Germany showed no weak spot in the Under-15 Girls’ Team event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö. The top seeds and last year’s champions won all three matches in the group stage without losing a game securing their place in the Round of 16. In Group A Germany’s Koharu ITAGAKI Lisa-Sophie WANG and Elisa NGUYEN overcame Azerbaijan Slovakia and Moldova 3-0. While Germany’s success was expected Moldova created an upset by beating Slovakia and Azerbaijan teams ranked above Inna LESCINASCAIA Andreea DELEV and Valeria CRAVCENCO. In Group B Poland also did not crack under pressure and justified their status. Maja LAKOMA Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA Wanessa KULCZYCKA and Emilia TWARDAWA beat the players from Portugal Türkiye and Ukraine. Portugal’s Julia LEAL and Beatriz PINTO finished the group stage in the second position as the rankings predicted. Spain turned the standings upside down. Ranked only third in their group Irina GIMENO FONT and Renata SHYPSHA beat Hungary Austria and France. France’s Eva LAM Alexia NODIN and Lisa LAO lost only to Spain which allowed them to secure the Round of 16 from the second position in the group. In Group D Czechia and Romania booked the top two positions. Simona HOLUBOVA Hanka KODETOVA and Adela BRHELOVA beat the representatives of Romania Sweden and Italy. Romania’s Alexandra-Maria DICU Andreea BAISU and Iarina PRECUP secured the second position.

Poland marched firmly through the group stage of the Under-15 Boys event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö. Similar to the Under-19 Boys event Sweden created an upset and booked their place in the knockout stage alongside another surprise Round of 16 team – Portugal. Poland’s Patryk ZYWORONEK Samuel MICHNA Aleks PAKULA and Jan MRUGALA posted all three victories over France Germany and Greece winning all nine matches 3-0. Germany failed to secure the second position in the group as they were halted by the French team in the last match of the group stage. France led by Sandro CAVAILLE and with Noah VITEL and Nolan JOHNSTON overcame Germany and Greece 3-0. “We won easily against Greece and Germany but it was very difficult to play against Poland. The opening match between CAVAILLE and ZYWORONEK was very close; it ended 9-11 in the decisive game. If it had gone the other way and we had won the opening match the duel could have easily gone in the opposite direction. However Poland proved their worth here with a very impressive run ” explained coach Boutefeu CLEMENCE. The match that decided the team in the Round of 16 against Germany concluded with absolute dominance from the French side. “It was a very important match and they played it very well.” The French Under-15 team clinched bronze last year. The only player remaining from the competition in Poland is Sandro CAVAILLE. “These are young players and it is not good to speak about goals and set targets. For me it is important to speak about attitude energy and performance at the table. The goal is to go match by match and we will see. Maybe we will repeat our success from last year when we reached the medal rostrum with three new players which was a big surprise. Sandro is the only one who played last year in Gliwice and won bronze in the team and singles events.” After three matches the top seeds in Group B Italy remained unbeaten. Danilo FASO Francesco TREVISAN and Eric PAULINA overcame Austria England and Sweden. The last match in the group they played against the hosts ended 3-0. “Well it was very good because we finished first so it was interesting. We won the first match against England 3-1 and then the one against Austria 3-0 not so difficult. Against Sweden I only played one singles match against Sigge HEDBLAD an easy win but important to me. Francesco played very well against Sweden’s number one Adam GRAVSIÖ-WALLIN and got us 1-0 in the match ” said FASO. What is the goal for your team? “To go far of course. Maybe win but to reach the semifinals would be very good for us. Last year we lost in the quarterfinals against Austria. This year we’ll see. A semifinal would be good for us ”concluded FASO.  Despite the defeat today Sweden booked their place in the Round of 16 with wins over Austria 3-0 and England 3-2. Both teams were placed above the hosts in the group. Surprisingly Romania will have to go through the playoff to reach the Round of 16. Türkiye and Portugal upset the rankings and moved forward directly. Türkiye secured the top spot led by the European Under-13 champion Görkem ÖÇAL and with Kenan KAHRAMAN and Berk OZTOPRAK. They beat Romania and Slovakia 3-0 but lost to Portugal 2-3. Portugal’s Dinis YE and Carlos GONCALVES only lost to Romania and finished second. In Group D Czechia’s Jan SKALDA and Jakub KABELKA beat Hungary Belgium and Ukraine. Hungary’s Lenard SZABO and Mark GERGELY are second. You can see the pictures in the EYC album on FLICKR here.

