Elizabeta SAMARA and Andreea DRAGOMAN beat top seeded pairings Sarah DE NUTTE and NI Xia Lian 4:1 (6:11 11:6 11:9 11:6). They did it on Andreea’s birthday so after the match spectators not only that had the opportunity to see very good game but also to hear Samara singing …and she did it very well. “I have no words to describe what I am feeling now. I never thought that I could make it to the final in doubles but thanks to ‘Eliza’ we made it and I hope we can do it in the final too ” said DRAGOMAN who added that she was surprised by the song after the match. Romania’s pairing had a slow start they lost the opening game. “Somehow we had a chance even if we lost the first set. Against NI Xia it is always difficult to find a solution but in the next game we could find a rhythm and the most difficult set was at 1-1 when they were leading 9-6 and then we changed something with the risk ” said SAMARA. Sofia POLCANOVA and Bernadette SZOCS reached thye final withourt losing the game. They overcame Maria XIAO of Spain and Adina DIACONU of Romania (11:2 11:7 11:6) “We are unstoppable. And we are very happy that we won as easy because we prepared very well for this match tactically but also mentally. And we didn’t give up one second. Also at 2-0 I told Sofia that ‘we have to concentrate and we will win like before’ because we also have a singles match and we will have the finals tonight and we don’t want to be so tired ” said SZOCS.   Without losing the game throughout the whole Women’s Doubles Event at the European Championships in Munich Bernadette SZOCS of Romania and Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria reached the highest step of the medal rostrum. In the final they overcame Romania’s pairings Elizabeta SAMARA and Andreea DRAGOMAN (18:16 11:6 11:9). Bronze medalists are: Sarah DE NUTTE and NI Xia Lian of Luxembourg and Maria XIAO of Spain and Adina DIACONU of Romania. Romania won gold silver and one bronze medal in the women’s doubles. This is the first time an Association is winning three doubles medals in one event in European Championships. SAMARA played in her fifth final and she has two titles already.POLCANOVA played in two whilst for Bernadette and Andreea is first. “I cannot believe that we are first but at the same time I can believe it because we are a really strong double. We have worked very hard we dreamed about this and we are very happy that our dream come true. We hope that from now on we will always be in the same place. Until today I was very sad about my mixed final because we lost it but today I said to Sofia that we have to win a gold one because I don’t want to think any more about this. The silver in mixed doubles means a lot but gold is gold and I’m very happy that my dreams come true because we worked very hard or these European championships and generally my life is 99 per cent table tennis I am a sports girl so I am very happy that hard work pays off. In the mixed doubles it’s also very good because until now we were in third place two times and now we were in second place so it is better. I’m hoping that next year it will be even better ” said SZOCS. They reached the gold in superb style and dominated the field. “We worked hard for this goal. Each match we went in with the goal to win here. Even though we didn’t tell this to each other we knew that we wanted gold and we prepared a lot. I also came to Bucharest to practise doubles with her. We are also very good friends outside of the table and understand each other very much. That is also a key to our success. My dream to win a gold medal finally has come true and this medal means a lot to me because I was injured for a long time and to have a comeback like that I’m very proud of myself and of ‘Berni’ of both of us ” added POLCANOVA.

GARDOS and HABESOHN reached the fifth European Championships Doubles final in their career. In the semis they beat LEBRUN brothers 3:1 (3:11 11:7 11:8 11:6). French players commenced the match in furious style forced Austrian’s into errors so Austrian pairings had to change the tactics. “We had to play better. They were rushing really fast. We were not even ready in receive sometimes because they were going to the table already serving and we were not really prepared sometimes. I said to ‘Robbie’ that we have to make the game a little bit slower to take our time not that they force us throw up the ball and we are not even ready. They also played good they hit some good balls.We changed our tactics we changed our tempo and this was our main thing I think. That’s when they lost their rhythm a little bit and also made some easy mistakes and our quality was increasing over the duration of the match and I think this was the key ” said HABESOHN. In past few months HABESOHN and GARDOS reached the top level they had when they won their titles in 2018 and 2012. ” I said to Robbie before the competition ‘I want to have a third gold medal’. We were playing