In the 2023 STUPA European Table Tennis Championships defending champions Germany are set to face vice-champions Romania in the Women’s Teams final on Sunday at 2 PM CET. Meanwhile in the Men’s final at 5.30 PM CET reigning champions Germany will go up against the host nation Sweden. Live score here Live streaming on ETTU.TV. Pictures here Romania – France 3-1 For the third time in a row in the penultimate stage of major European team events Romania overcame France. In a rematch of the 2021 Cluj semi-final and the penultimate stage match at the European Games in Krakow Romania counted on France on their way to the final. Bernadette SZOCS prevailed against Prithika PAVADE in superb style (11-9 11-6 11-13 11-7). “I started well against PAVADE but after 2-0 I made a few easy mistakes and allowed her to take the third game. I made errors I do not usually make and I was angry at myself. However I am feeling so good and I am in perfect shape so it did not affect my overall result. I just felt I could not lose. I am ready for any adversary here ” said SZOCS. Elizabeta SAMARA could not follow that and it was YUAN Jia Nan who nullified Romania’s lead equally strong like SZOCS brings advantage to Romania. YUAN also dropped only one game to win the match (11-6 11-13 11-6 11-3). “It is difficult when you lose but most important is that we have a good team and great team spirit. I hope I will lift my game to win one tomorrow ” said SAMARA. “I played last time against YUAN in Metz in 2016; I could not find the game for her today.” In her first match in Malmö Arena Adina DIACONU brought an important point to Romania. She overcame Audrey ZARIF to give her team a lead (7-11 11-9 11-8 11-5). “I will not lie; it was very very very hard today. I felt immense pressure for being for the first time in the lineup for the match and at such an important stage of the Continental Championships after the result was 1-1 in the team match. I had to win that one and I was under stress. It affected my opening game. I did not have a chance to feel the venue nor the table. The key was to calm down and to focus on my game. That is what I did from the second game ” said DIACONU. “We played many matches against each other and I won many of them. The quality of my shots disturbed her. I was confident with my service which allowed me to control rallies.” Bernadette SZOCS overcame YUAN in straight games in Krakow earlier this summer and she used the same recipe today in Malmö (11-8 11-8 5-11 12-10). “Like in the match against PAVADE I started very well and established the early lead at 2-0. Unfortunately again I lost the third game. That made me really angry but I managed to calm myself. I could not afford to be angry long against YUAN. She is the player with vast experience. I had to keep calm and focused ” said SZOCS. The victory SZOCS achieved in Krakow still continues to pay off. “Before the European Games I never managed to beat her but afterward I overcame her four times. That is one more reason that I could not accept the scenario where I lost against YUAN here. I have the game for her. Even if I lose it had to be because she played something new not because I did not perform at my top level. When I am in top shape YUAN cannot beat me; her game suits me nothing disturbs me especially ” concluded SZOCS. Bernadette SZOCS – Prithika PAVADE 3-1 (11-9 11-6 11-13 11-7) Elizabeta SAMARA – YUAN Jia Nan 1-3 (6-11 13-11 6-11 3-11) Adina DIACONU – Audrey ZARIF 3-1 (7-11 11-9 11-8 11-5). Bernadette SZOCS – YUAN Jia Nan 3-1 (11-8 11-8 5-11 12-10) Portugal – Germany 0-3 For the sixth time in the 65-year history of European Championships Germany’s women’s team will face Romania. The semifinal against Portugal was once again a clear affair for the quintet led by coach Tamara BOROS. The rematch of the encounter two years ago in the semifinals ended with a comfortable 3-0 victory without dropping a set. “We really wanted the duel with Romania because we want revenge for our loss at the European Games ” says Tamara BOROS. “We need to play better than we did two months ago in Poland but we are well-prepared.” In the opening match against Portugal a highly focused Nina MITTELHAM dominated the game against Jieni SHAO after narrowly winning the first set. She placed her top spins effectively with strength in both attack and defense. Ying HAN’S defense against the European Games champion from 2019 Fu YU was equally strong and versatile with her increasing attacks finding their mark reliably. Thus YU could only resign in the duel of the two top players of their teams after the first closely contested game. Xiaona SHAN Germany’s reliable player in the third position had no problems as expected against the 18-year-old Ines MATOS. After an hour and ten minutes the penultimate step on the defending champion’s mission for gold was accomplished. “Things went relatively well in the game. We won convincingly. I’m proud of the team for achieving this ” said MITTELHAM the European Championships finalist from Munich. “I went into the match feeling very relaxed perhaps because I always have a good feeling when playing against Portugal and I feel very comfortable. The first set got close after a big lead but after that I didn’t let anything slip away.” The match against Romania a little over two months ago in the final of the European Games in Krakow ended with a 2-3 defeat and gold for the team led by world No. 12 Bernadette Szöcs. In the European Championships

