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.”

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.”

On their first appearance at the senior European Championships 18 years Alexis and 15 years old Felix LEBRUN clinched the medal in the Men’s Doubles Event at the European Championships 2022 in Munich. In the semi final they will play against two times champions Robert GARDOS and Daniel HABESOHN of Austria. In other semi final the title holders at the last World Championships and top seeds Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON will meet teammates Jon PERSSON and Anton KALLBERG of Sweden. Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON overcame Martin ALLEGRO and Florian LAMBIET of Belgium in the quarterfinal in straight games. They were down 6:1 and 8:4 in second game but recovered to win. “It didn’t feel like we were that far away and we thought ’OK then we can make them use their time out’ then there’s only three balls left and then you do two good things and then you’re even. It goes fast in table tennis it goes very very fast. They are a skillful doubles pair you’ve got to have respect for that. We’ve seen them play evenly against Chinese players. Especially Allegro is a very good doubles player ” said KARLSSON. On having two silver medals and two bronze medals from European championships doubles: “We can take two gold medals now so that we’ve got two of everything then we can quit this.” They will meet their teammates PERSSON and KALLBERG in the semifinal: “That would’ve been fun then we are sure to have one pair in the final so we would happily take that. We know Jon and Anton very well but they also know us very well. .” Mattias FALCK added: “The second game was definitely important. I think we play really good doubles throughout the whole match. Perhaps we miss some return and make some easy opening mistakes in the beginning of the second set that gives them a small lead. But if you take away those balls we almost play a completely perfect doubles match. The more games you get in a European championships in the main hall the better you feel. But I think we’ve done three good doubles games. We’ve got a good feeling and look forward to tomorrow .” In the Round of 16 Swedes beat Danish pairings Tobias RASMUSEN and Martin ANDERSEN on their way to the quarterfinal. “It is very strong Danish duo and they created a lot of good chances for the. It was not easy match ” said KARLSSON.   LEBRUN brothers Alexis and Felix are moving forward in big steps. In the quarterfinal they overcame Milosz REDZIMSKI and Vladimir URSU the Polish-Moldavian combination to win the medal on their first European senior Championships. “I feel amazing. It is amazing for us to get a medal. It’s unbelievable ” said Felix.” We had advantage 2-0 and play very good in the first two games then it become more difficult for us they play better and better game by game so at the end we won 11-9 in the fourth game and it was a very difficult set.” Alexis LEBRUN added:”We expected a good result because we have played good all year but it is our first European championships so it’s always hard to get medals. We are so happy to win this match and to have this medal. We have played better and better throughout the year and we will just have to continue to improve and we hope that is good enough for getting the gold medal.” Against REDZIMSKI and URSU they lost only third game: “We tried to forget about the last game because it was not the same composition so we tried to think about the game before that. We played like we played in that set and it went OK.” Asked if the age difference makes the difference in this doubles Alexis said: “Not at all. You could see it today I took the control in opening two games but when I lost the rhythm Felix was the one who took the lead. He is mature enough to stood the pressure and it only depends on moment who will be in charge ” explained Alexis. Alexis and Felix showed very powerful performance in the Round of 16 against Dimitrije LEVAJAC and Andrei PUTUNTICA. “We were down two times 5:7 but with little adaptation of the tactics and better spin on first ball we managed to recover and to win the match ” said Felix. To win the medal Jon PERSSON and Anton KALLBERG overcame Polish pairings Maciej KUBIK and Samuel KULCZYTCKI. Once again they needed full five games for that. “This time it was a little bit the opposite; we were ahead and they caught up. But we managed to close it in the end which was nice. We are insanely happy to be in the semifinal we weren’t ranked to be there and we’ve almost been knocked out two matches in a row. But we are there and it’s amazing. We’ve fought us through three doubles matches and won all three of them in a deciding game. But it’s an insanely nice feeling when you walk away with that kind of victory even though it’s been a battle. We’ve really got to fight for it but it’s incredibly nice ” said PERSSON. PERSSON has one bronze medal from 2008: “Then I have been in some quarterfinals so it is nice to take it (the medal) again. It’s not been that many years .” On playing teammates Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson in the semifinal: “It will be a lot of fun an all-Swedish game. We will tease them a little bit tonight. It is a very good doubles pair – they won the world championships recently. It’ll be nice to go in to play them in the semifinal. It’ll just be a nice game and we will focus everything we can to win the game but it will be tough.” KALLBERG added on winning at least a bronze medal