good in the past months maybe even in the past half year. The last tournament was good and I felt that we can make it. Speaking of their fifth final in doubles GARDIS said: “If you win it’s amazing if you lose it is the opposite. Right now it’s nice we are closer to our goal. You always want to win. We are happy to beat them to play a very good tournament until now and we will see. If you play a final you want to win. You don’t play the finals just for fun. We will try it we will prepare it and that’s why nothing is done until now.” On whether they felt in control of the match in the second game having lost the first game 11-3: “No if you don’t focus 100 per cent it can go very very fast against them. If you don’t play with a really high quality they go everything over the ball and they go very fast so they could kill us. “We had to keep a really high concentration and high quality balls so that they really couldn’t make this fast game. I think this was the key. If you just lose a little bit of quality they can punish you in two seconds.” On their way to third final in career Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON prevailed against teammates PERSSON and KALLBERG after four games (10:12 11:8 11:8 11:9). “They’ve done a fantastic tournament and were playing really well. I think the big difference is that we do it really well in the end of the third and fourth game. We tighten our play and manage to get a good quality in the end of the sets we get a bit more aggressive and get better returns and that was probably making the small difference today ” said FALCK. Kristian KARLSSON talked about his communication with FALCK during the match. “You talk a lot to each other during a doubles match and now it’s probably even more because we don’t have a coach with us. In doubles it’s all about being as good as possible in the first balls and I think we did that very well throughout the whole match.”   GARDOS/HABESOHN are the first pair to reach the men’s doubles finals for the 5th time. They won in 2012 and 2018 and were runner-up in 2013 and 2015. Until today they shared the record with Hans ALSER/Kjell JOHANSSON (SWE) and Timo BOLL/Christian SÜSS (GER) who played 4 finals together. ALSER/JOHANSSON won 1 and lost 3 BOLL/SÜSS won all their 4 finals. Kjell JOHANSSON is the record holder of men’s doubles finals. He played 7 consecutive finals from 1964 until 1976 4 with Alser and 3 with Stellan BENGTSSON. Timo BOLL played 5 the 5th one with Zoltan FEJER-KONNERTH. In addition: ALSER/JOHANSSON won Europeans in 1966 and Worlds in 1967  KALINIC/SURBEK won Europeans in 1982 and 1984 and Worlds in 1983  FALCK/KARLSSON won Worlds in 2021 and Europeans in 2022.     Newly crowned champions in Men’s Doubles Event at the European Championships in Munich are Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON of Sweden. In their third clash against Austria’s in the final in past 10 years they overcame Robert GARDOS and Daniel HABESOHN 3:1 (10:12 11:1 11:5 13:11). Alexis and Felix LEBRUN of France clinched bronze medal as well as Jon PERSSON and Anton KALLBERG of Sweden. Like four years ago in the final of the event in Alicante and in 2012 final in Herning Austrian pairings faced Sweden’s duo but this clash ended in favor of Swedes. FALCK and KARLSSON added this title to the one clinched few months ago at the World Champions in Huston. “We are really happy and really satisfied right now. We have been aiming for this title throughout the whole tournament. It was a tough final but I’m really happy the way we managed to play it ” said FALCK. On their match points in the fourth set FALCK said:”We had our match points but they are a strong pair. We were trying to keep calm and stay focused.It’s obviously very small margins in doubles. After we lost the first set I think we found more of a calm and took more control over the match. We got better control on the first balls and could put pressure on them. We got them a little bit out of balance. We said before the game that we should try to play long balls on them. They expect me to play short to build up for Kristian every time so I tried to be a little more aggressive playing a little longer to get them out of balance.