The sixth day at the 2023 STUPA European Table Tennis Championships in Malmö brought the matches that determines who will reach the medal rostrum.  You can follow the live score here Live streaming on ETTU.TV. Pictures here Romania – Spain 3-2 Reigning champions Romania justified their status and in a thrilling five-match battle they beat Spain. In the penultimate stage they will meet France. Bernadette SZOCS overcame Maria BERZOSA but for Elizabeta SAMARA it was the opposite scenario. SAMARA took an early lead and forced Maria XIAO to go the full distance but in the close finish the Spanish player prevailed. Sofia-Xuan ZHANG widened the gap further with a victory over Andreea DRAGOMAN. Andreea took the third game but Sofia managed to regain control in the fourth. On her second appearance at the table SZOCS did not relax her grip for a second. Maria XIAO could not find the game to stop her so Bernadette was forced into the decisive match. “I am proud of my team and I am very satisfied with my performance. I am finally satisfied with my game. I played recently against Maria XIAO in Rio and it was a close game. Against her you have to keep focused and stay in the game no matter how many balls she puts on the table – and she puts them a lot. I was cautious thanks to our last encounter and it paid off with a straight games win ” said SZOCS. In the last duel SAMARA prevailed against BERZOSA. “I lost to Maria XIAO in the opening match 9-11 in the decisive game so there is no need to explain how close it was. We always play close matches. One or two points decide the whole duel. I was in the lead 2-1 and it was 6-5 when Maria changed the course of the match. In the fifth match against BERZOSA I held to my game; she came close in the second game but I maintained control ” explained SAMARA. Slovakia – France 1-3 France secured a place on the medal podium to level the result from Cluj. Now they will play against the same adversary they met two years ago – Romania. On their way to the semis France overcame Slovakia the team that beat them at the World Championships. In the opening match after five games and 45 minutes of a fierce battle against Barbora BALAZOVA Prithika PAVADE suffered her first defeat at the Championships. YUAN Jia Nan leveled the match after a straight games victory over Ema LOBOSOVA. Audrey ZARIF also won and secured another point in the duel against Tatiana KUKULKOVA. BALAZOVA put the pressure on YUAN Jia Nan but could not prevail. “Two years ago we lost against Romania and we are ready for a new clash with them to move further up on the medal podium ” said Audrey ZARIF. “We wanted revenge for our defeat against Slovakia at the World Championships. Even though I lost my match I had full confidence that they can bring the points and that we will win.” Speaking of the duel against Slovakia ZARIF said: “BALAZOVA played superbly today. She was 0-2 down against PAVADE but she did not give up. We were down 0-1 but we stayed confident. In my match against KUKULKOVA I stayed calm and overall we performed at the top level.” PAVADE: “It was a pity that I lost my match here. I played very well being 2-0 up. However I lost my rhythm; she raised her game. Maybe I could have won the fourth game; it was 5-2 for me and I had a few points to win the match. In the decisive match I made a few easy mistakes… at the end it is important that the team won.” Germany – Italy 3-0 Germany’s women’s team has reached the semi-finals for the 18th time. Ying HAN Nina MITTELHAM and Xiaona SHAN defeated Italy 3-0 thanks to another confident performance. The defending champions seeded number one have only dropped three games throughout the tournament so far. After her rest period due to minor muscular issues it was Ying HAN who opened the match against Italy. Germany’s number one in the European rankings defeated the 39-year-old seven-time European Championships medalist Nikoleta STEFANOVA in less than 20 minutes. “I played well better than I expected because in my last singles match on Monday it was a completely different style of play ” said Ying Han contentedly after her three-day tournament break. Following that Nina extended the lead to 2-0 without dropping a game against Giorgia PICCOLIN a quarter-finalist from the European Championships in Munich. Xiaona SHAN then sealed the victory against Gaia MONFARDINI. “Our team has played well so far. We didn’t have very tough matches but that’s not our problem ” commented women’s national team coach Tamara