On their first appearance at the senior European Championships 18 years Alexis and 15 years old Felix LEBRUN clinched the medal in the Men’s Doubles Event at the European Championships 2022 in Munich. In the semi final they will play against two times champions Robert GARDOS and Daniel HABESOHN of Austria. In other semi final the title holders at the last World Championships and top seeds Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON will meet teammates Jon PERSSON and Anton KALLBERG of Sweden. Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON overcame Martin ALLEGRO and Florian LAMBIET of Belgium in the quarterfinal in straight games. They were down 6:1 and 8:4 in second game but recovered to win. “It didn’t feel like we were that far away and we thought ’OK then we can make them use their time out’ then there’s only three balls left and then you do two good things and then you’re even. It goes fast in table tennis it goes very very fast. They are a skillful doubles pair you’ve got to have respect for that. We’ve seen them play evenly against Chinese players. Especially Allegro is a very good doubles player ” said KARLSSON. On having two silver medals and two bronze medals from European championships doubles: “We can take two gold medals now so that we’ve got two of everything then we can quit this.” They will meet their teammates PERSSON and KALLBERG in the semifinal: “That would’ve been fun then we are sure to have one pair in the final so we would happily take that. We know Jon and Anton very well but they also know us very well. .” Mattias FALCK added: “The second game was definitely important. I think we play really good doubles throughout the whole match. Perhaps we miss some return and make some easy opening mistakes in the beginning of the second set that gives them a small lead. But if you take away those balls we almost play a completely perfect doubles match. The more games you get in a European championships in the main hall the better you feel. But I think we’ve done three good doubles games. We’ve got a good feeling and look forward to tomorrow .” In the Round of 16 Swedes beat Danish pairings Tobias RASMUSEN and Martin ANDERSEN on their way to the quarterfinal. “It is very strong Danish duo and they created a lot of good chances for the. It was not easy match ” said KARLSSON.   LEBRUN brothers Alexis and Felix are moving forward in big steps. In the quarterfinal they overcame Milosz REDZIMSKI and Vladimir URSU the Polish-Moldavian combination to win the medal on their first European senior Championships. “I feel amazing. It is amazing for us to get a medal. It’s unbelievable ” said Felix.” We had advantage 2-0 and play very good in the first two games then it become more difficult for us they play better and better game by game so at the end we won 11-9 in the fourth game and it was a very difficult set.” Alexis LEBRUN added:”We expected a good result because we have played good all year but it is our first European championships so it’s always hard to get medals. We are so happy to win this match and to have this medal. We have played better and better throughout the year and we will just have to continue to improve and we hope that is good enough for getting the gold medal.” Against REDZIMSKI and URSU they lost only third game: “We tried to forget about the last game because it was not the same composition so we tried to think about the game before that. We played like we played in that set and it went OK.” Asked if the age difference makes the difference in this doubles Alexis said: “Not at all. You could see it today I took the control in opening two games but when I lost the rhythm Felix was the one who took the lead. He is mature enough to stood the pressure and it only depends on moment who will be in charge ” explained Alexis. Alexis and Felix showed very powerful performance in the Round of 16 against Dimitrije LEVAJAC and Andrei PUTUNTICA. “We were down two times 5:7 but with little adaptation of the tactics and better spin on first ball we managed to recover and to win the match ” said Felix. To win the medal Jon PERSSON and Anton KALLBERG overcame Polish pairings Maciej KUBIK and Samuel KULCZYTCKI. Once again they needed full five games for that. “This time it was a little bit the opposite; we were ahead and they caught up. But we managed to close it in the end which was nice. We are insanely happy to be in the semifinal we weren’t ranked to be there and we’ve almost been knocked out two matches in a row. But we are there and it’s amazing. We’ve fought us through three doubles matches and won all three of them in a deciding game. But it’s an insanely nice feeling when you walk away with that kind of victory even though it’s been a battle. We’ve really got to fight for it but it’s incredibly nice ” said PERSSON. PERSSON has one bronze medal from 2008: “Then I have been in some quarterfinals so it is nice to take it (the medal) again. It’s not been that many years .” On playing teammates Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson in the semifinal: “It will be a lot of fun an all-Swedish game. We will tease them a little bit tonight. It is a very good doubles pair – they won the world championships recently. It’ll be nice to go in to play them in the semifinal. It’ll just be a nice game and we will focus everything we can to win the game but it will be tough.” KALLBERG added on winning at least a bronze medal

