2019 STAG European Youth Championships   In the semi final of the Cadet Boys Doubles played in the morning session of the ultimate day Iulian CHIRITA and Eduard IONESCU halted Felix LEBRUN and Thibault PORET of France on their way to the final in straight games (11-13 6-11 2-11). French pairings had good chance in the opening game but failed to produce the same level in next two.           Unlike the first semis in lower half of the draw Hugo DESCHAMPS and Alexis KOURAICHI of France had a much harder job against Vincent SENKBEIL and Tom SCHWEIGER of Germany (11-8 5-11 11-7 11-4).   “The third game was important. After we managed to regain the control we played much relaxed ” said Alexis KOURAICHI.       Newly crowned champions of the Cadet Boys Doubles Event at the 2019 STAG European Youth Championships in Ostrava are Iulian CHIRITA and Eduard IONESCU of Romania. In the final they overcame Hugo DESCHAMPS and Alexis KOURAICHI of France (6-11 11-9 11-4 7-11 11-9). Bronze medalists are Vincent SENKBEIL and Tom SCHWEIGER of Germany and Felix LEBRUN and Thibault PORET of France.   Last year Romania’s Andrei TOMICA and Darius MOVILEANU won silver but this season CHIRITA and Eduard IONESCU went one step further. They had slow start but showed better nerves in the finish.   “We are playing together for only two months but we had a lot of trainings and we are confident in each other. French pairings in the final were very good and they were tough to beat ” said IONESCU.    

2019 STAG European Youth Championships in Ostrava   PAVADE and ZAHARIA had to go full distance in the match against Vlada VORONINA and Alina ZAVARYKINA of Russia (5-11 13-11 7-11 11-5 12-10). They had a bad start and they were 4-10 in reverse in the second game. They managed the win that one to level the match. Russia’s girls won the next one the thriller went on when French Romania’s combination leveled again and in close fifth game. PAVADE and ZAHARIA won it by the narrow margin.       Ilona SZTWIERTNIA and Wiktoria WROBEL of Poland could not find the game for Svetlana DMITRIENKO and Anastasiia BERESNEVA of Russia (8-11 3-11 8-11). Russia’s pairings took the control in the early stages of the duel and held their grip tight until the end.   “We are very happy our attack and spin was better ” said DMITRIENKO.       Prithika PAVADE of France and Elena ZAHARIA of Romania accounted for Svetlana DMITRIENKO and Anastasiia BERESNEVA of Russia (9-11 8-11 11-5 11-3 11-6) to clinch the title in the Cadet Girls Doubles Event at the 2019 STAG European Youth Championships in Ostrava. Bronze medals went to Vlada VORONINA and Alina ZAVARYKINA of Russia and Ilona SZTWIERTNIA and Wiktoria WROBEL of Poland.   Prithika PAVADE defended her title won year earlier partnering Chloe CHOMIS; together with ZAHARIA she proved equally good.   “We needed some time to get into the game. We were nervous at the beginning and our adversaries took the advantage out of that. Later we put everything under control ” said ZAHARIA.    

2019 Stag European Youth Championships   In the Junior Girls Singles Event at the 2019 STAG European Youth Championships Mariia TAILAKOVA of Russia already had to meet teammate Anastasia KOLISH already in the quarterfinal. After long duel she justified her rankings and progressed to the semi final (11-9 2-11 10-12 13-11 9-11 10-12). In the match for final she will play against Anna WEGRZYN of Poland. In other semi final Jamila LAURENTI will play against Darya KISEL of Belarus.   Anna WEGRZYN accounted for another Russia’s player. She beat Elizabet ABRAAMIAN (1-8 11-6 11-6 11-3). Jamila LAURENTI of Italy needed seven games to prevail against Zdena BLASKOVA of Czech Republic (10-12 7-11 14-12 7-11 11-7 11-8 12-10) whilst Darya KISEL of Belarus beat Ema LABOSOVA of Slovakia (12-10 14-16 6-11 9-11 14-12 11-7 11-8).         Top seeds at the Junior Girls Doubles Event Zdena BLASKOVA of Czech Republic and Franziska SCHREINER of Germany faced early exit. They lost in the quarterfinal to Russia’s pairings Elizabet ABRAAMIAN and Anstasia KOLISH of Russia after fierce battle in five games (13-11 5-11 11-2 119 11-8).   Ece HARAC and Ozge YILMAZ secured the medal for Turkey. They overcame Romania’s Tania PLAIAN and Luciana MITROFAN in another full distance encounter (9-11 11-4 11-4 8-11 11-4).   “We are so happy that we win the medal for Turkey. We will give our best to go even further tomorrow ” said YILMAZ who recently participated at the European Games in Minsk.   HARAC was confident: ”We won three gold medals at the Balkan Championships so we are not afraid of the challenge. I think we have a quality to reach the final; neven to go to the top of medal rostrum.”   Kristina KAZANTSEVA and Mariia TAILAKOVA of Russia overcame Laura TIEFENBRUNNER of Germany and Fanni HARASZTOVICH of Hungary (11-9 12-10 11-6); Isa COK and Camille LUTZ of France prevailed against no. two seeds Anna WEGRZYN and Katarzyna WEGRZYN of Poland (11-8 9-11 7-11 14-12 11-9).    

