Comprehensive performances on Tuesday 20th July by France and Poland secured places in the junior boys’ team final at the Gazprom 2021 European Youth Championships in Varazdin Croatia. Similarly Romania progressed to the junior girls’ team final in style; however for Russia their opponents who await in the gold medal contest life was more exacting. The top seeds fielding the trio comprising Elizabet Abraamian Luibov Tentser and Natalia Malinina a 3-0 quarter-final success was posted against the third seeds the German outfit formed by Sophia Klee Anastasia Bondareva and Naomi Pranjkovic. The reason for the earlier than anticipated clash being that Germany had finished in third position in their initial phase group. An imposing win facing the French trio formed by Isa Cok Camille Lutz and Charlotte Lutz life was very different; the Russian outfit needed the full five matches to ensure victory. Star of the show was Elizabet Abraamian the heroine was Liubov Tentser. Elizabet Abraamian accounted for both Isa Cok (11-7 12-10 11-8) and Camille Lutz (11-5 11-8 11-4); in the vital fifth match of the engagement Liubov Tentser overcame Isa Cok (11-9 6-11 11-6 5-11 11-7). Rather differently Romania the second seeds marched to the final without due alarm. Selecting Ioana Singeorzan Elena Zaharia and Luciana Motrofan status was justified. A 3-1 quarter-final win was recorded against Hungary’s Helga Dari Anna Fejos and Anna Volentics before with no changes to the selection a 3-0 success was secured in opposition to Turkey’s Ozge Yilmaz Ece Harac and Zeynep Karaca. Mainstay of the victory against Hungary was Elena Zaharia. She beat both Anna Fejos (11-5 11-6 11-8) and Helga Dari (11-8 11-7 11-1). Impressive from Russia and Romania in the junior boys’ team event it was even more impressive from France and Poland; both outfits recorded 3-0 wins at the quarter and semi-final stages. No changes to team selection France represented by Alexis Lebrun Thibault Poret and Alexis Kourachi beat the Swedish trio formed by Hugo Torngren Martin Friis and Daniel Lindso prior to reserving their place in the final courtesy of success in opposition Miguel Nuñez Juan Perez and Marc Gutierrez. Likewise the fourth seeds Poland’s Samuel Kulczycki Maciej Kubik and Milosz Redzimski offered no charity. They accounted for the third seeds Germany’s Kay Stumper Daniel Rinderer and Hannes Hoermann prior to overcoming the Romanian formation of Eduard Ionescu Darius Movileanu and Andrei Teodor Istrate. A semi-final defeat for the Romanians but they could be more than satisfied with their efforts; they started the tournament as a level two team. At the quarter-final stage the recorded a 3-1 win when facing Italy’s Marco Cappucio Andrea Puppo and John Oyebode. The final and play-off fixtures will be conducted today. Junior boys’ team Quarter-final: Spain 3-2 Croatia; France 3-0 Sweden; Poland 3-0 Germany; Romania 3-1 Italy Semi-final: France 3-0 Spain; Poland 3-0 Romania Junior girls’ team Quarter-final: Russia 3-0 Germany; France 3-0 Italy; Turkey 3-1 Poland; Romania 3-1 Hungary Semi-final: Romania 3-2 France; Romania 3-0 Turkey  

In tomorrow’s final of the Under 19 Boys Event at the GAZPROM European Youth Championships France will play against Poland. In the match for the third position Spain will meet Romania. France secured place in the final after victory over Spain in straight matches. Alexis LEBRUN overcame Miguel NUNEZ and Thibault PORET succeeded against Juan PEREZ in straight games. Alexis KOURAICHI recorded victory over Marc GUTIERREZ but he needed one game more. “We are very happy to be in the finals which is a very good result for us. The match was very good without critical moments. Alexis KOURAICHI led 2-0 and missed the opportunity to finish 3-0 but he continued his game and won “ explained Alexis LEBRUN. PORET radiate with self-confidence after match and promised great fight for the gold. Poland the no.4 seeds progressed as anticipated. Represented by Maciej KUBIK Samuel KULCZYCKI and Milosz REDZIMSKI Poland posted win over Romania’s Eduard IONESCU Darius MOVILEANU and Andrei Teodor ISTRATE in straight matches. It was very hard opening for KULCZYCKI who was stretched to full distance against IONESCU but when he managed to give Poland good start it was one way street for his teammates. “The beginning of my match was very important and after big fight I managed to win. After that both of our players showed very good performance. We know the players of France we know how they play we will give our best and we will see how it will end but of course we hope for the gold ” said KULCZYCKI. KUBIK underlined how Samuel’s victory was important for the team. “It gave us perfect start. We were under less pressure and we beat Romania without major difficulties. We do not need special preparation for the final we are all in good shape ” said KUBIK.    

