A family from Iceland consisting of four brothers and one sister is making waves at the European Youth Championships in Malmö. All siblings have competed and won matches for the Icelandic national team at the EYC. Gudbjörk Vala (born 2010) the youngest made her debut in the cadet girls’ event in Sweden. “I was a bit nervous but thought it was fun to play. It was a good experience ” said Gudbjörk Vala GUNNARSDOTTIR. Her older brother Eirikur Logi five years her senior competed in the junior boys’ event for the second time. “It was a very tough tournament but also much fun. I really enjoyed playing here ” said Eirikur Logi GUNNARSSON. The eldest Pètur (born 1995) played his first EYC 15 years ago and is now an assistant coach for the Icelandic team. “It has been super fun to coach the team with my brother and sister in it. I was the one who started playing table tennis and the others followed me. I was the leading star ” joked Pètur GUNNARSSON. The other two brothers Skúli and Gestur are in Malmö to support the Icelandic team. Four brothers and one sister from the same family all competing and winning matches in the EYC might be a record in EYC history. By Anton SANDHOLT

Aleks PAKULA and Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA of Poland swiftly secured their spot in the final defeating Romania’s Robert Alexandru ISTRATE and Andreea BAIASU in straight matches. “It feels good. Somehow it was an easy match and I don’t think they came up to their best level. We hope to play well in the final. Before this event started our goal was to win the gold medal. If we win we would be very happy ” said PAKULA. In the other semifinal Jan SKALDA and Hanka KODETOVA of Czechia overcame Nolan JOHNSTON and Lisa ZHAO in a thrilling five-game match. Despite losing two games narrowly the Czech pair rallied to secure the win. KODETOVA commented “In Czechia we have played tournaments together but never in the national team. The final against Poland will be really tough but if we have good tactics I think we can win.” Mixed doubles Under 15 semi final Nolan JOHNSTON Lisa ZHAO (France) – Jan SKALDA Hanka KODETOVA Czechia 2-3 (7-11 11-9 11-9 5-11 5-11) Robert Alexandru ISTRATE Andreea BAIASU (Romania) – Aleks PAKULA Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA (Poland) 0-3 (5-11 1-11 4-11) Polish pair Aleks PAKULA and Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA clinched gold in the Under 15 Mixed Doubles event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö marking Poland’s 21st title in the 66 editions of the EYC. In the final they overcame their compatriots Marcel BLASZCZYK and Zuzanna WIELGOS. Bronze medals were awarded to Nolan JOHNSTON and Lisa ZHAO of France and Robert Alexandru ISTRATE and Andreea BAIASU of Romania. PAKULA commented “It feels very good. Before the tournament I hoped we would get the gold so we are very happy right now. We cannot celebrate too much today because we have more important matches tomorrow.” Under 15 – Final Jan SKALDA Hanka KODETOVA (Czechia) – Aleks PAKULA Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA (Poland) 1-3 (9-11 10-12 11-4 6-11)