GARDOS and HABESOHN reached the fifth European Championships Doubles final in their career. In the semis they beat LEBRUN brothers 3:1 (3:11 11:7 11:8 11:6). French players commenced the match in furious style forced Austrian’s into errors so Austrian pairings had to change the tactics. “We had to play better. They were rushing really fast. We were not even ready in receive sometimes because they were going to the table already serving and we were not really prepared sometimes. I said to ‘Robbie’ that we have to make the game a little bit slower to take our time not that they force us throw up the ball and we are not even ready. They also played good they hit some good balls.We changed our tactics we changed our tempo and this was our main thing I think. That’s when they lost their rhythm a little bit and also made some easy mistakes and our quality was increasing over the duration of the match and I think this was the key ” said HABESOHN. In past few months HABESOHN and GARDOS reached the top level they had when they won their titles in 2018 and 2012. ” I said to Robbie before the competition ‘I want to have a third gold medal’. We were playing good in the past months maybe even in the past half year. The last tournament was good and I felt that we can make it. Speaking of their fifth final in doubles GARDIS said: “If you win it’s amazing if you lose it is the opposite. Right now it’s nice we are closer to our goal. You always want to win. We are happy to beat them to play a very good tournament until now and we will see. If you play a final you want to win. You don’t play the finals just for fun. We will try it we will prepare it and that’s why nothing is done until now.” On whether they felt in control of the match in the second game having lost the first game 11-3: “No if you don’t focus 100 per cent it can go very very fast against them. If you don’t play with a really high quality they go everything over the ball and they go very fast so they could kill us. “We had to keep a really high concentration and high quality balls so that they really couldn’t make this fast game. I think this was the key. If you just lose a little bit of quality they can punish you in two seconds.” On their way to third final in career Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON prevailed against teammates PERSSON and KALLBERG after four games (10:12 11:8 11:8 11:9). “They’ve done a fantastic tournament and were playing really well. I think the big difference is that we do it really well in the end of the third and fourth game. We tighten our play and manage to get a good quality in the end of the sets we get a bit more aggressive and get better returns and that was probably making the small difference today ” said FALCK. Kristian KARLSSON talked about his communication with FALCK during the match. “You talk a lot to each other during a doubles match and now it’s probably even more because we don’t have a coach with us. In doubles it’s all about being as good as possible in the first balls and I think we did that very well throughout the whole match.”   GARDOS/HABESOHN are the first pair to reach the men’s doubles finals for the 5th time. They won in 2012 and 2018 and were runner-up in 2013 and 2015. Until today they shared the record with Hans ALSER/Kjell JOHANSSON (SWE) and Timo BOLL/Christian SÜSS (GER) who played 4 finals together. ALSER/JOHANSSON won 1 and lost 3 BOLL/SÜSS won all their 4 finals. Kjell JOHANSSON is the record holder of men’s doubles finals. He played 7 consecutive finals from 1964 until 1976 4 with Alser and 3 with Stellan BENGTSSON. Timo BOLL played 5 the 5th one with Zoltan FEJER-KONNERTH. In addition: ALSER/JOHANSSON won Europeans in 1966 and Worlds in 1967  KALINIC/SURBEK won Europeans in 1982 and 1984 and Worlds in 1983  FALCK/KARLSSON won Worlds in 2021 and Europeans in 2022.     Newly crowned champions in Men’s Doubles Event at the European Championships in Munich are Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON of Sweden. In their third clash against Austria’s in the final in past 10 years they overcame Robert GARDOS and Daniel HABESOHN 3:1 (10:12 11:1 11:5 13:11). Alexis and Felix LEBRUN of France clinched bronze medal as well as Jon PERSSON and Anton KALLBERG of Sweden. Like four years ago in the final of the event in Alicante and in 2012 final in Herning Austrian pairings faced Sweden’s duo but this clash ended in favor of Swedes. FALCK and KARLSSON added this title to the one clinched few months ago at the World Champions in Huston. “We are really happy and really satisfied right now. We have been aiming for this title throughout the whole tournament. It was a tough final but I’m really happy the way we managed to play it ” said FALCK. On their match points in the fourth set FALCK said:”We had our match points but they are a strong pair. We were trying to keep calm and stay focused.It’s obviously very small margins in doubles. After we lost the first set I think we found more of a calm and took more control over the match. We got better control on the first balls and could put pressure on them. We got them a little bit out of balance. We said before the game that we should try to play long balls on them. They expect me to play short to build up for Kristian every time so I tried to be a little more aggressive playing a little longer to get them out of balance.