In tomorrow’s Under 19 Girls Event final at the GAZPROM European Youth Championships in Varazdin Romania will meet silver medalists from Ostrava Russia. In the match for the third position Turkey will play against France. Romania’s Ioana SINGEORZAN opened the semi final’s clash against Turkey with the victory over Ozge YILMAZ. Elena ZAHARIA followed her path with the victory over Ece HARAC and Luciana MITROFAN overcame Zeynep KARACA. All matches resolved in straight games. “I am very proud of my team. We expected it will be much more difficult duel. We did not think we would make it in three straight games matches. We cheered each other for every point and when we were in the game that support gave us extra strength ” said Elena ZAHARIA who took Romania to cadets title in Cluj three years ago. MITROFAN added:”It was good match to watch. We were focused on each point we did not want to give smallest chance to our adversaries.” Elizabet ABRAAMIAN’s role in Russia’s win was pivotal in the semi final. ABRAMIAAN once again established her authority a she orchestrated the downfall of France. Elizabet won both her matches against Isa COK and Camille LUTZ; both in straight games. Camille proved too strong for Liubov TENTSER but TENSTER managed to win the decisive match against COK. “This was my toughest match at the European Championships. It was important to win when the result in the matches was 1:1 but we lost the third match. I told my teammates to be focused because I believed we could win this match. I followed that advice myself and it helped me win. The last match was incredibly close. I am proud of Liubov TENTSER; she played a very good match. In the final we will play against Romania I expect a victory and a gold medal ” said Elizabeth ABRAAMIAN. It was great pressure on Liubov’s shoulders. “After losing my first match I felt bad and when I had to play the last match I was very nervous but I tried to stay focused ant to think only what is coming next. I knew I had to be strong because I was fighting for Russia national team. All the girls were with me they trusted me and I knew that with their support I could win ” said Liubov TENTSER.  

Quarterfinal of the Under 19 Boys Event at the GAZPROM European Youth Championships in Varazdin brought fierce fight close matches and big upsets. Spain France Poland and Romania booked their places in the penultimate stage of the Event and secured their place at the medal rostrum. The Romania trio comprising Eduard IONESCU Darius MOVILEANU and Andrei Teodor ISTRATE upset the odds. Commencing play in level two they recorded a 3:1 win over Italy to reach the semi final. John OYEBODE gave Italy a good start with the victory over IONESCU but on his two exits to the table Darius MOVILEANU stayed unbeaten. He overcame Andrea PUPPO and OYEBODE. Third point came from Andrei Teodor ISTRATE. “We proved the miracles are possible. Italy has very experienced players and we had to give our best. We proved we can do it and reached the medal rostrum ” said MOVILEANU who won the gold medal in the Cadet Boys Singles Event in Ostrava. Spain won the medal last time in the Junior Boys event in 1995 when Alfreado CARNEROS was in the team as a player. Today he led a Spanish team to the semis as a coach. Marc GUTIERREZ Juan PEREZ and Miguel NUNEZ inflicted the pain in the heart of the host nation supporters and won five matches thriller against Borna PETEK Ivor BAN and Lovro ZOVKO. PEREZ played the decisive match of the duel. “It was difficult start; our first player lost to PETEK and I had a very close duel against Ivor BAN. I won it thanks to enormous support I got from my teammates and NUNEZ was absolutely superb in the match against ZOVKO. In the last match at 2:2 I felt great pressure. It was first time that I had to play such a big match. It is the biggest and most important win in my career ” said PEREZ. France overcame Sweden in straight matches. Alexis LEBRUN Thibault PORET and Alexis KOURAICHI dominated in two opening matches but in the last Daniel LINDSO managed to stretch KOURAICHI to full distance. “I lost the opening game because I did not play well. I had to change tactics I started to use my forehand which is my strongest weapon and it paid off ” said KOURAICHI. Poland’s Maciej KUBIK Samuel KULCZYCKI and Milosz REDZIMSKI overcame Germany’s Kay STUMPER Hannes HOERMANN and Daniel RINDERER 3:0. “In the opening match KUBIK recovered from 0:2 in reverse and I also lost the opening game. It was very difficult match but we keep on fighting and we will not stop ” said Samuel KULCZYCKI.