2019 STAG European Youth Championships         In the other semi final in same fashion Mike HOLLO and Annett KAUFMANN prevailed against Darius MOVILEANU and Ioana SINGEORZAN of Romania (11-4 11-8 12-10)   „It was 3:0 but there is no easy match. In the semifinal of the European Championships the pressure is always high ” said Mike HOLLO. „Our tactics was to attack as much as possible and because we kept it that way we won.”   Annett KAUFMANN added: „The last game was the most important because we were in reverse but we managed to recover and to win the set and the whole match.”             Thibault PORET and Prithika PAVADE of France clinched the gold medal in the Cadet Mixed Doubles Event at the 2019 STAG European Youth Championships in Ostrava. In the final they overcame Mike HOLLO and Annett KAUFMANN of Germany (11-4 5-11 1-11 8-11).   “We had a bad start of the match but we managed to recover fast and to level the score. This was the toughest match of all at the Event ” said Thibault PORET.   Prithika added: “We were seeded only at the position no. seven. Although our goal was title it was very difficult to achieve it.”   In the semi final Thibault PORET and Prithika PAVADE overcame Felix KOHLER and Naomi PRANJKOVIC of Germany (11-9 11-9 11-5).   „The match was not easy at all. As you can se two opening games we won by narrow margin 11:9. The first set was the most difficult. The last one was easier because I think we broke them in the second game ” said Prithika PAVADE.      

2019 Stag European Youth Championships in Ostrava     In the semi final Samuel KULCZYCKI and Katarzyna WEGRZYN overcame Truls MOREGARD and Rebecca MUSKANTOR of Sweden in three games (11-6 11-8 11-9).   “It is very big success for us to beat the Swedish team with Truls MOREGARD because he is very good player. I am very happy that we won. We played our game and we were focused on ourselves not them. After time-out in the last game they looked like they did not want to play at all but we knew it was their tactics so we focused on each ball because we knew that when we lose the game it could be big complication and the rest of the match would be very tough. We made two good points at the end and we won ” said Samuel KULCZYCKI.   Lev KATSMAN and Elizabet ABRAAMIAN prevailed in all-Russia’s duel against Artem TIKHONOV and Kristina KAZANTSEVA in another straight games encounter (11-7 11-5 11-6).   “We are happy but we will stay calm because we have to go step by step. We knew we have a strong team in mix and we could go very far in this tournament. We were playing against our friends from national team so it was even more difficult mentaly. But the friendship in semifinal goes away. Does not matter if on the other side of the table is your friend or your brother when we play we always want to win ” said Lev KATSMAN.         In the final of the Junior Mixed Doubles Event top seeds Samuel KULCZYCKI and Katarzyna WEGRZYN of Poland overcame no. two seeds Russia’s Lev KATSMAN and Elizabet ABRAAMIAN (6-11 11-7 6-11 11-9 11-5) to clinch the title at the 2019 STAG European Youth Championships.   Lower ranked players had a better start.   “We got ourselves in problems. We were 2-1 in reverse so we had to fight harder. The fourth game was crucial. After that we took the control over the match ” said Samuel KULCZYCKI.    