The top seeded player in the Women’s Singles Event at the European Championships in Munich HAN Ying booked her place in the Round of 16 without due alarm. In straight games HAN beat Cristina KALLBERG of Sweden (11:9 11:6 11:4 11:4). HAN Ying has the bronze from European Championships in Austria 2013. “I have never played against Cristina but I was aware how dangerous she could be. That is why the opening game was the most difficult to me. I needed the time to feel her game to use the right tactics. She is good with the players with defensive style of play ” said HAN. In the Round of 16 HAN will meet her teammate Sabine WINTER who survived epic seven games thriller against Irina CIOBANU of Romania (7:11 10:12 11:7 7:11 11:6 12:10 12:10). “I wanted so much to record the win here in front of my people. I already had unsatisfied result in mixed doubles and doubles that I put myself under great pressure. Nothing worked in my favor but I kept on fighting and trying ” said WINTER. Hana MATELOVA of Czech Republic faced earlier exit than her rankings predict. Italy’s Giorgia PICOLIN seed no. 23 was in charge for the morning upset and departure of no. 5 seed MATELOVA 4:2 (9:11 11;9 11:8 11:6 8:11 11:8). “We met maybe once in 2014 but it was so long ago that was not very helpful today. Since then I improve my game a lot. However I had an opportunity to see a lot of her games especially in the French League ” said PICOLIN.”The biggest challenge today was to prevent myself of rushing into the points. I needed to calm down and to play point by point and that was not an easy task. When I fell I could win I go for direct points usually I am trying to finish it quick. Today at 3:1 it almost cost me a lot but even when I lost the fifth game I did not want to let her set into the game comfortable. I was fighting very strong and in next I managed to finish the match. Few balls in sixth game after 7:3 were dangerous but I stayed on the winning track.” After yesterday’s win over YU Fu of Portugal Sabina SURJAN of Serbia cleared her way in the Round of 32. Win over Karoline MISCHEK of Austria was very effective and quick 4:0 (11:8 11:7 11:9 11:6). “Usually when I am the favorite in the match I am not relaxed at all. I feel the great pressure. However today it was different. The win over FU Yu gave me great dose of confidence and I played relaxed ” said SURJAN. Tatiana KUKULKOVA of Slovakia overcame Tetyana BILENKO of Ukraine 4:1 (11:4 11:8 11:4 5:11 11:7). SHAN Xiaona of Germany beat Poland’s Katarzyna WEGRZYN 4:0 (11:9 11:4 11:3 11:7). “I played much better that yesterday against Tania PLAIAN. After so long time of not having the spectators in the venue I was overwhelmed with noice I was listening and found hard to focus on the play. Today it was much better I was little nervous but not to much. In addition we never played against each other before and that always work in my favor. For my adversaries is hard to read my style of play ” said SHAN. SHAN will meet Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania who beat Dora MADARASZ of Hungary 4:3 (11:8 6:11 11:5 17:19 7:11 13:11 11:8). At 3:2 SAMARA saved three match balls before she recovered to win the match. “Dora is my “nightmare” adversary. I told her that. We are good friends off the field but in the arena I do not like to play against her. In previous occasions in Minsk and Singapore she beat me 3:0 I was left without the chance in those duels. That is why she had advantage today but it was open game.In the moments when I faced the match balls I managed to calm down I got the support from the tribunes and it all worked well. I was calm and focused on each point ” said SAMARA. Austria’s Sofia POLCANOVA overcame Tin Tin HO of England in five games (11:9 11:9 1:9 9:11 11:8) whilst Prithika PAVADE of France lost thrilling seven games match against NI Xia Lian 3:4 (11:2 11:8 9:11 7:11 11:9 2:11 5:11). NI will meet Bernadette SZOCS of Romania. Romania’s player overcame Georgina POTA of Hungary in straight games (11:7 11:7 11:8 11:3). Natalia PARTYKA faced the match point in the decisive seventh game but she managed to recover to win her duel (11:2 11:6 7:11 11:6 9:11 5:11 12:10). Partyka was leading 3:1 in games and 9:7 in fifth game when Hana changed the course of the match. “Well that is the beauty of the table tennis. I was watching CIOBANU in my room of coming back from 1:3 and 3:8 I saw Timo also recovering from being behind in the match against our Samuel…that is it you have to play all 11 points ” said Natalia.” It should of been 4:1 for me but Hana proved it wrong.” At 3:3 ARAPOVIC had match balls at 10:6 but PARTYKA maintained her patience to win. “She was under big stress and I was calm. Hana needed just one ball but sometimes it is so far ” said PARTYKA. Nina MITTELHAM overcame WAN Yuan her teammate from the German team 4:1 (11:2 11:6 11:3 9:11 12:10) YUAN Jianan of France beat Natalia BAJOR of Poland 4:1 (11:9 11:6 11:6 9:11 11:6). Andreea DRAGOMAN progressed to the next round after victory over Linda BERGSTROM of Sweden 4:1 (11:9 4:11 16:14 11:9 11:7). The very last to book her place in top 16 were Margaryta PESOTSKA of Ukraine. She beat Maria XIAO of Spain (11:8 3:11 11:8 11:7 8:11 11:6).  

