European Youth Championships   In the early afternoon today four teams secured medals in the Cadet Girls Team’s Event at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava. In the semis Romania will meet France whilst Germany will play against Russia.   Three out of four matches concluded in straight matches. Romania was one of the team that secured 3-0 win. Reigning champions and no. one seeds overcame Ukraine. Elena ZAHARIA overcame Iolanta YEVTODII in singles and partnering Ioana SINGEORZAN prevailed against Vasilysa KANUNNIKOVA and YEVTODII in singles. SINGEORZAN beat KANUNNIKOVA in second singles match.   “We are so happy that we reached the medal rostrum but our aim is to defend our gold. We have strong team and we are very confident ” said ZAHARIA. “We played against Ukraine two years ago at the European Youth Championships but in that team was only one player that is present now. It was much more difficult.”   Seeded at the position no. two Russia overcame Belarus 3-0. Vlada VORONINA and Alina ZAVARYKINA beat Veranika VARABYOVA and Vera VOLKAVA both in singles and doubles.     Germany joined them with 3-0 victory over Poland. Annett KAUFMANN and Naomi PRANJKOVIC played singles and doubles together and they beat Ilona SZTWIERTNIA and Anna BRZYSKA.   “They both have similar technique. Naomi and I suffered a little because they are pimp-lers. It took time before we learnt how to play against them. When we adjust to their game we just stick to the tactics ” said PRANJKOVIC.   Annett added:”I was very nervous because I had to play the opening match. It always put some extra pressure. It become better when I won the opening game but my adversary started to play better. I told my self I had to keep on fighting and that is what I did. In the doubles we lost our focus at some point but we recovered and in decisive game we were very confident.”     Only duel that went four matches was the one between France and Slovakia. Adriana ILLASOVA gave Slovakia good start with the victory over Prithika PAVADE. Charlotte LUTZ succeeded in close five games match against Dominika WILTSCHKOVA who also lost her singles against PAVADE.

European Youth Championships   The venue of Torax Arena erupted today after Junior Girls Team clinched the medal at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava. They secured at least bronze after success over Slovenia in the quarterfinal. Now they are looking for even harder challenge – match against Russia. Top seeds prevailed against Romania in straight matches.   Czech Republic needed four matches to overcame Slovenia. Linda ZADEROVA gave hosts a good start. She overcame Katarina STRAZAR in four games.   “I know STRAZAR very well I already beat her before. But of course it was a very close match. When I started well in the third set I felt that I will win ” said ZADEROVA.   Zdena BLASKOVA was on the top of the game again. Despite being down two times she recovered and overcame Lea PAULIN and STRAZAR.   “In both my matches I was very nervous and both encounters were very close. I was saying to myself that I have to fight for every point because we are playing for medal. Through the matches I played good but also had some bad moments. Luckily it turned out well. In both matches I was able to turn the score and win the game which was really helpful. We are so happy to be in the semifinals here on home soil ” explained BLASKOVA.   The only point Slovenia managed to win is from the duel between Lara OPEKA and Gabriela STEPANOVA.     Romania has young team and they are yet to comeback to the medal winners path. Surely the Russia’s side was not there today to make them any easier. Maria TAILAKOVA Anastasia KOLISH and Elizabet ABRAAMIAN showed no mercy against Denisa URITU Tania PLAIAN and Luciana MITROFAN.   “I did not expect such a hard fight the matches before were much easier. But my adversary played a really good game and I had to play the ball back on the table for five or six times in each rally. I still have so much things to improve but I will think about it and I hope that in next rounds I will play even better ” said ABRAAMIAN.     France booked their place in the semis after straight matches victory over Italy. Camille LUTZ overcame Jamila LAURENTI Isa COK was stretched to full distance but beat Gaia MONFARDINI and Julie PENNEC succeeded against Valentina RONCALLO.   “I already played against LAURENTI so I knew how she plays. Her rubber was not so big problem for me I was able to adjust quickly. I was really motivated and I really wanted to win. We are so happy to be in the semifinals but we will keep fighting to reach the finals ” said Camille LUTZ.     Poland made Germany go full distance before they clinched the medal. Franziska SCHREINER set a good path for Germany after victory over Katarzyna WEGRZYN but her sister Anna beat Anastasia BONDAREVA in five thrilling games to level the match. Another five games thriller finished in favor of Sophia KLEE. Aleksandra MICHALAK lost the decisive game 15-17. Anna overcame SCHREINER to give Poland another chance but BONDAREVA overcame Katarzyna in straight games.   “In the first match I lost to Anna WEGRZYN in five games but she is a very strong player. After I lost 2-3 I was of course little bit sad but before the last match against Katarzyna I said to myself ok it doesn’t matter now I will fight for every ball. In the first match I played good so I was confident that I can win the last one. And I am so happy that I could help my team to reach the semifinals ” said Anastasia BONDAREVA.    