The Under-19 Boys’ teams event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö group stage concluded with a few upsets with Sweden topping the list. Romania justified their status as the top seed while Sweden beat the odds securing all three victories and leading their group standings to advance to the round of 16. In Group A Romania beat Spain 3-0 Italy 3-2 and Bulgaria 3-0. In the first two matches Andrei ISTRATE Darius MOVILEANU and IULIAN Chirita were in the team while today Dragos BUJOR replaced ISTRATE. “We had a bit of a shaky start with the very hard match against Italy winning 3-2 but in the end it’s good that we won and managed to play a very good game to win the group ” said BUJOR. Romania is in pursuit of their third consecutive title. “Our goal for the tournament since we are the top seeds in teams is to win it for the third time in a row. I’m very delighted to be part of the team for two years in a row and I’m just going to play my game. Hopefully we are going to win all of the medals.” In the same group Italy secured the second position by defeating Spain in a nerve-wracking duel that went to five matches. Hector SAAVEDRA and Daniel BERZOSA gave Spain a dream start by beating Federico VALLINO and Giacomo IZZO but Giacomo ALLEGRANZA changed the pace of the match. He beat Francesc CARRERA before VALLINO and IZZO won their duels. In Group B Sweden ranked third concluded the first phase with victories over Poland 3-2 Belgium 3-1 and Israel 3-2. Against Israel Isak ALFREDSSON lost both his encounters but today he led the team with two wins over Belgium’s Alessi MASSART and Tom CLOSSET. William BERGENBLOCK lost to CLOSSET and David BJÖRKRYD beat Per GEVERS. “It was a really tight game but I think we have got a really good team spirit. That helped us very much today. The last match between Tom CLOSSET and Isak ALFREDSSON was very emotional and I really had to remind my player to be calm and play easy. It was great for our team to win the group and get a free evening now because I think they are tired right now. I also have to say thank you to the loud and supportive crowd here in Malmö. It was really fun to play before this audience ” said team coach Pär GERELL who was clearly happy after the victory. Isak ALFREDSSON was very pleased that his team won this difficult match. “It was a hard match and we felt a bit of pressure in the last match against Tom CLOSSET. When I won the third game 16-14 it was the key to my victory. It was a pleasure to play for my team in front of the home crowd and family. Now I will have a nice rest and peace after many tough matches ” said Isak. The top seeds in Group B Poland with Rafal FORMELA Mateusz ZALEWSKI and David MICHNA beat Israel in straight matches today to secure the second spot in the group. Germany concluded their group stage with a defeat leaving Slovenia with a consolation victory at the bottom of the group. Wins over Hungary and Czechia were sufficient to launch them to the top. Today Germany’s number 1 Andre BERTELSMEIER was missing from the team. The defeat however did not affect the standings as Hungary overcame Czechia in a five-match duel that swung from one side to another. Davis SZANTOSI and Balasz LEI beat Martin SIP and Vit CADLEC but Zoltan VARGA’S loss to Stephan BRHEL brought Hungary back into the game. SIP leveled before SZANTOSI overcame CADLEC 3-2 in the decisive match. In Group D France secured all three wins overcoming Croatia the Netherlands and Türkiye. While the first two matches concluded 3-1 the last one against Türkiye went the full distance. Without Flavien COTON France found itself in a difficult situation trailing 1-2 but Antoine NOIRAULT Nathan LAM and Celian BESNIER found a way to secure the victory and top position in the group. “We are very happy with our performance so far. We have a young team and this tournament is a great experience. In the first match it was difficult because the atmosphere in the arena was very loud and tough. After a while it was easier to handle the noise and we are very happy to win our group ” said LAM. Coach Nicolas GAUDELAS added “It has been a tough tournament so far. My young players are not used to playing in this loud atmosphere. I think that we could have won our matches easier than we did but after all we won the group and that is what is most important. We will use the extra time we get by winning our group to have rest and peace and prepare for the rest of the