BOROS. “Regardless of whether we face Sweden or Portugal in the semi-finals both would be a 50:50 match for us.” France – Belgium 3-1 Felix LEBRUN recorded two wins against Adrien RASSENFOSSE and Cedric NUYTINCK to help France move to the semi-final. Alexis LEBRUN overcame NUYTINCK whilst Martin ALLEGRO recorded one win for Belgium in the duel against Jules ROLLAND. Felix LEBRUN was content with the victory: “I’m definitely happy that we could win and we’ve made it through to the semifinals. I’m in good shape although I know I have a lot of room for improvement.” Felix recorded a sixth win out of six matches . Against Cedric he was particularly lethal. “I scored most of my points with my fast flat backhand. That’s my tactic and I was aware that Cedric NUYTINCK tried to put pressure on my forehand. He has good spin and he knows how to make it difficult for me. I’m familiar with his playing style so I tried to return the ball more slowly to counter that.” Younger brother LEBRUN added: “We will be watching the Sweden-Hungary match tonight and to win the semifinal we’ll have to perform

After a day’s break at the 2023 STUPA European Table Tennis Championships in Malmö the fights resumed with the Round of 16 matches. The knockout stage ignited the Arena with close encounters from the morning session. You can follow the live score here Live streaming on ETTU.TV. Pictures here Round of 16: Portugal – Croatia 3-1 Portugal was the first team to secure a place in the quarterfinals this morning. Led by the lethally accurate SHAO Jieni bronze medal winners from Cluj they safely moved one step closer to the medal podium after a win over Croatia. SHAO won both of her encounters. She accounted for Ivana MALOBABIC and Mateja JEGER MAJSTOROVIC in matches that left little doubt about the winners. Mateja lost to YU FU and Hana ARAPOVIC scored the only point for Croatia with the voictory over Ines MATOS. “This is one of the most important Championships for us and we are all ready for the challenge. I came to Sweden well-prepared especially mentally ” said SHAO. On their way to the knockout stage Portugal beat Bulgaria and Serbia. “We have not been seriously challenged until now which gave us the opportunity to adjust to the venue and the conditions without major pressure. However we feel that the pressure is increasing as we approach the closing stages. Big matches are ahead of us ” said SHAO. Spain – Luxembourg 3-1 Spain halted Luxembourg’s progress after a very close duel. NI Xia Lian opened the match with a win over Maria XIAO but from that point Spain took control. Sofia-Xuan ZHANG overcame Sarah DE NUTTE and Maria BERZOSA was too strong for Tessy GONDERINGER. Maria XIAO overcame DE NUTTE. The last two matches went the full distance. Sofia Zhang (who is celebrating her 24th birthday today) said: “This was a wonderful birthday present. I was nervous. We’ve played against each other twice and our head-to-head was tied at 1-1. I tried to clear my mind and stick to my game plan. I felt like I had nothing to lose. So I’m really happy to celebrate my birthday with a victory. Maria lost the first game and we knew that I had to win the second game to even the score.” Maria BERZOSA added: “It was a very challenging match and I felt the responsibility for the team. I tried to stay focused and approached every point as if the score was 0-0. I’m most satisfied with my backhand serve which gave me an advantage and earned me most of the points.” Hungary – England 3-2 After five matches that went to the decisive fifth game Hungary secured their place among the top 8 teams by defeating England. Liam PITCHFORD remained unbeaten in the match. He overcame Adam SZUDI and Bence MAJOROS but Hungary earned their place in the quarterfinals through a stronger team effort. Adam SZUDI beat Paul DRINKHALL Tamas LAKATOS overcame Tom JARVIS and in the decisive match MAJOROS overcame DRINKHALL. Regarding his match against Liam Bence said: “In the beginning I thought I had a good chance but the longer the game continued he made fewer mistakes and in the end he impressed.” Speaking of his victory over Paul MAJOROS added: “We have played three times before and I had lost all of them. In the beginning I was nervous but I tried to stay calm. I thought it was important to find my rhythm focus on my movements and control my body language. The key I think was that I changed my serving strategy and targeted his backhand. During the rallies I focused on gaining an advantage. I also managed to receive his long serves by waiting a bit.” Belgium – Poland 3-2 The advantage shifted from Poland to Belgium before Adrien RASSENFOSSE finally sealed the long-distance duel with a win in the decisive game launching Belgium into the quarterfinals. Samuel KULCZYCKI gave Poland a dream start with a win over Cédric NUYTINCK. Adrien RASSENFOSSE beat Milosz REDZIMSKI to level the match. After two opening duels ended in straight games Martin ALLEGRO was stretched to a full five games