The top seeded player in the Women’s Singles Event at the European Championships in Munich HAN Ying booked her place in the Round of 16 without due alarm. In straight games HAN beat Cristina KALLBERG of Sweden (11:9 11:6 11:4 11:4). HAN Ying has the bronze from European Championships in Austria 2013. “I have never played against Cristina but I was aware how dangerous she could be. That is why the opening game was the most difficult to me. I needed the time to feel her game to use the right tactics. She is good with the players with defensive style of play ” said HAN. In the Round of 16 HAN will meet her teammate Sabine WINTER who survived epic seven games thriller against Irina CIOBANU of Romania (7:11 10:12 11:7 7:11 11:6 12:10 12:10). “I wanted so much to record the win here in front of my people. I already had unsatisfied result in mixed doubles and doubles that I put myself under great pressure. Nothing worked in my favor but I kept on fighting and trying ” said WINTER. Hana MATELOVA of Czech Republic faced earlier exit than her rankings predict. Italy’s Giorgia PICOLIN seed no. 23 was in charge for the morning upset and departure of no. 5 seed MATELOVA 4:2 (9:11 11;9 11:8 11:6 8:11 11:8). “We met maybe once in 2014 but it was so long ago that was not very helpful today. Since then I improve my game a lot. However I had an opportunity to see a lot of her games especially in the French League ” said PICOLIN.”The biggest challenge today was to prevent myself of rushing into the points. I needed to calm down and to play point by point and that was not an easy task. When I fell I could win I go for direct points usually I am trying to finish it quick. Today at 3:1 it almost cost me a lot but even when I lost the fifth game I did not want to let her set into the game comfortable. I was fighting very strong and in next I managed to finish the match. Few balls in sixth game after 7:3 were dangerous but I stayed on the winning track.” After yesterday’s win over YU Fu of Portugal Sabina SURJAN of Serbia cleared her way in the Round of 32. Win over Karoline MISCHEK of Austria was very effective and quick 4:0 (11:8 11:7 11:9 11:6). “Usually when I am the favorite in the match I am not relaxed at all. I feel the great pressure. However today it was different. The win over FU Yu gave me great dose of confidence and I played relaxed ” said SURJAN. Tatiana KUKULKOVA of Slovakia overcame Tetyana BILENKO of Ukraine 4:1 (11:4 11:8 11:4 5:11 11:7). SHAN Xiaona of Germany beat Poland’s Katarzyna WEGRZYN 4:0 (11:9 11:4 11:3 11:7). “I played much better that yesterday against Tania PLAIAN. After so long time of not having the spectators in the venue I was overwhelmed with noice I was listening and found hard to focus on the play. Today it was much better I was little nervous but not to much. In addition we never played against each other before and that always work in my favor. For my adversaries is hard to read my style of play ” said SHAN. SHAN will meet Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania who beat Dora MADARASZ of Hungary 4:3 (11:8 6:11 11:5 17:19 7:11 13:11 11:8). At 3:2 SAMARA saved three match balls before she recovered to win the match. “Dora is my “nightmare” adversary. I told her that. We are good friends off the field but in the arena I do not like to play against her. In previous occasions in Minsk and Singapore she beat me 3:0 I was left without the chance in those duels. That is why she had advantage today but it was open game.In the moments when I faced the match balls I managed to calm down I got the support from the tribunes and it all worked well. I was calm and focused on each point ” said SAMARA. Austria’s Sofia POLCANOVA overcame Tin Tin HO of England in five games (11:9 11:9 1:9 9:11 11:8) whilst Prithika PAVADE of France lost thrilling seven games match against NI Xia Lian 3:4 (11:2 11:8 9:11 7:11 11:9 2:11 5:11). NI will meet Bernadette SZOCS of Romania. Romania’s player overcame Georgina POTA of Hungary in straight games (11:7 11:7 11:8 11:3). Natalia PARTYKA faced the match point in the decisive seventh game but she managed to recover to win her duel (11:2 11:6 7:11 11:6 9:11 5:11 12:10). Partyka was leading 3:1 in games and 9:7 in fifth game when Hana changed the course of the match. “Well that is the beauty of the table tennis. I was watching CIOBANU in my room of coming back from 1:3 and 3:8 I saw Timo also recovering from being behind in the match against our Samuel…that is it you have to play all 11 points ” said Natalia.” It should of been 4:1 for me but Hana proved it wrong.” At 3:3 ARAPOVIC had match balls at 10:6 but PARTYKA maintained her patience to win. “She was under big stress and I was calm. Hana needed just one ball but sometimes it is so far ” said PARTYKA. Nina MITTELHAM overcame WAN Yuan her teammate from the German team 4:1 (11:2 11:6 11:3 9:11 12:10) YUAN Jianan of France beat Natalia BAJOR of Poland 4:1 (11:9 11:6 11:6 9:11 11:6). Andreea DRAGOMAN progressed to the next round after victory over Linda BERGSTROM of Sweden 4:1 (11:9 4:11 16:14 11:9 11:7). The very last to book her place in top 16 were Margaryta PESOTSKA of Ukraine. She beat Maria XIAO of Spain (11:8 3:11 11:8 11:7 8:11 11:6).  