2019 STAG European Youth Championships     In Cadet Girls Doubles Event top seeded Prithika PAVADE of France and Elena ZAHARIA of Romania had to play against Charlotte LUTZ and Lucie MOBAREK of France for the place at the medal rostrum and they succeeded in four games (11-4 11-7 9-11 11-3).   In the match for the medal Vlada VORONINA and Alina ZAVARYKINA of Russia overcame Vasylysa KANUNNIKOVA and Iolanta YEVTODII of Ukraine (11-3 11-13 11-6 11-3).  Ilona SZTWIERTNIA and Wiktoria WROBEL of Poland beat Elvira Fiona RAD and Jana RIERA of Spain (7-11 11-9 6-11 13-11 11-5). Svetlana DMITRIENKO and Anastasiia BERESNEVA of Russia overcame Bianca MEI ROSU and Oana Adela STRUNA of Romania (11-7 13-11 11-9).     Prithika PAVADE of France overcame Helena SOMMEROVA of Czech Republic in straight matches to secure her place at the medal rostrum in the Cadet Girls Singles Event at the 2019 STAG European Championships in Ostrava (11-5 11-9 11-8 11-6). She will meet Elena ZAHARIA of Romania in the match for final.   Svetlana DMITRIENKO of Russia held the supporters at the edge of their seats in thrilling seven games duel against Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia (12-10 11-7 11-9 13-15 9-11 9-11 11-7).   ZAHARIA overcame Alina ZAVARYKINA of Russia in five games (11-7 9-11 11-9 11-9 11-8). Vlada VORONINA of Russia overcame Naomi PRANJKOVIC of Germany in six games (11-9 11-6 7-11 4-11 11-8 13-11).  

2019 Stag European youth Championships       In the semi final of the Cadet Boys Singles Event at the 2019 STAG European Youth Championships in Ostrava Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland will meet Iulian CHIRITA of Romania whilst Darius MOVILEANU of Romania will play against Alexis KOURAICHI of France.   In the quarterfinal Alexis KOURAICHI beat Denis IZUMRUDOV of Russia in seven games (13-11 10-12 7-11 11-4 11-9 8-11 11-6).   “it is incredible win. I was seeded at the position no. 23 only so after the second round my draw was very tough. However this match against IZMURUDOV was the toughest and hardest of all. It was very challenging physically ” said KOURAICHI. “Before the Championships I was dreaming about such success but I never thought it could be real.”   Milosz REDZIMSKI overcame Vladislav MAKAROV of Russia in another thriller (13-11 5-11 14-12 11-5 5-11 10-12 11-9). Iulian CHIRITA of Romania needed one game less to beat Mike HOLLO of Germany (9-11 11-5 6-11l 11-7 16-14 11-6). Darius MOVILEANU of Romania beat Hugo DESCHAMPS of France.         In Cadet Boys Doubles Event Uri ALMOR and Eitay SHUSHAN of Israel overcame top seeds Simon BELIK and Mike HOLLO of Germany in the Round of 16 before they met Felix LEBRUN and Thibault PORET of France. French boys proved too strong for Israel’s pairings and booked another medal (11-7 11-8 11-8).   Further Vincent SENKBEIL and Tom SCHWEIGER of Germany beat no. two seeds Darius MOVILEANU and Andrei TOMICA of Romania in the Round of 16 to meet Gabrielius CAMARA and Milo DE BOER of Netherlands. They stayed at the wining path and overcame Dutch pairings (14-12 11-7 9-11 7-11 11-6).   Iulian CHIRITA and Eduard IONESCU of Romania secured the place at the medal rostrum after success against Miguel Angel PANTOJA and Diego LILLO of Spain (11-7 11-7 11-7) whilst Hugo DESCHAMPS and Alexis KOURAICHI of France overcame Vladislav MAKAROV and Sergey RYZHOV of Russia (6-11 11-7 11 7 11-9).