On their first appearance at the senior European Championships 18 years Alexis and 15 years old Felix LEBRUN clinched the medal in the Men’s Doubles Event at the European Championships 2022 in Munich. In the semi final they will play against two times champions Robert GARDOS and Daniel HABESOHN of Austria. In other semi final the title holders at the last World Championships and top seeds Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON will meet teammates Jon PERSSON and Anton KALLBERG of Sweden. Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON overcame Martin ALLEGRO and Florian LAMBIET of Belgium in the quarterfinal in straight games. They were down 6:1 and 8:4 in second game but recovered to win. “It didn’t feel like we were that far away and we thought ’OK then we can make them use their time out’ then there’s only three balls left and then you do two good things and then you’re even. It goes fast in table tennis it goes very very fast. They are a skillful doubles pair you’ve got to have respect for that. We’ve seen them play evenly against Chinese players. Especially Allegro is a very good doubles player ” said KARLSSON. On having two silver medals and two bronze medals from European championships doubles: “We can take two gold medals now so that we’ve got two of everything then we can quit this.” They will meet their teammates PERSSON and KALLBERG in the semifinal: “That would’ve been fun then we are sure to have one pair in the final so we would happily take that. We know Jon and Anton very well but they also know us very well. .” Mattias FALCK added: “The second game was definitely important. I think we play really good doubles throughout the whole match. Perhaps we miss some return and make some easy opening mistakes in the beginning of the second set that gives them a small lead. But if you take away those balls we almost play a completely perfect doubles match. The more games you get in a European championships in the main hall the better you feel. But I think we’ve done three good doubles games. We’ve got a good feeling and look forward to tomorrow .” In the Round of 16 Swedes beat Danish pairings Tobias RASMUSEN and Martin ANDERSEN on their way to the quarterfinal. “It is very strong Danish duo and they created a lot of good chances for the. It was not easy match ” said KARLSSON.   LEBRUN brothers Alexis and Felix are moving forward in big steps. In the quarterfinal they overcame Milosz REDZIMSKI and Vladimir URSU the Polish-Moldavian combination to win the medal on their first European senior Championships. “I feel amazing. It is amazing for us to get a medal. It’s unbelievable ” said Felix.” We had advantage 2-0 and play very good in the first two games then it become more difficult for us they play better and better game by game so at the end we won 11-9 in the fourth game and it was a very difficult set.” Alexis LEBRUN added:”We expected a good result because we have played good all year but it is our first European championships so it’s always hard to get medals. We are so happy to win this match and to have this medal. We have played better and better throughout the year and we will just have to continue to improve and we hope that is good enough for getting the gold medal.” Against REDZIMSKI and URSU they lost only third game: “We tried to forget about the last game because it was not the same composition so we tried to think about the game before that. We played like we played in that set and it went OK.” Asked if the age difference makes the difference in this doubles Alexis said: “Not at all. You could see it today I took the control in opening two games but when I lost the rhythm Felix was the one who took the lead. He is mature enough to stood the pressure and it only depends on moment who will be in charge ” explained Alexis. Alexis and Felix showed very powerful performance in the Round of 16 against Dimitrije LEVAJAC and Andrei PUTUNTICA. “We were down two times 5:7 but with little adaptation of the tactics and better spin on first ball we managed to recover and to win the match ” said Felix. To win the medal Jon PERSSON and Anton KALLBERG overcame Polish pairings Maciej KUBIK and Samuel KULCZYTCKI. Once again they needed full five games for that. “This time it was a little bit the opposite; we were ahead and they caught up. But we managed to close it in the end which was nice. We are insanely happy to be in the semifinal we weren’t ranked to be there and we’ve almost been knocked out two matches in a row. But we are there and it’s amazing. We’ve fought us through three doubles matches and won all three of them in a deciding game. But it’s an insanely nice feeling when you walk away with that kind of victory even though it’s been a battle. We’ve really got to fight for it but it’s incredibly nice ” said PERSSON. PERSSON has one bronze medal from 2008: “Then I have been in some quarterfinals so it is nice to take it (the medal) again. It’s not been that many years .” On playing teammates Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson in the semifinal: “It will be a lot of fun an all-Swedish game. We will tease them a little bit tonight. It is a very good doubles pair – they won the world championships recently. It’ll be nice to go in to play them in the semifinal. It’ll just be a nice game and we will focus everything we can to win the game but it will be tough.” KALLBERG added on winning at least a bronze medal

