BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships Two times European juniors champion Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS of Greece clinched gold medal at the BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships in Gondomar in Men’s Singles Event. In the final Greek player overcame Gerrit ENGEMANN of Germany (-9 3 -8 9 -8 10 9). Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia and Rares SIPOS of Romania shared third step at the medal rostrum.   SGOUROPOULOS was required to play both stages of Groups matches being seeded only at the positions three and four in his Groups. On his way to the gold medal rostrum he overcame two best Romania’s players and three Germany’s players.   “Match against Cristian was the hardest as always but not even duel against Rares was easy. His style is very difficult for me. At the end I was very tired and my arm hurts. I had problems in the final ” said SGOUROPOULOS.     Gerrit ENGEMANN won first medal at the Europeans after he lost in the quarters of his last junior year. ENGEMANN beat Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia in the semis 4:2 (-3 -5 4 6 8 9) after being two games down.   “I had problem with my service game and problem with receive. Opening games were really hard for me so I had to change my game. I adjust my service I put more rotation on my first ball and managed to recover ” said Gerrit ENGEMANN.   Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS beat Cristian PLETEA in quarters and Rares SIPOS of Romania in the semis (-7 5 6 4 -13 -10 9).   “It is always problem when players play against the adversaries they know very well.  It is hard to find something new tactically. We had to change few things after match against PLETEA but still it was really close match ” explained coach Konstantinos VATSAKLIS. “I told Ioannis he can not give up. True champion must fight until the last ball. We all knew SIPOS will not go easy.”   SGOUROPOULOS was 3:1 down before Rares recovered.   “I had to slow down the game but most important I kept on fighting ” added SGOUROPOULOS

BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships   Adina DIACONU of Romania reached the highest step at the medal rostrum in Gondomar. In the final of the Women’s Singles Event at the BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships she beat Maria MALANINA of Russia 4:0 (11 6 9 7). Bronze medalists are Tania PLAIAN of Romania and Nadezhda BOGDANOVA Belarus.   “It was 4:0 win but every game was close. However I wanted the medal very much. I played thought the tournament top level table tennis ” said DIACONU.   In the semi final Nadezhda BOGDANOVA of Belarus suffered by the hands of Adina in straight games (7 3 3 8).   “I was very confident. I played at my top level best table tennis of my career and I knew I am going to win. At some point Nadezhda started to panic because my every ball ended on the table. I did direct points unmistakably. I also took good care that after 3:0 I do not let anything spoil my victory. I had in my mind I have top stay focused ” explained Adina.   In equally superb style but after five games Maria MALANINA overcame Tania PLAIAN of Romania (9 7 8 -6 5).   “I felt a little pain in my hip which disturbed me. In addition I have never played against Tania and she is really good against the players with the defensive style of play ” explained MALANINA.  

BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships   New champions in Men’s Doubles Event at the BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships are Slovenia’s Darko JORGIC and Peter HRIBAR. In the final they overcame Tibor SPANIK and Adam BRAT of Slovakia 3:1 (8 -6 6 3). Bronze medalists are Denis IVONIN and Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia and Antonino AMATO and Daniele PINTO of Italy.   “It is my first medal at the European Championships and will not make it without great support from Darko JORGIC. It was great experience ” said HRIBAR.   Darko JORGIC showed impressive form in Gondomar. He was main favorite to win the Singles tournament but he lost in the Round of 16 against Artur ABUSEV of Russia.   “He was fantastic and deserved that win but I did not let emotion overwhelmed me; I promised I will come back home with the medal ” said JORGIC.   In the penultimate stage JORGIC and HRIBAR overcame Antonino AMATO and Daniele PINTO of Italy 3:2 (4 -7 9 -2 6).   “We did not expect this. We are playing together for two years we clinched titles twice in National championships but we do not have international medals together. It is first big tournament fight for HRIBAR so it was great achievement. He overcame the pressure and played really good in decisive moments ” said JORGIC.   Tibor SPANIK and Adam BRAT of Slovakia also clinched their first medal together at the international level. In the semis they overcame Denis IVONIN and Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia 3:2 (-10 9 9 -3 9).   “We are playing four years together and we waited a long for this success. We kept game simply moved good and relied a lot of good service. It paid off ” explained BRAT.   SPANIK said that there was one more important factor for success. “In the moments when I was not up to the task Adam played very well and via verse. We complemented each other.”

BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships   Newly crowned champions in the Women’s Doubles Event at the BUTTERFLY Under 21 European championships are Tin-Tin HO of England and Karoline MISCHEK of Austria. In straight games they overcame Anna WEGRZYN and Katarzyna WEGRZYN of Poland (8 13 8). Bronze medalists are ZHANG Xuan of Spain and Audrey ZARIF of France and Lisa LUNG and Margo DEGRAEF of Belgium.   In the final despite the straight games win match was very close.   “We were force to come back few times at this tournament and it helped us to stay focused in the decisive moments today ” said Tin Tin HO.     In the semi final Anna WEGRZYN and Katarzyna WEGRZYN overcame Lisa LUNG and Margo DEGRAEF of Belgium 3:1 (10 11 -8 8).   “The pressure was very high. From the beginning of tournament we tried not to think about the medals. We just gave our best to play on each ball the best we could. However it was not easy to put it away from your mind. In semis we were 2:0 up and 8:6 before we lost third game. In fourth we were 9:6 down and our coach called for a time out in the right moment. We managed to seal the match against very good Belgium’s pairings. ” explained   Tin-Tin HO of England and Karoline MISCHEK overcame ZHANG Xuan of Spain and Audrey ZARIF of France 3:2 (10 -4 -11 9 9).   “It was very hard match and the pressure was very high. We played well and managed to come back from 1:2 and 1:5 ” said Tin Tin HO.   MISCHEK added: ”We are played together only once three weeks ago but we know each other very well. We trained together in Linz.”  

BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships On the penultimate day of the BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships the medal winners in Men’s Doubles Event are already known. To the semi final progressed: Darko JORGIC and Peter HRIBAR of Slovenia Antonino AMATO and Daniele PINTO of Italy Denis IVONIN and Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia and Tibor SPANIK and Adam BRAT of Slovakia.   Darko JORGIC and Peter HRIBAR overcame top seeded pairings Cristian PLETEA and Rares SIPOS of Romania in straight games whilst Aliaksandr KHANIN and Tomasz KOTOWSKI lost against Antonino AMATO and Daniele PINTO. Denis IVONIN and Vladimir SIDORENKO beat Jiri MARTINKO and Patrik KLOS of Czech Republic 3:0 and Tibor SPANIK and Adam BRAT overcame Andreas LEVENKO of Austria and Andrei PUTUNTICA of Moldova.   Cristian PLETEA and Rares SIPOS prevailed against URSU Vladislav of Moldova and Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK of Austria but not without great fight. Tibor SPANIK and Adam BRAT of Slovakia overcame no. two seeds Florian CNUDDE and Thibaut DARCIS of Belgium.   Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS of Greece and Artur ABUSEV of Russia are out from the Round of 16; Antonino AMATO and Daniele PINTO beat them in four games. Darko JORGIC and Peter HRIBAR of Slovenia showed no weak sport against Matteo MUTTI of Italy and Laurens DEVOS of Belgium on their way to the quarters.  Aliaksandr KHANIN of Belarus and Tomasz KOTOWSKI of Poland beat Samuel KULCZYCKI and Maciej KUBIK of Poland in full distance match.   Denis IVONIN and Vladimir SIDORENKO overcame Simon SODERLUND and Per SANDSTROM of Sweden. Andreas LEVENKO of Austria and Andrei PUTUNTICA of Moldova beat Aviv BEN-ARI and Mathan SIMON of Israel whilst Jiri MARTINKO and Patrik KLOS prevailed against Tobias HIPPLER and Nils HOHMEIER of Germany.

BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships   In women’s Doubles Event places at the medal rostrum in Gondomar are already booked. In the semi final of the BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships will play Lisa LUNG and Margo DEGRAEF of Belgium vs. Anna WEGRZYN and Katarzyna WEGRZYN of Poland and ZHANG Xuan of Spain and Audrey ZARIF of France vs. Tin-Tin HO of England and Karoline MISCHEK of Austria.   Lisa LUNG and Margo DEGRAEF overcame Marie MIGOT and Oceane GUISNEL of France 3:2 Anna WEGRZYN and Katarzyna WEGRZYN beat Tatiana KUKULKOVA of Slovakia and Jamila LAURENTI of Italy 3:1. In lower half of the draw ZHANG Xuan and Audrey ZARIF prevailed against Andrea PEREZ of Spain and Tania PLAIAN of Romania also in four games whilst Tin-Tin HO and Karoline MISCHEK upset the favoriotes. They overcame Adina DIACONU and Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania in full distance match.   In the Round of 16 top seeds Lisa LUNG and Margo DEGRAEF beat Sophia KLEE and Anastasia BONDAREVA of Germany in four games to reach the quarterfinal. From the bottom of the draw no two seeds Adina DIACONU and Andreea DRAGOMAN prevailed against Airi AVAMERI of Estonia and Julia SLAZAK of Poland. Anna WEGRZYN and Katarzyna WEGRZYN of Poland created un upset by beating no. four seeds Daria TRIGOLOS and Nadezhda BOGDANOVA of Belarus in full distance match. Filippa BERGAND and Christina KALLBERG of Sweden lost against ZHANG Xuan and Audrey ZARIF.   Due the injury of Mariia TAILAKOVA of Russia who was no. three seed in Doubles with Valeria SHCHERBATYKH of Russia was forced to withdraw. Andrea PEREZ and Tania PLAIAN progressed to the quarterfinal without the fight. Tin-Tin HO and Karoline MISCHEK needed only three games to beat Klara CAKOL and Marta VUKELIC of Croatia whilst Maria MALANINA of Russia and Franziska SCHREINER of Germany overcame Marie MIGOT and Oceane GUISNEL 3:1. Tatiana KUKULKOVA and Jamila LAURENTI joined them after victory over Leonie HARTBRICH and Orsolya FEHER of Hungary.  

BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships Place among top four players at the Men’s Singles Event at the BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships booked Rares SIPOS of Romania Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia Gerrit ENGEMANN of Germany and Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS of Greece.     Great rivalry from junior’s field between Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS of Greece and Cristian PLETEA continued in older category. Like last year in Minsk they meet again in the quarterfinals. Last year it was Cristian PLETEA who won after being 3:1 down this time Greek player prevailed.   “I changed few things in tactics but most important I changed my approach. Last year I was 3:1 up and I lost. Now when I reached 3:0 I was very aware of the danger of being relaxed and I fought harder to maintain the focus ” explained Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS.   He will play against another Romania’s player tomorrow in semis – Rares SIPOS. In quarters SIPOS overcame Artur ABUSEV of Russia in five games.   “It is fantastic win because ABUSEV plays here like he was on fire. Only few hours ago I watched him eliminated Darko JORGIC from the competition. Before that moment Darko was for me the best player in the venue and then ABUSEV destroyed him. I thought ‘I would have more chances against JORGIC’. I had to give more then maximum to beat him ” said SIPOS.   Vladimir SIDORENKO beat Tobias HIPPLER of Germany 4:2.    “I was under severe pressure in this match. For a while I really play at the very high level but somehow I am failing to reach the medal rostrum. I have been halted in Round of 16 quarterfinals….The true is I spent one month in Germany and trained in Ochsenhausen. I learned a lot and changed few things so it seemed I needed a time for everything to come together and to adjust to new game. Finally it happened here. I am only 16 but I win the medal at the Europeans for under 21 and it is great achievement for me. I have to thank Dima MAZUNOV for his great effort and Sergey VLASOV this is our first medal together ” said SIDORENKO.   Gerrit ENGEMANN prevailed against Denis IVONIN of Russia. He was also in disbelief.   “In the Round of 16 after 2:1 I made a bad step and injured my leg. I felt the pain and I thought to withdraw. I could barely move. After 2:2 I got pain killer and somehow win the match. Thanks to our good medical team and good rest I managed to play in quarterfinal. They prepared me well. In addition I played three matches yesterday and lost only one game so I preserved some energy ” explained ENGEMANN.   In the Round of 16 European champion in junior’s category Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS needed only four games to overcame Thibaut DARCIS of Belgium. Belgium’s suffered for further reduce after Laurens DEVOS lost against Cristian PLETEA and his teammate Rares SIPOS overcame Florian CNUDDE.   On contrary to Belgium’s players Russia dominated. Three players entered the Round of 16 and all of them recorded victories. Artur ABUSEV created biggest upset in Round of 16 by beating no. two seed Darko JORGIC of Slovenia in seven games.  No. six seed Tobias HIPPLER of Germany beat Patrik KLOS of Czech Republic whilst Vladimir SIDORENKO easily overcame Poland’s Samuel KULCZYCKI. Denis IVONIN joined his teammate after victory over Tomasz KOTOWSKI of Poland. Germany’s Gerrit ENGEMANN was slowed down by his injury but still he found the tactics to overcame Luxembourg’s Luka MLADENOVIC.  

BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships   In the semi final of the Women’s Singles Event at the BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships tomorrow will play Maria MALANINA of Russia against Tania PLAIAN of Romania and Adina DIACONU of Romania against Nadezhda BOGDANOVA of Belarus   Highest ranked player on duty after Russia’s Valeria SCHERBATYKH faced early exit in Round Stage Lisa LUNG of Belgium lost against Maria MALANINA of Russia.   “I won in straight games but it was not easy at all. When I was preparing for this match I had our last encounter in mind. I beat her three years ago in a very close match and I was cautious today. I know I have to be very focused ” explained MALANINA.   In straight games Adina DIACONU overcame Oceane GUISNEL of France.   “It was much harder then the result predicts. Every game was close but I was much better in finish. I was motivated and I gave my best that my adversary sees that. Of course there is always a huge pressure when you play for medal but I did not let it overcame me ” said DIACONU.   Nadezhda BOGDANOVA also finds it hard to cope with pressure in final moments of the match against Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania. However she kept her nerve and prevailed.   “We played against each other long time ago and I was not orientated on her tactics very much. My main task was to keep my focus and to stay calm. I managed to stick to that tactics until 3:0 and 6:3 in fourth game but then I realized how close I am to win the medal. I started to shake and I am still shaking. I lost one game before I settled in my rhythm and concluded the match ” said BOGDANOVA.   Tania PLAIAN stayed longest in the field after being forced to play all seven games against Audrey ZARIF of France.   “I knew I can beat her even before the match although she was the favorite. Few things worked in my favor. I am younger and I was under less pressure I knew my game is difficult for her and I had my service game perfectly tuned. We went full distance but I always felt I am in control ” said Tania.   In Round of 16 seeded only at the position no. 53 Tania PLAIAN beat Christina KALLBERG of Sweden no. 30 seed to reach the quarterfinal. Audrey ZARIF prevailed against Karoline MISCHEK of Austria. Maria MALANINA halted the progress of no. 6 seed Daria TRIGOLOS of Belarus whilst Lisa LUNG prevailed against Sophia KLEE of Germany after five games.   Romania’s Adina DIACONU preserved some energy by beating Slovakia’s Tatiana KUKULKOVA in straight games on her way to quarters. In same superb style Andreea DRAGOMAN overcame Marie MIGOT of France. Nadezhda BOGDANOVA of Belarus beat Leonie HARTBRICH of Hungary and Tin-Tin HO of England suffered by the hands of Oceane GUISNEL.