was top seed in the Group. Both players also succeeded against Slovenia’s Sara TOKIC. In Group 2 Helga DARI of Hungary is at the top with three wins over Matilde PINTO of Italy Leah MUSKANTOR of Sweden and Kalina HRISTOVA of Bulgaria. Romania’s Ioana SINGEORZAN justified her rankings by securing the top position in Group 3 where Tsvetelina GEORGIEVA of Bulgaria create the surprise. Bulgaria’s player received the wild card before she booked the place in the next stage. Mia GRIESEL of Germany and Julie VAN HAUWAERT of Belgium emerged successfully in Group 4. Another player who reached the next stage after coming to the Championships with wild card is Ukraine’s Anastasiya DYMYTRENKO. She lost one match against Jana VASENDOVA of Czech Republic but overcame Luciana MITROFAN of Romania and Agathe AVEZOU of France to book the top spot. AVEZOU is second in the group. Anna WEGRZYN of Poland and Linda ZADEROVA of Czech Republic are safely through. Anna BRZYSKA of Poland and Zdena BLASKOVA of Czech Republic joined them as top two players in Group 7. Next in line are Rebecca MUSKANTOR of Sweden and Kornelija RILISKYTE of Lithuania Ines MATOS of Portugal and Gaia MONFARDINI of Italy. Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania and Eugenia SASTRE of Spain. Unlike the Bianca’s progress which was expected SASTRE created the upset after she beat Dasa SINKAROVA of Slovakia and Karlijn VAN LIEROP of Netherlands. Matilda HANSSON of Sweden and Sophia KLEE of Germany booked top two places in their respective Group. They were joined by the fourth Polish representative who had success in the qualifications Katarzyna WEGRZYN. From Group 12 Isa COK of France is the second qualifier. In top two Groups in men’s qualifications Romania’s Andrei ISTRATE and Eduard IONESCU showed no mercy on their way. ISTRATE beat David SZANTOSI of Hungary and Tom SCHWEIGER of Germany whilst IONESCU overcame Filip DELINCAK of Slovakia and Daniel BERZOSA of Spain. Csaba ANDRAS of Hungary and Vladislav URSU of Moldova progressed to the next stage but it was URSU who recorded all three wins despite he was ranked only at the fourth position in the Group. Ukraine’s Anton LIMONOV created the surprise by winning all three matches and emerged at the top of the Group 4. Alex NAUMI of Finland is second. Ukraine’s success is underlined with another Group winner Andrii GREBENIUK who recorded all three wins. Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK of Poland is most successful player in the Group 6. The qualifiers who secured the top positions in other groups are Andrea PUPPO of Italy and Barish MOULLET of Switzerland Carlo ROSSI of Italy and Borgar HAUG of Norway Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland and Jan VALENTA of Czech Republic. See the pictures on FLICKR

For a sixth time the European Under 21 Championships will deliver the clashes between the young seniors for the five titles in Men’s and Women’s category. This year’s edition brings us once again to Cluj. After memorable European Youth and Senior Championships now beautiful city in Romania opened its doors for Under 21 competitors. Before the start of the Championships we are already sure that the new players will win the titles and the only exception is the title in Women’s Doubles. From the list of the winners from Belgium’s Spa last year on duty again are only Ozge YILMAZ and Ece HARAC. Turkiye’splayers will have the opportunity to defend their title in the Doubles. There are 56 players in each Men’s and Women’s Singles events coming from 28 countries. The matches commences on Wednesday with the singles qualifications. On a second day the Mixed Doubles will join them in the venue and the day will continue with the doubles and singles qualifications. Mixed Doubles final will be played on Saturday whilst remaining four finals are scheduled for Sunday.