Placed at the position no. 37 at the seedings of the Women’s Singles Event at the European Championships in Munich 2022 Sabina SURJAN of Serbia caused a major upset in the Round of 64. Sabina beat no. 7 seed YU Fu of Portugal runner up at the European Championships 2016 in Budapest. Sabina won after six games (9:11 13:11 14:16 11:9 11:9). “I really had a tough journey towards main draw and best of 64. I was only second in the group stage had to play two matches in the preliminary round; beat Romania’s BALLINT in the decisive game by narrow margin…It was hard journey but it paid off. On the other side YU had her first match in Singles here and that was the detail I took the full advantage ” said Sabina. Sabina was 1:2 in reverse then she won fourth game but she was struggling until the end of that part of match. ‘From that moment I saw I got her. I realized she does not have the answer when I attack her on her backhand and I seized my opportunity. At the begining I did not have any illusions I could beat her but during the game I felt it.” In the Round of 64 Irina CIOBANU of Romania no. 59 seed created the upset by beating Izabela LUPULESKU of Serbia no. 28 seed after remarkable recovery from 1:3 in reverse (11:5 19:21 11:7 14:12 7:11 11:13 3:11). “LUPULESKU played very well. Her game was very difficult for me to the last point but my mental strength prevailed. I managed to recover and to win thanks to my calmness. I was focused and I kept my mind on the ball all the time ” said CIOBANU. Adina DIACONU of Romania no. 26 seed suffered by the hands of Katarzyna WEGRZYN of Poland no. 76 seed. Tin Tin HO of England no.43 beat Sarah DE NUTTE of Luxembourg nno. 19. She needed full seven games (9:11 11:6 9:11 11:6 11:6 5:11 12:10). Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA needed only four games to overcame Dutch representative MEN Shuohan. “For me the first round is always tough because I don’t know my opponent. This time I was really well-prepared against her and I can’t wait to play the next match. My shape is quite OK. I like everything at the European Championships Munich 202); the venue the ball everything is as it should be “said SAMARA. SAMARA is coming from a surgery. “Two months ago I did a surgery on the disc in my back so right now I’m just enjoying being able to play without no pain.I talked to my doctors and they said ‘if you do it in May then you’re able to be in Munich’. Munich was my main reason for the surgery.” On what motivates her: “I’ve won the gold medal in all four disciplines; teams mixed doubles doubles and singles and what I can achieve above that will be like a bonus for me.”    

Placed at the position no. 37 at the seedings of the Women’s Singles Event at the European Championships in Munich 2022 Sabina SURJAN of Serbia caused a major upset in the Round of 64. Sabina beat no. 7 seed YU Fu of Portugal runner up at the European Championships 2016 in Budapest. Sabina won after six games (9:11 13:11 14:16 11:9 11:9). “I really had a tough journey towards main draw and best of 64. I was only second in the group stage had to play two matches in the preliminary round; beat Romania’s BALLINT in the decisive game by narrow margin…It was hard journey but it paid off. On the other side YU had her first match in Singles here and that was the detail I took the full advantage ” said Sabina. Sabina was 1:2 in reverse then she won fourth game but she was struggling until the end of that part of match. ‘From that moment I saw I got her. I realized she does not have the answer when I attack her on her backhand and I seized my opportunity. At the begining I did not have any illusions I could beat her but during the game I felt it.” In the Round of 64 Irina CIOBANU of Romania no. 59 seed created the upset by beating Izabela LUPULESKU of Serbia no. 28 seed after remarkable recovery from 1:3 in reverse (11:5 19:21 11:7 14:12 7:11 11:13 3:11). “LUPULESKU played very well. Her game was very difficult for me to the last point but my mental strength prevailed. I managed to recover and to win thanks to my calmness. I was focused and I kept my mind on the ball all the time ” said CIOBANU. Adina DIACONU of Romania no. 26 seed suffered by the hands of Katarzyna WEGRZYN of Poland no. 76 seed. Tin Tin HO of England no.43 beat Sarah DE NUTTE of Luxembourg nno. 19. She needed full seven games (9:11 11:6 9:11 11:6 11:6 5:11 12:10). Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA needed only four games to overcame Dutch representative MEN Shuohan. “For me the first round is always tough because I don’t know my opponent. This time I was really well-prepared against her and I can’t wait to play the next match. My shape is quite OK. I like everything at the European Championships Munich 202); the venue the ball everything is as it should be “said SAMARA. SAMARA is coming from a surgery. “Two months ago I did a surgery on the disc in my back so right now I’m just enjoying being able to play without no pain.I talked to my doctors and they said ‘if you do it in May then you’re able to be in Munich’. Munich was my main reason for the surgery.” On what motivates her: “I’ve won the gold medal in all four disciplines; teams mixed doubles doubles and singles and what I can achieve above that will be like a bonus for me.”    