The top seeded player in the Women’s Singles Event at the European Championships in Munich HAN Ying booked her place in the Round of 16 without due alarm. In straight games HAN beat Cristina KALLBERG of Sweden (11:9 11:6 11:4 11:4). HAN Ying has the bronze from European Championships in Austria 2013. “I have never played against Cristina but I was aware how dangerous she could be. That is why the opening game was the most difficult to me. I needed the time to feel her game to use the right tactics. She is good with the players with defensive style of play ” said HAN. In the Round of 16 HAN will meet her teammate Sabine WINTER who survived epic seven games thriller against Irina CIOBANU of Romania (7:11 10:12 11:7 7:11 11:6 12:10 12:10). “I wanted so much to record the win here in front of my people. I already had unsatisfied result in mixed doubles and doubles that I put myself under great pressure. Nothing worked in my favor but I kept on fighting and trying ” said WINTER. Hana MATELOVA of Czech Republic faced earlier exit than her rankings predict. Italy’s Giorgia PICOLIN seed no. 23 was in charge for the morning upset and departure of no. 5 seed MATELOVA 4:2 (9:11 11;9 11:8 11:6 8:11 11:8). “We met maybe once in 2014 but it was so long ago that was not very helpful today. Since then I improve my game a lot. However I had an opportunity to see a lot of her games especially in the French League ” said PICOLIN.”The biggest challenge today was to prevent myself of rushing into the points. I needed to calm down and to play point by point and that was not an easy task. When I fell I could win I go for direct points usually I am trying to finish it quick. Today at 3:1 it almost cost me a lot but even when I lost the fifth game I did not want to let her set into the game comfortable. I was fighting very strong and in next I managed to finish the match. Few balls in sixth game after 7:3 were dangerous but I stayed on the winning track.” After yesterday’s win over YU Fu of Portugal Sabina SURJAN of Serbia cleared her way in the Round of 32. Win over Karoline MISCHEK of Austria was very effective and quick 4:0 (11:8 11:7 11:9 11:6). “Usually when I am the favorite in the match I am not relaxed at all. I feel the great pressure. However today it was different. The win over FU Yu gave me great dose of confidence and I played relaxed ” said SURJAN. Tatiana KUKULKOVA of Slovakia overcame Tetyana BILENKO of Ukraine 4:1 (11:4 11:8 11:4 5:11 11:7). SHAN Xiaona of Germany beat Poland’s Katarzyna WEGRZYN 4:0 (11:9 11:4 11:3 11:7). “I played much better that yesterday against Tania PLAIAN. After so long time of not having the spectators in the venue I was overwhelmed with noice I was listening and found hard to focus on the play. Today it was much better I was little nervous but not to much. In addition we never played against each other before and that always work in my favor. For my adversaries is hard to read my style of play ” said SHAN. SHAN will meet Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania who beat Dora MADARASZ of Hungary 4:3 (11:8 6:11 11:5 17:19 7:11 13:11 11:8). At 3:2 SAMARA saved three match balls before she recovered to win the match. “Dora is my “nightmare” adversary. I told her that. We are good friends off the field but in the arena I do not like to play against her. In previous occasions in Minsk and Singapore she beat me 3:0 I was left without the chance in those duels. That is why she had advantage today but it was open game.In the moments when I faced the match balls I managed to calm down I got the support from the tribunes and it all worked well. I was calm and focused on each point ” said SAMARA. Austria’s Sofia POLCANOVA overcame Tin Tin HO of England in five games (11:9 11:9 1:9 9:11 11:8) whilst Prithika PAVADE of France lost thrilling seven games match against NI Xia Lian 3:4 (11:2 11:8 9:11 7:11 11:9 2:11 5:11). NI will meet Bernadette SZOCS of Romania. Romania’s player overcame Georgina POTA of Hungary in straight games (11:7 11:7 11:8 11:3). Natalia PARTYKA faced the match point in the decisive seventh game but she managed to recover to win her duel (11:2 11:6 7:11 11:6 9:11 5:11 12:10). Partyka was leading 3:1 in games and 9:7 in fifth game when Hana changed the course of the match. “Well that is the beauty of the table tennis. I was watching CIOBANU in my room of coming back from 1:3 and 3:8 I saw Timo also recovering from being behind in the match against our Samuel…that is it you have to play all 11 points ” said Natalia.” It should of been 4:1 for me but Hana proved it wrong.” At 3:3 ARAPOVIC had match balls at 10:6 but PARTYKA maintained her patience to win. “She was under big stress and I was calm. Hana needed just one ball but sometimes it is so far ” said PARTYKA. Nina MITTELHAM overcame WAN Yuan her teammate from the German team 4:1 (11:2 11:6 11:3 9:11 12:10) YUAN Jianan of France beat Natalia BAJOR of Poland 4:1 (11:9 11:6 11:6 9:11 11:6). Andreea DRAGOMAN progressed to the next round after victory over Linda BERGSTROM of Sweden 4:1 (11:9 4:11 16:14 11:9 11:7). The very last to book her place in top 16 were Margaryta PESOTSKA of Ukraine. She beat Maria XIAO of Spain (11:8 3:11 11:8 11:7 8:11 11:6).  