Daniel BERZOSA and Veronika MATIUNINA needed only three games to book their place in the final. Celian BESNIER and Clea de STOPPELEIRE of France seeded just one position below the Spanish-Ukrainian duo at No. 8 couldn’t halt their progress. “We played a good match and followed our tactics perfectly. We were relaxed and played without pressure ” said BERZOSA. “I started playing with Veronika this season and it’s fun to play with her.” Top seeds Marcel BLASZCZYK and Zuzanna WIELGOS faced a spirited challenge from Flavien COTON and Leana HOCHART of France. The French pair won the opening game and pushed the Polish players to the limit in the next two games but the favorites prevailed. “We are in the final for the first time. Last year we came third so we are very happy ” said WIELGOS. Mixed doubles Under 19 semi final Celian BESNIER Clea DE STOPPELEIRE (France) – Daniel BERZOSA (Spain) Veronika MATIUNINA (Ukraine) 0-3 (8-11 5-11 7-11) Marcel BLASZCZYK Zuzanna WIELGOS (Poland) – Flavien COTON Leana HOCHART (France) (6-11 15-13 12-10 11-7) Daniel BERZOSA of Spain and Veronika MATIUNINA of Ukraine are the newly crowned champions in the Under 19 Mixed Doubles event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö. This victory marks the eighth gold for Spain and the 11th for Ukraine. In the final they overcame the Polish pairings Marcel BLASZCZYK and Zuzanna WIELGOS. Bronze medals were awarded to two French pairs: Celian BESNIER and Clea DE STOPPELEIRE as well as Flavien COTON and Leana HOCHART. In the final BERZOSA and MATIUNINA dominated with speed and precision leaving their adversaries without many options. MATIUNINA remarked “It feels unbelievable. In the first match we almost lost; we came back from 0:2 and the deciding set was 11-9 so it was a very difficult match. And after that we also had some troubles. In the last two matches we won 3:0 3:0 so we were really good today.” BERZOSA added “I don’t know what to say really European Champions… I think the most difficult match mentally was in the quarterfinals because we fought for the gold against ISTRATE and ARLIA. After that we played without pressure. Unbelievable.” Under 19 – Final Daniel BERZOSA (Spain) Veronika MATIUNINA (Ukraine) – Marcel BLASZCZYK Zuzanna WIELGOS (Poland) 3-0 (11-6 11-7 11-3)

Top seeds in the Under 19 Boys Singles Event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö have safely advanced to the round of 32. Iulian CHIRITA of Romania his teammates Darius MOVILEANU and Andrei ISTRATE and Germany’s Andre BERTELSMEIER all secured third-round victories. However No. 6 seed Dragos BUJOR of Romania faced an early exit. The home crowd was delighted by the play of William BERGENBLOCK who booked his place in the next round. Chirita defeated Czech’s Petr HODINA of Austria (13 -8 7 9 7). MOVILEANU needed one game less to secure victory over Hakan ISIK of Türkiye (8 5 5 7). ISTRATE also concluded his match against Jakub GOLDIR of Slovakia in four games (1 8 4 8). No. 4 seed BERTELSMEIER prevailed against Khai Noah LAM of Norway after losing the opening game (9 -8 8 9 7). Romania’s lineup was reduced as Dragos BUJOR lost to Sweden’s William BERGENBLOCK 4-2 (7 -9 8 3 -6 3). This was good news for the hosts since the second round already saw the departure of the best-seeded Swedish player Isak ALFREDSSON who lost to Benjamin PIGGOTT of England 4-2 (-10 8 8 -4 9 10). In the same round Itay AVIVI of Israel dealt another blow to the home supporters by beating Elias SJOGREN 4-1 (-10 10 7 12 4). William BERGENBLOCK expressed his satisfaction with his performance:”I think I played really well. I kept my tactics the whole match and could come to an attack as I wished. I’m really pleased with the win.” In the third round David SZANTOSI of Hungary beat David BJORKRYD but not before the Swede put the No. 7 seed under severe pressure in a seven-game battle (1 8 -4 -9 16 -6 9). Alessi MASSART of Belgium overcame Germany’s Lleyton ULLMANN in a narrow seven games (8 6 -9 8 -6 -9 12).