Placed at the position no. 37 at the seedings of the Women’s Singles Event at the European Championships in Munich 2022 Sabina SURJAN of Serbia caused a major upset in the Round of 64. Sabina beat no. 7 seed YU Fu of Portugal runner up at the European Championships 2016 in Budapest. Sabina won after six games (9:11 13:11 14:16 11:9 11:9). “I really had a tough journey towards main draw and best of 64. I was only second in the group stage had to play two matches in the preliminary round; beat Romania’s BALLINT in the decisive game by narrow margin…It was hard journey but it paid off. On the other side YU had her first match in Singles here and that was the detail I took the full advantage ” said Sabina. Sabina was 1:2 in reverse then she won fourth game but she was struggling until the end of that part of match. ‘From that moment I saw I got her. I realized she does not have the answer when I attack her on her backhand and I seized my opportunity. At the begining I did not have any illusions I could beat her but during the game I felt it.” In the Round of 64 Irina CIOBANU of Romania no. 59 seed created the upset by beating Izabela LUPULESKU of Serbia no. 28 seed after remarkable recovery from 1:3 in reverse (11:5 19:21 11:7 14:12 7:11 11:13 3:11). “LUPULESKU played very well. Her game was very difficult for me to the last point but my mental strength prevailed. I managed to recover and to win thanks to my calmness. I was focused and I kept my mind on the ball all the time ” said CIOBANU. Adina DIACONU of Romania no. 26 seed suffered by the hands of Katarzyna WEGRZYN of Poland no. 76 seed. Tin Tin HO of England no.43 beat Sarah DE NUTTE of Luxembourg nno. 19. She needed full seven games (9:11 11:6 9:11 11:6 11:6 5:11 12:10). Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA needed only four games to overcame Dutch representative MEN Shuohan. “For me the first round is always tough because I don’t know my opponent. This time I was really well-prepared against her and I can’t wait to play the next match. My shape is quite OK. I like everything at the European Championships Munich 202); the venue the ball everything is as it should be “said SAMARA. SAMARA is coming from a surgery. “Two months ago I did a surgery on the disc in my back so right now I’m just enjoying being able to play without no pain.I talked to my doctors and they said ‘if you do it in May then you’re able to be in Munich’. Munich was my main reason for the surgery.” On what motivates her: “I’ve won the gold medal in all four disciplines; teams mixed doubles doubles and singles and what I can achieve above that will be like a bonus for me.”    

Acting President Pedro MOURA chaired a meeting of the ETTU Executive Board on Tuesday 16th August at Munich. Mr MOURA praised the arrangements for the European Table Tennis Championships at the Rudi Sedlmayer Halle and updated Board members on forthcoming international activities scheduled from September to December. The Board received financial updates and considered preparations for the Congress to be held on 20th August. It was agreed to create a working group that will actively work on the preparation to launch Europe Youth Series during 2023. It was agreed that the system of play for team events at the 2023 European Games shall be the Paris 2024 Olympic team system. It was agreed to go ahead with European Table Tennis awards at the 2023 European Championships at Malmo.

Acting President Pedro MOURA chaired a meeting of the ETTU Executive Board on Tuesday 16th August at Munich. Mr MOURA praised the arrangements for the European Table Tennis Championships at the Rudi Sedlmayer Halle and updated Board members on forthcoming international activities scheduled from September to December. The Board received financial updates and considered preparations for the Congress to be held on 20th August. It was agreed to create a working group that will actively work on the preparation to launch Europe Youth Series during 2023. It was agreed that the system of play for team events at the 2023 European Games shall be the Paris 2024 Olympic team system. It was agreed to go ahead with European Table Tennis awards at the 2023 European Championships at Malmo.