In the opening round of the Men’s singles event top favorites justified their status but it was not easy round for most of them. Top seeded Truls MOREGARDH of Sweden overcame Tamas LAKATOS of Hungary in six games whilst defending champion Timo BOLL needed full seven games to overcame spirited game of Samuel KULCZYCKI of Poland. In real drama that kept the spectators at the edge of their seats German record holder in number of titles in Europe prevailed. “I studied his game and I was warned. He is very good with the left handed players; already had beat KARLSSON DUDA…He played very good in the opening game. He put me under severe pressure but as it is case with young players in the finish he hesitated to win. I know that feeling from my early ages. I have been there too ” said BOLL. For the last moment it was not clear should be Timo capable to play at the Championships in Munich. “Twice in had broken ribs and I missed few weeks of training. I did not start well but it happened before it was not something that scared me. I just keep on playing ” said BOLL. On Friday Patrick FRANZISKA become father of little Tyler. Today he entered the venue for a first time. “I was not sleeping at all. It is amazing feeling ” said Patrick. He beat Pavel SIRUCEK if Czech Republic in straight games. “We were at the training together two weeks ago. It was not easy to play against him at all no meter what the result predicts ” said Patrick. Alexis LEBRUN of France continued with good games. He beat Belgium’s Martin ALLEGRO in five games. “I am little bit tired now. It has been long day with a lot of difficult matches. However I won them all so I am happy now. Match against Martin was very difficult in a way that I had to think a lot. Only after third game I managed to get into the rhythm and to control the match ” said LEBRUN.  

In the opening round of the Men’s singles event top favorites justified their status but it was not easy round for most of them. Top seeded Truls MOREGARDH of Sweden overcame Tamas LAKATOS of Hungary in six games whilst defending champion Timo BOLL needed full seven games to overcame spirited game of Samuel KULCZYCKI of Poland. In real drama that kept the spectators at the edge of their seats German record holder in number of titles in Europe prevailed. “I studied his game and I was warned. He is very good with the left handed players; already had beat KARLSSON DUDA…He played very good in the opening game. He put me under severe pressure but as it is case with young players in the finish he hesitated to win. I know that feeling from my early ages. I have been there too ” said BOLL. For the last moment it was not clear should be Timo capable to play at the Championships in Munich. “Twice in had broken ribs and I missed few weeks of training. I did not start well but it happened before it was not something that scared me. I just keep on playing ” said BOLL. On Friday Patrick FRANZISKA become father of little Tyler. Today he entered the venue for a first time. “I was not sleeping at all. It is amazing feeling ” said Patrick. He beat Pavel SIRUCEK if Czech Republic in straight games. “We were at the training together two weeks ago. It was not easy to play against him at all no meter what the result predicts ” said Patrick. Alexis LEBRUN of France continued with good games. He beat Belgium’s Martin ALLEGRO in five games. “I am little bit tired now. It has been long day with a lot of difficult matches. However I won them all so I am happy now. Match against Martin was very difficult in a way that I had to think a lot. Only after third game I managed to get into the rhythm and to control the match ” said LEBRUN.  

In the opening round of the Men’s singles event top favorites justified their status but it was not easy round for most of them. Top seeded Truls MOREGARDH of Sweden overcame Tamas LAKATOS of Hungary in six games whilst defending champion Timo BOLL needed full seven games to overcame spirited game of Samuel KULCZYCKI of Poland. In real drama that kept the spectators at the edge of their seats German record holder in number of titles in Europe prevailed. “I studied his game and I was warned. He is very good with the left handed players; already had beat KARLSSON DUDA…He played very good in the opening game. He put me under severe pressure but as it is case with young players in the finish he hesitated to win. I know that feeling from my early ages. I have been there too ” said BOLL. For the last moment it was not clear should be Timo capable to play at the Championships in Munich. “Twice in had broken ribs and I missed few weeks of training. I did not start well but it happened before it was not something that scared me. I just keep on playing ” said BOLL. On Friday Patrick FRANZISKA become father of little Tyler. Today he entered the venue for a first time. “I was not sleeping at all. It is amazing feeling ” said Patrick. He beat Pavel SIRUCEK if Czech Republic in straight games. “We were at the training together two weeks ago. It was not easy to play against him at all no meter what the result predicts ” said Patrick. Alexis LEBRUN of France continued with good games. He beat Belgium’s Martin ALLEGRO in five games. “I am little bit tired now. It has been long day with a lot of difficult matches. However I won them all so I am happy now. Match against Martin was very difficult in a way that I had to think a lot. Only after third game I managed to get into the rhythm and to control the match ” said LEBRUN.  