The biggest upset in the round of 64 at the Under 19 Girls Singles Event was created by Elinor DAVIDOV who halted the progress of top seed Mia GRIESEL at the European Youth Championships in Malmö. DAVIDOV seeded 71st prevailed in a thrilling seven-game match (10 11 9 -5 -7 -6 7). DAVIDOV was up three games before GRIESEL leveled but DAVIDOV proved to have better nerves in the decisive game. “It is amazing and I am so happy now. I knew I had to play at my best and that no matter what I had to retain my focus. I was already prepared that it was not going to be an easy match and that I had to push myself to the limits ” said DAVIDOV. In her four previous appearances DAVIDOV did not manage to achieve such an important win. Her progress to the round of 32 and victory over the top seed marks her greatest result so far. “This is my second year in juniors; last year I passed the group and then lost in the opening round ” said DAVIDOV who added that playing abroad in Portugal’s league brought her extra experience and self-confidence. In the next round she will meet Miriam CARNOVALE of Italy who overcame Lukrecija JUCHNAITE of Lithuania (6 5 -9 9 -8 6). The favorites continued to stumble with No. 8 seed Agathe AVEZOU of France losing against Germany’s Lorena MORSCH 4-1 (7 6 7 -3 9). No. 10 seed Nicole ARLIA of Italy is also out losing to Spanish Camila MOSCOSO in another long-distance duel. Xijin ZHENG of the Netherlands overcame Agnes SVENSSON of Sweden 4-1 (7 7 -3 5 8) in the second round which saw the departure of all host nation representatives in the Girls Under 19 singles. However ZHENG failed to stay in the game after losing to Fanny DOUTAZ of Switzerland (8 9 7 5). One of the Round 2 upsets was created by Christine KALVATN of Norway who overcame Spain’s Eugenia SASTRE 4-2 (7 8 -9 8 -6 4) but she also failed to prolong her stay to the penultimate day. Zrinka REBIC of Croatia secured her place in the Round of 32 (6 7 6 -8 10).

The Under 15 Boys Singles Event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö featured intense battles and several upsets in the round of 64. Top-seeded Patryk ZYWRONEK of Poland defeated Denmark’s Marcus AHRENHOLT JENSEN in straight games (5 7 7 4). No. 2 seed Robert ISTRATE of Romania beat Italy’s Erik PAULINA (-5 7 6 6 5). Nazar MATSKO (AIN) stirred the seedings by defeating Portugal’s Carlos GONÇALVES in seven games (4:3) but lost to Kenan KAHARMAN in the next round (6 -7 10 9 9). Türkiye’s players Kenan KAHARMAN Berk OZOTOPRAK Görkem ÖÇAL and Mustafa NEBHAN showed their solid form by all advancing to the next round. Germany’s Alexander UHING progressed to the round of 32 but Onur GULUZADE of Azerbaijan put him under severe pressure. The duel went the full distance with ONUR managing to level the match after being 3-1 down. However in the decisive game Germany’s player won 11-9 (9 -8 8 12 -8 -6 9). Portugal’s Denis YE overcame Jan MRUGALA of Poland in another long-distance duel (9 12 9 -9 -7 -4 8). Dario SALCEDO of Spain joined the players who progressed to the penultimate day of the Championships by beating Germany’s Lukas WANG in seven games (8 -6 7 4 -6 -7 7). Romania’s Mihai NAGY is also out having suffered at the hands of Miroslav SCHMIDT of Bulgaria 4-3 (-8 -2 1 -5 4 12 7).

At the European Youth Championships in Malmö top seed Hanka KODETOVA advanced easily in the Under 15 Girls Singles event due to the injury of Scotland’s Kiishi ADEKOLA. She will face Germany’s Elisa NGUYEN in the next round. However the third round saw the departure of sixth seed Nora DOHOCZKI of Hungary who lost to Poland’s Emilia TWARDAWA in straight games (10 11 7 9). Hungary found some consolation with Johanna PETERY overcoming France’s Lisa ZHAO to move to the Round of 32 winning 4-1 (-8 8 8 5 9). Varvara ZAITSAVA (AIN) created an upset by beating Bulgaria’s Nina NIKOLOVA in a full seven games (6 -5 -9 -4 9 7 6) but narrowly missed another surprise against Germany’s Lisa-Sophie WANG losing in a close seven-game match (8 -8 8 -8 7 -11 8). Simona HOLUBOVA of Czechia seeded 23rd exited earlier than expected losing to Lithuania’s Deimante ADLYTE in five games (2 -8 10 7 3). Enya HU of Switzerland was defeated by Portugal’s Joana PINTO in straight games (9 13 8 9).