European Youth Championships in Ostrava   In the semi final of the Cadet Boys Event at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava Romania will meet France whilst Russia will play against Germany.   France was under severe pressure and went full distance to overcame Poland. Thibault PORET and Felix LEBRUN had a good start in singles and overcame Milosz REDZIMSKI and Mateusz ZALEWSKI but Polish combination in Doubles proved too strong for Alexis KOURAICHI and PORET. REDZIMSKI managed to level the match after victory over LEBRUN and to push to decider. PORET beat ZALEWSKI in four games in fifth match.   “This year we beat them 3-0 but this time it was much harder. They were good prepared ” said Felix LEBRUN.       Romania prevailed against Spain in straight matches. Eduard IONESCU and Darius MOVILEANU beat Daniel BERZOSA and Miguel Angel PANTOJA in singles. Andrei TOMICA joined Darius in doubles to secure the win in doubles against Diego LILLO and PANTOJA.       Germany was also stretched to full distance against Hungary. Mike HOLLO overcame Bence BALOHGH but Erik HUSZVAR responded promptly and overcame Felix KOHLER. Vincent SENKBEIL and Tom SCHWEIGER lost against BALOGH and HUSZVAR but HOLLO beat HUSZVAR on his second exit to the table. KOHLER overcame BALOGH to seal the match.       Russia inflicted the pain in the host nation supporters. They overcame Czech Republic in straight matches. Vladislav MAKAROV beat Ondrej KVETON Denis IZUMRUDOV beat Simon BELIK and MAKAROV and Sergey RYZHOV beat BELIK and Vit KADLEC.

European Youth Championships in Ostrava   Azerbaijan recorded another victory at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava to book the place in the quarterfinal of the Junior Boys Team’s Event. They will meet France. At the bottom of the draw Germany progressed to meet Spain. Also in quarters Belgium will play against Poland and Sweden against Russia.   Belgium overcame Croatia in straight matches. Adrien RASSENFOSSE showed no mercy against Jakov JAKELIC Olav KOSOLOSKY beat Ivor BAN in four games and Nicolas DEGROS overcame Leon SANTEK by same margin.   “I am satisfied with my performance but it was a difficult match. I felt that I am better than my adversary but he played also really good. I was leading 2-0 then he came back he changed service and I don´t like these serves from left-handed players. In this Championships I am still very nervous I can´t feel the ball well but I hope than in next rounds it will be better ” said Nicolas DEGROS.   Azerbaijan also needed only three matches to reach the quarterfinal. They overcame Portugal. YU Khinhang prevailed against Samuel DA SILVA YANG Xiny beat Jose MAGALHAES and WANG Chenxi beat Goncalo GOMES.   Poland prevailed against Slovakia 3-0. Maciej KUBIK Samuel KULCZYCKI and Szymon KOLASA overcame Filip DELINCAK Adam KLAJBER and Samuel FECO. “I think I played really well and our team was very focused and we were supporting each other. In the beginning I was little bit nervous it is round of sixteen and it has a different atmosphere than the group stage. But after the first game I was relaxed and I played good. Last year I won cadet boys singles but now for me it is a new tournament new challenge and I want to start it with clear head and fighting spirit ” explained Maciej KUBIK.   Sweden overcame Moldova in express way 3-0. Truls MOREGARD beat Felix COZMOLICI Martin FRIIS beat Vladislav URSU and Jonatan MCDONALD accounted for Danila TITOV. In same style Russia prevailed against Hungary. Vladimir SIDORENKO gave Russia the dream start with the victory over Patrik JUHASZ Maksim GREBNEV prevailed against Csaba ANDRAS and Lev KATSMAN beat Oliver BOTH.   “We lost yesterday against Azerbaijan so we were on alert today. We started the match by being very focused and cautious ” said Lev KATSMAN.       French coach David Johnson praised his team after victory over Serbia.   “Vincent PICARD and Lilian BARDET played two very close encounter at the beginning of the match. They overcome Nemanja DJILAS and Dimitrije LEVAJAC after very brave and good performance. Dorian ZHENG had less difficult job after. We needed match like this at the beginning of the main draw to prepare for what is coming in the duel against Azerbaijan ” explained JOHNSON.     Germany progressed to the semi final after victory over hosts. Czech Republic lost in four matches. Dominik JONACK beat Radek SKALA Kay STUMPER overcame Michal BLINKA before Radim BAKO overcame Kirill FADEEV in full distance match. STUMPER sealed the match with victory over SKALA.   Spain progressed to the quarterfinal after win over Italy. Alberto LILLO was the backbone of Spanish success. He overcame Andrea PUPPO and Carlo ROSSI. ROSSI managed to score against Francisco RUIZ but Miguell NUNEZ was ready for Johnh OYEBODE.   “It was a really good match we were 2-1 up and then I won a hard match in five sets so I am really happy. We made it into the quarterfinals and we will face Germany and it is great that we can fight for medal. My tactic in the last match was to play everything with my backhand to his backend but he started to push into my forehand so it was not so easy. However in the final game I played really well. Of course I was little bit nervous but in this tournament I feel comfortable and it went well ” said LILLO.   In the the Round of 16 of the Cadet Boys Team’s Event Romania beat Belgium 3-0. In the quarter final they will meet Spain. Spain needed four matches to beat Turkey. Poland was stretched to full distance against Sweden but they prevailed. In next round they will meet France who needed four matches to overcame Portugal.   In the lower half of the draw Russia overcame Ukraine 3-1 and they will meet Czech Republic. Host nation prevailed against Italy in straight matches. Germany and Hungary will meet tomorrow. Germany beat Slovakia 3-0 and Hungary beat Croatia by same margin.    