Three out of four top seeds in Under 19 Girls Event at the GAZPROM European Youth Championships reached the semi final stage to be played this evening in Arena Varazdin. Russia France and Romania progressed as anticipated and Turkey no. 5 seeds joined them. No. 4 seeds Germany lost by top seeded Russia in straight games. Elizabet ABRAAMIAN lining up alongside Natalia MALININA and Liubov TENSTER beat Sophia KLEE Anastasia BONDAREVA and Naomi PRANJOVIC. “Last time in Ostrava Germany beat us in the final of the Junior Girls Event. This time we were better and we had our avenge. We were ready for this duel. Russia is weakened by having only three players but we fought for all the members of the team and that gave us extra strength” said Elizabet ABRAAMIAN. French trio formed by Isa COK Camille LUTZ and Charlotte LUTZ also recorded impressive straight matches win over Italy’s Nicole ARLINA Jamila LAURENTI and Arianna BARANI. “We were ready but even for us 3:0 result came as surprise. Isa COK did a great job in the opening match against ARLIA but generally their games is something we like to play against; we like a good forehand smash to finish the point ” said Camile LUTZ. Romania needed four matches against Hungary to progress to semis. Helga DARI won her opening encounter against Ioana SINGEORZAN but Elena ZAHARIA showed no mercy nor to Anna FEJOS nor to DARI. Luciana MITROFAN overcame Anna VOLENTICS. “Luciana’s match against VOLENTICS was very important. At 1:1 we needed that one to give us advantage. Hungarian girls felt the same and it was very close duel ” explained ZAHARIA.” Now we will meet the team that beat us in the quarterfinal of the cadet’s Championships in 2016. Same girls are playing now as Under 19 team but I hope the result will go our side this year.” Speaking of wishes Turkey is hoping that the situation stays as it was four years ago in younger categories. They overcame Poland in the quarters today. “We were little bit under pressure since Poland had an excellent run here and beat very good teams before us. I had a good opening match against Anna BRZYSKA but then Ozge YILMAZ were 2:1 down against Ilona SZWIERTNIA and that could be a great set back but Ozge recovered to win it with 4:11 in last two games. BRZYSKA has very difficult style and in the fourth match Ozge was under pressure again but she finished the match bravely ” said Ece HARAC. ETTU OFFICIAL LIVE STREAM 

In the quarterfinal of the Under 19 Boys Event at the GAZPROM European Youth Championships in Varazdin Spain will meet Croatia Romania will play against Italy Poland will meet Germany and Hungary will play against Sweden. In the Round of 16 Russia showed brave face but Croatia progressed to the quarters with 3:1 victory.. Maksim BOKOV and Damir AKHMETSAFIN exceeded the expectations after finishing second in their group day earlier with only two players. Today despite great efforts Russia were halted in the knock out stage. Croatia’s Ivor BAN won both his matches whilst Lovro ZOVKO lost his encounter. “Yesterday we failed to book the place among top two teams but we kept our head high. Through play offs we found our way and now we will play for the medal now. I am so happy we will do that at home soil ” said Ivor BAN. Romania booked their quarterfinal place after the victory over Portugal. Eduar IONESCU Darius MOVILEANU and Andrei ISTRATE overcame LI Tiago Goncalo GOMES and David BESSA in three straight games matches. “We knew before the match that it will be very difficult because they have played in a lot of competitions and have a lot of experience. It proved right thinking. The first match that Edurad IONESCU played against Tiago LI was very important. When we stopped their best player everything was easier ” said Darius MOVILEANU. Poland’s Maciej KUBIK Samuel KULCZYCKI and Milosz proved too strong for Norway’s Borgar HAUG Noah HOVDENAK and Alexander FRANSSON. They also secured the passage to the next stage in straight matches. “I think that the first match was very important for our victory. Maciej KUBIK defeated Borgar HAUG a very good player – 3:1. It was a difficult match and after that I won 3:0 and Milosz REDZIMSKI celebrated with the same result. Very good match on our part ” concluded Samuel KULCZYCKI. Spain’s Juan PEREZ Marc GUTIERREZ and Miguel NUNEZ overcame Swiss players Elias HARDMEIER Mauro SCHARRER and Barish MOULLET. “We are very satisfied with our game in tonight’s match and we have been playing the whole tournament very well. Tomorrow we will meet Croatia to fight for a medal. We know that the first Croatian player is Igor BAN and if we can beat him we will have a very good chance in the match ” said Marc GUTIERREZ. Italy’s Andrea PUPPO John OYEBODE and Marco CAPPUCCIO proved too strong for Slovakia’s Adam KLAJBER Filip DELINCAK and Kamil PACH. “ Andrea PUPPO gave us perfect start after very close five games victory over Adam KALBER. All went well after that ” said John OYEBODE.”Next match will be much more difficult. We will play against Romania. They beat very good Portugal in straight matches in the Round of 16. so we have to prepare for tough encounter.” Germany’s Kay STUMPER Hannes HOERMANN and Daniel RINDERER overcame Belgium’s Alesi MASSART Adrien RASSENFOSSE Nicolas DEGROS in four matches. “I played against Alessi MASSART who had nothing to lose and played very relaxed. It is dangerous situation to be in. I managed to give good opening for my team but unfortunately we lost the second match against Adrien RASSENFOSSE. Daniel RINDERER played a very good match and achieved an important victory. In the next round we will play against Poland one of the best teams in the tournament. We are not without a chance and anything is possible ” said Kay STUMPER. The marathon between Sweden and Czech Republic ended in favor of Sweden. Martin FRIIS won both his matches against Frantisek ONDERKA and Tomas MARTINKO .Daniel LINDSO added third point in the decisive game against ONDERKA.