In the semi final of the Women’s Doubles Event at the European Championships Munich 2022 top seeds Sarah DE NUTTE and NI Xia Lian of Luxembourg will meet Andreea DRAGOMAN and Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania. Romania secured more two medals in doubles since in other semi final Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria and Bernadette SZOCS of Romania will meet Maria XIAO of Spain and Adina DIACONU of Romania. Andreea DRAGOMAN and Elizabeta SAMARA overcame Hana MATELOVA of Czech Republic and Barbora BALAZOVA of Slovakia in their quarterfinal duel. SAMARA recovered from the surgery and despite here previous successes she was more than thrilled to reach the medal rostrum again. “The opening game was important. It could went either ways but since it went on our account it gave us advantage ” said SAMARA.”When I saw the draw I thought we could win. I just had that feeling.” The Romanian pairings did not have the medal together at the European Championships. At the World Championships they lost in the quarterfinal. “I am so honored to play with Liza here ” said DRAGOMAN. Luxembourg’s NI Xia Lian and Sarah DE NUTTE beat Linda BERGSTROM and Christina KALLBERG of Sweden in the quarterfinal. “It’s wonderful. It’s always a challenge. Everybody is very strong and we are very satisfied until now. Of course we want the best but we also respect that everybody has got the chance and we can only show our best.” On what made her and Sarah DE NUTTE beat Linda BERGSTROM and Christina KALLBERG: “Because we are clever. Of course everybody is clever and sometimes it shows and sometimes you’re not able to show it. If you have a good day and you can show it it is a fantastic feeling. And this is what we are fighting for.” On her motivation to keep chasing medals aged 59: “I’m always motivated. If you have no motivation you better stay home. You have a responsibility. In your life you must keep your promise or keep doing what you do best. This is in my personality and if I agree I want to give it 100 per cent minimum – 120 even. We have a good team I have a good partner a good coach everything is fantastic. And we try – maybe we succeed maybe not. It’s very interesting.” Speaking on De NUTTE:”She is a very good partner a very good player a very smart girl. We are very happy together that’s why you see we’ve got such a good harmony. It’s fun to play and even more fun to win.It is not every day you have this chance so we have to cherish it.” Maria XIAO and Adina DIACONU teamed up for a first time here in Munich. In the quarters they overcame Nina MITTELHAM and Sabine WINTER. “They were favorites but our game was very difficult for them. We felt it and it gave us confidence. We halted their spin ” explain Maria XIAO. Luxembourg’s pairings lost only one game in their second round match. Serbia’s Dragana VIGNJEVIC and Izabela LUPULESKU were on the other side of the table. It was sad end for the young German duo Annett KAUFMANN and Franziska SCHREINER in the Round two. They faced their teammates and Warsaw runners’ up Sabine WINTER and Nina MITTELHAM. More experienced duo concluded the match in straight games. “I think we both wished to play someone else. At international competitions it’s nicer not to play against the German players especially in the home country because you normally have the crowds supporting you but now you don’t have that “ said WINTER. “”Nina and I played a lot better than yesterday. We were thinking a lot about this match and had some good tactics that worked. Now we are happy that we are in the quarterfinals.” Franziska SCHREINER said:”We could play better but our adversaries today played in a way that was very uncomfortable for us so we didn’t have a chance to play our best balls. In the end it is difficult to win against former European champions when we don’t play our best.” Another nation’s players in the Round of 16 had to decide who will go into the quarters among themselves. Filippa BERGAND and Christina KÄLLBERG beat Reabecca MUSKANTOR and Filippa BERGAND. “I think both Linda and I were a little nervous in the beginning so we didn’t get a nice and comfortable feeling but then we immediately got a good start of the second set and then we got into it. After that it felt like we started to control the game again and I think that is why we won the match ” said KALLBERG. Romania’s Bernadette SZOSC and Austria’s Sofia POLCANOVA overcame SHAO Jieni and YU Fu of Portugal in the match for the medal. “Bernie and I had a break we did not play together for a while because I had a surgery. I am very happy that Bernie waited for me although she had other propositions ” said POLCANOVA. Bernadette confirmed and explained:”I knew Sofia will come back ready and that we will make it together. We are not only good pairings we are also good friends.” In the quarters they did not give a lot of space to Portugal’s pairings. “We were well prepared. We had few tactics a lot of variations to play atacking and in defending style ” explained Bernadette.”We did not lost the game here and we are not planing to do so.”