European Youth Championships in Ostrava   Without need for agonizing fifth match favorites booked their places in the quarterfinal of the Junior Girls Team’s Event at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava. However it was far from easy path for most of them. In the quarterfinal will play Russia vs. Romania Slovenia vs. Czech Republic Italy vs. France and Germany vs. Poland.   Top favorites and top seeds Russia was the first to leave the venue. They overcame Ukraine in straight matches. Mariia TAILAKOVA overcame Anastasiya DYMITRENKO Anastasia KOLISH accounted for Veronika HUD whilst Elizabet ABRAMIAAN beat Alina VYDRUCHENKO.   “We were ready for this and very focused. It is hard to point what was key to success because it was easy challenge for us. I do not think we will have much difficulties tomorrow against Romania ” said TAILAKOVA.       Romania overcame Netherlands also 3-0. Tania PLAIAN overcame Karlijn VAN LIEROP Luciana MITROFAN prevailed against Emine ERNST and Denisa URITU beat Dobrila JORGUSESKA.   Slovenia needed four matches to overcame Serbia. Katarina STRAZAR overcame both Andjela MENGER and Radmila TOMINJAK. Reka BEZEG scored for Serbia by beating Lara OPEKA and Lea PAULIN succeeded against TOMINJAK.   Romania overcame Netherlands also 3-0. Tania PLAIAN overcame Karlijn VAN LIEROP Luciana MITROFAN prevailed against Emine ERNST and Denisa URITU beat Dobrila JORGUSESKA.    Czech Republic left Norway without the chances 3-0. Linda ZADEROVA Zdena BLASKOVA and Gabriela STEPANOVA overcame Rikke SKATTET Martine TOFTAKER and Lisa LANGE.   “We played against them for a first time so we were little bit nervous. It did not last long thanks to great support we have here in Ostrava. I hope we will be able to thank them with the medal ” said BLASKOVA.   Italy won 3-0 against Sweden but all three girls had to play full distance matches. Gaia MONFARDINI beat Rebecca MUSKANTOR Jamila LAURENTI overcame Alma ROOSE and Valentina RONCALLO prevailed against Jennie EDVINSSON.   “Last time when I played against ROOSE I lost only one game. Now it was much harder. All over matches were very close. WE have to play our best for each ball ” said LAURENTI.       Isa COK Camille LUTZ and Julie PENNEC of France overcame Ozge YILMAZ Ece HARAC and Merve DEMIR in straight games. Portugal lost to Germany also in three matches. Anastasia BONDAREVA Franziska SCHREINER and Yuki TSUTSUI beat Ines BATISTA Raquel MARTINS and Joana LOPES.   “It was Yuki’s first match at the tournament but she was great. We have very strong team and I am confident in our game ” said BONDAREVA.     Poland overcame Hungary 3-1. Anna WERGRZYN overcame Fanni HARASZTOVICH and Helga DARI. Her sister Katarzyna beat Fanni whilst Hungary’s Anita DRABANT overcame Aleksandra MICHALAK.   “In the last match I lost little bit of confidence and I was very nervous. When I lost one game I started to serve and receive badly. In the middle of the last game I said to myself „come on fight Anna”. I started to attack harder changed my service and won. I believed from the first ball that our team will win because our team is very strong and I believe that we can beat Germany tomorrow as well ” said Anna WERGRZYN.      