In the tomorrow’s quarterfinal of the Under 19 Girls Event at the GAZPROM European Youth Championships in Varazdin Russia will meet Germany Italy will meet France Poland will play against Turkey and Hungary will clash with Romania. Romania was the team who reached the Round of 8 first in the afternoon’s program in Varazdin. Ioana SINGEORZAN Elena ZAHARIA and Luciana MITROFAN proved too strong for Norway. “We faced no problems it was an easy match for us. We played really well and girls from Norway could not find the game to stop us ” said ZAHARIA. At the top of draw Russia needed four matches to overcame Spain. Elizabet ABRAAMIAN showed no mercy and won both her encounters. In Spain’s team Ainohoa CRIOSTOBAL was stretched to full distance but managed to score against Natalia MALININA. “It was a very difficult match because the pressure is much higher now when we reach the knock out stage. We tried to be focused on every ball on every point. Now we will meet Germany in the quarters the team that beat us in the final at the last edition of the European Championships. Now we will try to have our avenge ” said ABRAAMIAN. Germany also needed four matches to overcame Ukraine. Sophia KLEE lost her opening encounter against Anastasiya DYMITRENKO but Anastasia BONDAREVA was successful on her both exits to the table. Naomi PRANJKOVIC added third point to Germany’s record. “I am very happy that we won because the match was very difficult given that Ukraine is a very strong opponent. We entered the match with the defeat of Sophie KLEE 3:0 by Anastasia DYMYTRENKO who played amazingly. Sophia had chances in that match but didn’t take advantage of them. One of the key moments in the match was my match against YEVTODII. She had a 6: 3 advantage in the first game but I managed to win the first game and eventually I recorded 3:0. I knew I could beat even the best Ukrainian player DYMYTRENKO if I repeated my game from that match. Before my match Naomi PRANJKOVIC beat VYDRUCHENKO with a great game and tactics and I am very proud of her because in addition to providing a good game she showed that she is very strong. After her victory and our 2: 1 lead it was easier for me to enter the fourth match and I felt no pressure. I played a good match I concentrated on every ball and on my game and I deservedly won” explained Anastasia BONDAREVA. Italy overcame Czech Republic whilst France beat host nation representatives. “The decisive moment in the match was the first duel in which Isa COK played against Hana ARAPOVIC the best Croatian player. We know that it would be easier for us to continue the match on the way to victory if Isa won which happened” said Camille LUTZ. Turkey beat Slovakia in superb style in straight matches. Ozge YILMAZ and Ece HARAC showed no weak spots. Hungary’s captain Helga DARI was also satisfied with the performance of her team after very tough opening day. Hungary came to the quarterfinals after play off matches. Poland overcame Lithuania in straight matches.  