2019 STAG European Youth Championships     Lev KATSMAN and Maksim GREBNEV of Russia justified their status in the Junior Boys Doubles Event. They overcame Kay STUMPER and Kirill FADEEV of Germany in the quarterfinal (11-8 11-9 11-4). In semis they will play against Vladislav URSU of Moldova and Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK of Austria. URSU and KOLODZIEJCZYK prevailed against Samuel KULCZYCKI and Maciej KUBIK of Poland (11-5 11-6 11-5).   Truls MOREGARD of Sweden and Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia accounted for YU Khinhang and WANG Chenxi of Azerbaijan (11-13 11-8 11-6 11-7). They will meet Vincent PICARD and Lilian BARDET of France. French pairings overcame Borgar HAUG of Norway and Owen CATHCART of Ireland 11-7 5-11 11-8 11-5).     In a fantastic battle Truls MOREGARD of Sweden overcame Lev KATSMAN of Russia to reach the semi final of the Junior Boys Singles Event at the 2019 STAG European Youth Championships. In the match for final he will meet Vincent PICARD of France. In other semi final YU Khinhang of Azerbaijan will play against Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia.   Truls MOREGARD needed full seven games to overcame Lev KATSMAN (9-11 11-9 11-7 19-17 11-13 11-8). The fourth game was crucial; the endless exchange of powerful strokes finally gave MOREGARD 3-1 advantage. KATSMAN did not give up but failed to bring the match on the different course.   Csaba ANDRAS of Hungary suffered by the hands od Vincent PICARD of France (11-7 8-11 11-9 11-7 12-10). YU Khinhang of Azerbaijan overcame Maksim GREBNEV of Russia after he has been two games up (8-11 8-11 11-4 11-6 11-7 11-3) and in another re run of the Teams Events’ final we will see him playing against SIDORENKO. Russia’s player overcame Samuel KULCZYCKI of Poland (11-6 11-8 4-11 11-3 11-5).    

2019 Stag European Youth Championships   Czech Table Tennis Association the organisers of the 2019 STAG European Youth Championships in Ostrava ensured that plenty of umpires have been available for the increasing number of matches.   “I want to thank them for their work and enthusiasm during the 10 days of the Championships ” said ETTU President Ronald KRAMER.” I compliment the organisers for the official’s outfit that looks very modern an d fits well with the Youth Championships.”   The Championships gathered 98 officials from 25 Associations: Czech Republic Norway Serbia Germany Croatia North Macedonia Slovakia Switzerland France Romania Russia Belgium Norway Spain Poland Hungary Turkey Netherlands England Lithuania Bulgaria Austria Turkey Belarus Estonia.   

European Youth Championships in Ostrava   In the Junior Boys Event at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava Lev KATSMAN of Russia successfully commenced his journey in Singles. Top seed overcame Steven GEORGES of Luxembourg in Round two and beat Alex NAUMI of Finland to reach the Round of 16. Whilst top seeds in Boys Event prevailed in Girls Singles no. one seed Romania’s Tania PLAIAN and no. three seed Kristina KAZANTCEVA of Russia faced early exit.   Top seed in Junior Girls Singles Event overcame Mollie PATTERSON of England in six games in the second Round but in the next round she suffered by the hands of Hungary’s Fanni HARASZTOVICH in seven games.   “I was 3-1 down and I had nothing to lose. I started to attack more; I tried to control the game and to be active. It brought me result ” said HARASZTOVICH.   Charlotte BARDSLEY of England showed no “respect” for ranking order. Seeded at the position no. 46 BARDSLEY overcame seed no. three Kristina KAZANTCEVA of Russia in five games. In the Round of 32 she overcame Kornelija RILISKYTE of Lithuania.   “I was very relaxed against KAZANTSOVA. I played without the pressure. Basically I tried not to complicate I kept the game simple and tried to avoid mistakes ” sais BARDSLEY. “Against RILISKYTE I was under bigger pressure. I already lost to her in the Team’s Event in straight games. It was not pleasant experience but I was prepared for her style of play it was easier to set the tactics. As the Championships progresses I play better and better. In some moments I felt very good ” said BARDSLEY.   Nop. Two seed in Junior Boys Event Samuel KULCZYCKI of Poland beat Tal TILKIN of Israel before he overcame Nikita MOSHKOV of Russia. Vincent PICARD seed no. three also needed only four games to beat Jonatan MCDONALD of Sweden but in the next round he was forced to go full distance against Jan ZANDECKI.   In Round of 64 Maksim GREBNEV of Russia overcame Leon SANTEK of Croatia and I next one he beat Elias HARDMEIER of Switzerland who previously overcame Daniel RINDERER of Germany.   Iasonas KORDOUTIS of Greece seeded at position 158 overcame no. 50 seed Nicolas DEGROS in seven thrilling games but in Round of 32 he suffered by the hands of Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK of Austria in straight games.   Adam KLAJBER of Slovakia put Maciej KUBIK of Poland under severe pressure and forced him to go full distance. Equally hard match KUBIK had to play in Round of 32 against Belgium’s Adrien RASSENFOSSE.