European Youth Championships in Ostrava   Top seeded team in the Cadet Girls Team’s Event Romania progressed to the Round of 16 at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava. Elena ZAHARIA Ioana SINGEORZAN Bianca MEI ROSU and Oana Adela STRUNA booked the top place I Group A   In the last match in Group they overcame Serbia 3-1. Italy beat Hungary in the direct clash for the position no. two.       In Group B Russia recorded three wins; Alina ZAVARKYNA and Vlada VORONINA beat Ukraine Portugal and Turkey. Ukraine’s Vasylysa KANUNNIKOVA and Iolanta YEVTODII finished second.     France is also unbeaten in Group C. Charlotte LUTZ Prithika PAVADE and Lucie MOBAREK overcame Poland Belgium and Belarus. Poland has one victory less.       In Group D Germany emerged successfully to the top of the Group. Croatia had to give up of their leading position after defeat from Lithuania and Germany. Fell to third position whilst Czech Republic moved to second. In Germany’s team are Naomi PRNJAKOVIC Anett KAUFMANN and Jele STORTZ.     Results here Facebook here Twitter here Flickr here Instagram here  

European Youth Championships in Ostrava   The third round of the Group stage of the Junior Boys Team’s Event brought a lot of suspense at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava. Azerbaijan created the biggest upset by reaching the top spot in Group A; they accounted for Russia. Germany Sweden and Poland joined them.       Azerbaijan was seeded only at the position no. four but they overcame all three teams in their Group: Russia Italy and Switzerland. Top seeds were the last to fall. Only Maxim GREBNEV beat WANG Chenghi whilst YANG Xinyu and YU Khinghang succeeded against Vladimir SIDORENKO and Lev KATSMAN.       In Group B the order was also disturbed but not dramatically. Germany seeded at position no. two reached the top spot whilst France went one down. Both secured their places in the knock out phase.   “We won against Slovakia but it was very difficult match. We made it even more difficult. Our performance was not at the highest level ” admitted Kay STRUMPER who overcame both Adama KLAJBER and Filip DELINCAK.     France came back after yesterday’s defeat against Germany and beat Romania in straight matches.   “I had to talk with the boys after defeat. The hardest part was to bring them back after they lost in five close matches. I told them we are still in game and we have to fight. We made our journey harder but our goal was still reachable ” said coach David JOHNSTON.   In Group C Poland’s Samuel KULCZYCKI Jakub WITKOWSKI Szymon KOLASA emerged successfully at the top. They overcame Hungary Spain and Denmark on their way to the knock out phase. In the last match they played without Maciej KUBIK. Spain finished second. They overcame Hungary in the last match to secure their place among top 16 teams.   In Group D Sweden overcame Serbia and recorded third victory in the Group to secure the top position. Belgium finished at the position no. two.   “The greatest challenge here was to overcame Belgium yesterday. They are no. four seeds in the tournament so it was bit of the surprise. The key to success was that we have strong players on each position ” said Truls MOREGARD.   In the team of Sweden are also Jonatan MCDONALD Martin FRIIS and Theo ABRAHAMSSON.       Results here Facebook here Twitter here Flickr here Instagram here  

  In Cadet Boys Team’s Event Romania Russia France and Germany booked the top positions in their respective groups after the first stage of the competition in Ostrava. At the European Youth Championships.   In Group A Romania justified their status by beating Italy in the last round of the Group stage. Andrei TOMICA Eduard IONESCU and Darius MOVILEANU overcame also Portugal and Hungary. Hungary pushed Portugal further down to book second position in the Group. Bence BALOGH David SZANTOSI and Erik HUZSVAR succeeded in five matches today.   In Group B Russia and Spain accounted for Croatia and Sweden in the third round to book their place in top 16 teams. Russia’s Denis IZUMRUDOV Vladislav MAKAROV and Sergey RYZHOV are unbeaten so far at the Championships. Angel PANTOJA of Spain won all his three matches.   “For me the toughest game was first against David BJORKRYD. His service game is excelent. After that I improved my receive and everything was easier ” said PANTOJA.   In Group C Czech Republic failed to justify leading position but after victory over Turkey in the last round booked their place in the knock out stage. The leading team in the Group is France. Felix LEBRUN Thibault PORET and Hugo DESCHAMPS overcame Slovakia after they succeeded against Turkey and Czech Republic day earlier.   “The team always expects two points from my single matches so the double game is the key to the success with these better teams extra point. Today it was our first match together with Vítek KADLEC as my team player in doubles and he was little nervous from the start because it was emotional with Turkey but fortunately all started to go well ” explained Sion BELIK. “We wanted to win the group and I am quite sure that with my own racquets we could have defeated the France yesterday as well.”       In Group D top seeded Belgium fell to the last position at the standings whilst Germany progressed one step up from the second. Poland also moved to the knock out stage. They are second in the group. Ukraine beat Belgium in straight matches whilst Poland lost to Germany’s Felix KOHLER Mike HOLLO and doubles Tom SCHWEIGER and Vincent SENKBEIL.     Results here Facebook here Twitter here Flickr here Instagram here