  A top two finish in the initial group stage the goal for the top 16 rated teams at the Gazprom 2021 European Youth Championships in Varazdin Croatia; on the opening day of play Sunday 18th July the junior boys’ event provided the upsets. Four teams per group Spain Portugal and France clinched surprise first places only Poland the no.4 seeds justified their status. Somewhat differently the format being the same in the junior girls’ team competition the respective top three seeded outfits in the guise of Russia Romania and France claimed first place Poland supplied the surprise. Junior boys’ team In the boys’ team event Spain (Miguel Nuñez Marc Gutierrez Juan Perez) upset proceedings to finished ahead of  Italy (John Oyebode Andrea Puppo Marco Capuccio) with top seeds Belgium (Adrian Rassenfosse Nicolas Degros Alessi Massart) in third place. Good news for the Iberian Peninsula it was the same for Portugal (Tiago Li Gonçalo Gomez David Bessa); they finished ahead of Russia (Damir Akhmetsafin Maksim Bokov) the no.2 seeds. Likewise Germany (Daniel Rinderer Kay Stumper Hannes Hoermann Tom Schweiger) the no.3 seeds had to settle for runners up spot. They ended the day behind France (Alexis Lebrun Thibault Poret Alexis Kourachi). Problems for the top three seeds not for the fourth in line. Poland (Samuel Kulczycki Maciej Kubik Milosaz Redzimski Szymon Kolasa Lucasz Sokolowski). Impressively they finished ahead of Sweden (Martin Friis Charlie Widing Hugo Torngren Daniel Lindso). Junior girls’ team Meanwhile in junior girls’ team event Russia (Natalia Malinina Elizabet Abraamian Liubov Tentser) the top seeds secured first place with Sweden (Naomin Bassan Rebecca Muskantor Matilda Hansson) next in line. Similarly it was first place for Romania (Elena Zaharia Ioana Singeorzan Luciana Mitrofan Oana Sruna) the no.2 seeds as it was for France (Isa Cok Camille Lutz Charlotte Lutz Lucie Mobarek) the no.3 seeds. Respective second positions went to Ukraine (Anastasiya Dymytrenko Iolanta Yevtodii Alina Vydruchenko) and Turkey (Ece Harac Ozge Yilmaz Yagmur Karacam Zeynep Karaca). First place as anticipated for Germany (Anastasia Bodareva Sophie Kleem Naomi Pranjkovic) the no.4 seeds it was third position. They ended the day behind Poland (Anna Brzyska Zuzanna Wieglos Ilona Sztwiertina) and Italy (Nicole Arlia Jamila Laurenti Arianna Barani). Play in the team events is conducted in a series of stages.  In the first stage the top 15 teams plus the team finishing in 17th place at the most recent European Youth Championships (Ostrava 2019) compete in level one; all remaining teams participate in level two. Four groups each of four teams form level one – A B C D. Eight groups each of three or four teams form level two – I J K L M N O P. Teams finishing in first and second positions in level one advance direct to stage three the main draw.  In stage two teams finishing in first position in groups named I J K L play the third placed teams from stage one. Teams in level two who finished in group first place named E F G H play the fourth placed teams from Stage One. Winners of the eight play-off matches join the teams finishing in first and second places in the level one groups to form stage three. They compete for positions one to 16 on a progressive knock-out basis.  At the conclusion of proceedings the team finishing in position 16 is relegated to level two in stage one for the following year. Losers of the eight play-off matches plus the second placed teams in level two from the first stage compete from places 17 to 32 on a progressive knock-out basis. The team finishing in position 17 is promoted to level one in stage one for the following year.  All other teams compete for places 33 and below again on a progressive knock-out basis. The junior events are scheduled for Sunday 18th to Saturday 24th July the cadet age group competitions from Tuesday 27th July to Monday 2nd August.

In Under 19 Boys Event at the GAZPROM 2021 European Youth Championships in Croatia’s City of Varazdin Portugal France Spain and Poland all emerged successfully at the top of their respective groups. Portugal overcame all three teams in Group B. Tiago LI Goncalo GOMES David BESSA and Silas MONTEIRO proved too strong for Russia Czech Republic and Turkey. In the third round they overcame Czech Republic. “We are very happy with this victory and I am satisfied with my game. However we can not be relaxed because we have to be ready for tomorrow’s Round of 16. We are hoping for the best ” said Goncalo GOMES. Spain beat Italy and Hungary before they lost in the last match against Belgium and they finished first in the Group A. Both Italy and Belgium recored two wins but with the better match ratio it is Italy who secured second spot. However Belgium is most successful team at position no. three in the Group and they progressed to the Round of 16 directly. With only two players Damir AKHMETSAFIN and Maksim BOKOV Russia managed to score against Czech Republic and Turkey and to secure the direct passage to the next phase. France is unbeaten in Group C. From the no. three spot in the seedings of the Group they moved to position. no. one. They overcame Serbia Germany and Slovakia and on their way to the top Alexis LEBRUN Thibault PORET Alexis KOURAICHI and Benjamin FRUCHART were only challenged in the duel against Germany at the beginning of the opening day of the play. Germany could not justify their leading position and they moved to second place. In the last match of the day they overcame Serbia. “ It was not that easy as the result predicts.Against Dusan VEZMAR in the opening game it become close at 9:9 but thankfully with two good services I managed to escape the troubles ” said Hannes HOERMANN. Poland’s Samuel KULCZYCKI Szymon KOLASA and Lukasz SOKOLOWSKI underlined their status and recorded all three wins against Croatia Sweden and Denmark to clinch the top position in their Group. In the direct clash for the second position host nation lost thriller against Sweden.