tournament.” Croatia won the morning session’s match against the Netherlands in straight matches to secure its place in the round of 16. Borna PETEK set the pace with a very important victory over Gabrielius CAMARA. Leon BENKO and Ivan HENCL prevailed against Brent RONDE and Remi CHAMBET-WEIL. “Tactically I was well prepared for CAMARA and that helped me find a way to succeed after a very poor performance in the first two games. I lost the first one and won the second by a narrow margin. After I pulled off the close victory in the second game it was much easier for me to play. I had great support from the team; we all fought like it was the final ” said PETEK. “We met earlier this year and I also won but it was a much closer encounter.” In the group stage the team suffered only against France with a 1-3 loss but overcame Türkiye 3-0. “It could have been better; we did not seize our chances against France but still we

Reigning champions in the team event last year in Poland Team Germany secured a convincing 3-0 win over Azerbaijan in the Under-15 Girls’ event. Germany’s Koharu ITAGAKI Lisa-Sophie WANG and Elisa NGUYEN overcame Azerbaijan’s Shabnam MANSUROVA and Yaghmur MAMMADLI in a duel where the favorites won all matches without losing a game. In the opening round of the event Czechia the number 4 seed overcame the number 12 seed Sweden in a match that featured two European champions in action. Reigning Under-15 European champion Hanka KODETOVA overcame reigning Under-13 champion Siri BENJEGÅRD. “It is always tough to play the opening match. I hope it will be even better in the next one ” said KODETOVA. As the titleholder in the singles event KODETOVA mentioned that she does not think about last year’s title. “I am completely focused on what is happening now ” said the winner of the WTT tournament in Germany last month. In the opening duel of the match BENJEGÅRD overcame Simona HOLUBOVA while KODETOVA remained unbeaten in both singles and doubles. Spain the number 9 seed upset the rankings and overcame Hungary seeded at number 3. Sophie BARCSAI and Nora DOHOCZKI suffered at the hands of Irina Gimeno FONT and Renata SHYPSHA. “I was so excited when I got the opportunity to play against Hungary. It was very important to secure the victory in the opening duel at the Championships and the chance to overcome the favorite is a great plus ” said SHYPSHA. “I am so happy now.” Renata SHYPSHA remembered playing against Sophie BARCSAI. “Last time I lost 0-3 against her but this time I came well prepared. I watched videos and set the right tactics with my coach. We talked a lot about what to do. However it was very important to be calm and mentally strong. All the games were close.”

On the opening day of the European Youth Championships in Malmö favorites were put to a severe test. The host nation Sweden emerged successfully against the number 2 seeds Poland while the number 1 seed Romania was forced to go the full distance against Italy in the Under-19 Boys’ event. We are facing an exciting 10 days of fierce battles in Sweden. After more than three hours of play Sweden broke the resistance of the number 2 seeds in the Under-19 Boys’ event – Poland. All three players in Team Sweden scored: William BERGENBLOCK Isak ALFREDSSON and David BJÖRKRYD overcame Mateusz ZALEWSKI Marcel BLASZCZYK and Alan KULCZYCKI. Only ZALEWSKI added points to Poland’s account. Reflecting on his performance William BERGENBLOCK shared “It feels great. My first match was so-so but in the second one I played really well. I managed to fight for each point.” When asked about being under 3-8 in the second game BERGENBLOCK said “I just fought for every point found some new tactics tested a couple of different services. It went well.” The nerve-wracking duels were seen straight from the beginning. Romania was forced to go the full distance being a game away from defeat in the match against the number 11 seeds Italy. After more than three hours of play the final duel between Andrei ISTRATE and Giacomo ALLEGRANZA determined the winner. Previously ISTRATE beat Federico VALLINO and Iulian CHIRITA overcame Giacomo IZZO but Italy was heavily into the game with both ALLEGRANZA and Federico VALLINO scoring against Darius MOVILEANU. The decisive match was extended to the final game in which ALLEGRANZA sought medical help. However he stayed in the match and eventually lost it. In group E Finalnad overcame Estonia in another five matches duel.

The European Youth Championships commenced today in Malmö with the Sweden’s national teams gearing up for a challenging yet promising tournament. Coaches of the Under 15 and Under 19 teams share their insights and aspirations as they prepare their players for the competition. Cadet Under 15 Team: Building on Diverse Strengths Maria CHRISTOFORAKI the head coach of the Under 15 girls’ team emphasizes the strategic diversity within her team. “We have four girls with different playing styles. They are young and have made fine performances in both Swedish and international competitions throughout the year ” she remarks. CHRISTOFORAKI also highlights the players’ professional development and strong team spirit as key factors for their success. “Another important thing for me is how much they have developed and how professional they are in all situations. Lastly we have good team spirit which is important both in preparations and during long days at the Youth European Championships.” Reflecting on last year’s performance she adds “We are coming with the same team as last year so we come to Malmö with experience. Last year we performed well as a team when we made it from the second division to the quarterfinals. This year our goal is to do at least as well and why not aim for a medal.” Under 15 Boys’ Team: Aiming for the Quarterfinals Mattias EKDAHL the coach of the cadet boys’ team has clear objectives for his squad. “The goal as a team is to reach the quarterfinals. Two of the players were with us last year where we lost in the round of sixteen. Now we aim as I said to go a step further. If we perform well together as a team we have the opportunity to go far ” EKDAHL asserts. Under 19 Girls’ Team: Focusing on Team Dynamics Kim NYLANDER responsible for the Under 19 girls’ team outlines a structured approach to team selection and development. “Since December I have communicated that we intended to select in three types of groupings. Players 1–2 on playing level players 3–4 with a bit more focus on team cohesion professionalism social skills and players 5–6 with a bit more future perspective. It was not entirely simple ” NYLANDER admits. He emphasizes the importance of building a cohesive team environment over immediate results. “We should preferably talk about other things where I want to build up how a team can look. We base our approach on the ‘Swedish model’ including the advantages of working in tighter groups. The focus will be on performance objectives. Direct result goals however come second.” Under 19 Boys’ Team: Underdogs with Potential Pär GERELL the head coach for the Under 19 boys’ team expresses cautious optimism. “We hope for a medal in some category. We are a balanced team internationally with other countries but we are a bit underdogs to go really far. It would be fun with a medal at home whether it’s in the team or another category. The capacity is there ” says GERELL. His acknowledgment of the team’s underdog status is coupled with confidence in their potential to surprise and succeed on home soil. With the experience of past competitions and a focus on team development Sweden’s young table tennis players are ready to make their mark at the Youth European Championships.

The 2024 European Youth Championships commence this week with the battles in Teams events in the city of Malmö Sweden. The Teams events start on Friday 12th July and the winners will be known on Tuesday 16th July. In the Under 19 Boys Teams Event there are 41 teams listed in the competition. Romania tops the seeding list represented by Dragos BUJOR Iulian CHIRITA Andrei ISTRATE and Darius MOVILEANU. Romania is also the reigning champion. Silver medalists from Gliwice 2023 Poland are the No. 2 seed. Representing Poland are Marcel BLASZCZYK Dawid MICHNA Alan KULCZYCKI Rafal FORMELA and Mateusz ZALEWSKI. Germany is the No. 3 seed. Competing for Germany in Sweden are Andre BERTELSMEIER Matej HASPEL Manuel PROHASKA Lleyton ULLMANN and Wim VERDONSCHOT. Last year’s singles champion Eduard IONESCU of Romania is no longer in the youth categories whilst vice-champion Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland will play at the Olympics this summer.  In the Girls Under 19 Team Event 36 teams will compete. Poland’s Natalia BOGDANOWICZ Anna BRZYSKA Karolina HOLDA Zuzanna PAWELEC and Zuzanna WIELGOS are leading the pack. Last year’s runner-up Germany is seeded No. 2 represented by Lena GOTTSCHLICH Mia GRIESEL Eireen KALAITZIDOU Annett KAUFMANN and Melanie Maxi MERK. Last year’s winners Team Romania with Bianca Mei ROSU Alesia Sofia SFERLEA Andrea TEGLAS and Evel UNGVARI are seeded No. 4 as last year’s singles champion Elena ZAHARIA and vice-champion Ioana SINEGEORZAN are no longer eligible for the youth categories. In the competition are 36 teams. In the Under 15 Boys Team Event Portugal is defending the title but without last year’s singles winner Tiago ABIODUN the team is seeded at No. 4. Poland Italy and Romania hold the top three positions in the seeding. Poland’s team includes last year’s singles champion Patryk ZYWORONEK. For the title will play 38 teams. In the Under 15 Girls Team Event reigning champions Germany top the seedings. Poland and Hungary are seeded in the second and third positions respectively. There are 33 teams listed. The singles events commence on Wednesday 17th July.