overcoming Maciej KUBIK. The next two games also lasted five games each. REDZIMSKI overcame Cédric NUYTINCK and RASSENFOSSE was too strong for KULCZYCKI. “I think it was a really similar level in both teams; it was all down to the fight and small details. We showed a good fight and we knew that it was a really strong team opposing us so we are really happy to win again because they had revenge to take on us and it was really hard. And I think we had some opportunities to finish the match earlier but they also played really well so throughout the match it was really nice to come out a winner because we could really have lost ” said RASSENFOSSE. RASSENFOSSE promised a fierce fight from the team in the next duels. “I am not looking far forward; it’s the present and we enjoy it and I really enjoyed my match and we played quite well. We hope maybe to see Cedric play at his best level tomorrow because maybe he was not at his best today but he is getting there so I think we will have an interesting match against the winner from the duel between Slovenia and France.” Slovenia – France 2-3 For the second time in a row Felix LEBRUN beat Darko JORGIC to help France secure its place in the round of eight. Slovenia lost in a dramatic five-match duel whilest the French team will face Belgium in the quarterfinals. Felix who just turned 17 two days ago opened the match with a 3-2 win over JORGIC and closed the match with a win over Peter HRIBAR. “The coach told me that I would play in position number two so I expected to play against Darko in the first match. I felt amazing after winning the match although I was a bit nervous before it. However I wanted to focus on

The final day of action at the ITTF European Para Table Tennis Championships in Sheffield saw 15 pairs win gold in the men’s women’s and mixed doubles competitions. It was a triumphant day for the Polish team which finished top of the medal standings and had three players who won in all three categories and remained unbeaten throughout the Championships Karoline Pek Natalia Partyka and Patryk Chojnowski. In Thursday’s singles Pek and Partyka won the women’s class 9 and 10 (respectively) while 2020 Paralympic champion Chojnowski triumphed in the men’s class 10.  In doubles he teamed-up with Partyka to win the mixed class 20 and Piotr Grudzien to take the men’s class 18 coming from two sets down to beat the defending champions Lev Kats and Ivan Mai of Ukraine in a classic match at the start of the afternoon session. Pek linked-up with Grudzien to win the class 17 mixed doubles before finishing the day in fine style by winning the women’s doubles class 20 with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Neslihan Kavas and Merve Demir Turkey in the last session of the Championships. After her three-medal triumph Pek said: “It’s amazing to win three gold medals.  In the singles event I won my first gold medal so I am very happy.  To win two more without losing a single set I think is really amazing. I am really proud of myself of my work and I am hungry for more. “I think I am more mature now. I am 25 and I have lost three singles finals before so luckily this time I won. I have family here in England so maybe that is why – I should come here more often to play matches. On the medal table-topping performance of the Polish team at the European Championships in Sheffield she explained: “We have very good players in all classes. We have very good conditions to train in Poland.  We have great coaches great staff.  We really want to win our matches so maybe that is why.” Speaking next to her doubles partner after their gold medal victory Partyka added: ““Not bad! Pretty good!  It was our goal to win three golds and I am happy that we achieved that.  It’s the first time I have won all three events as previously we played singles and team event so it was only possible to win two golds.  “I think I have played well enough this week. In the singles event my most difficult match was the final.  We know each other very well and she was leading me but then I found my way to play better and I am happy with my performance.  I am thinking about the Paralympics already but I just want to play without pressure.   It’s been a long week and we are tired but happy.” Other standout performers in six-days of world class action at Sheffield’s English Institute of Sport included Thomas Schmidberger and Valetin Baus.  The German duo won their categories in singles before teaming up for the doubles where they made short work of France’s Maxine Thomas and Emerik Martin in today’s men’s class 8 final with a comfortable 3-0 victory. Schmidberger said: “This is a good week. (To be singles and doubles champion) was the goal and when you set goals and you reach them it always feels very good.  Going through a tournament unbeaten does not happen so often.  “We had some trouble when we started playing doubles in international tournaments but we worked hard and worked on our mistakes and I think we are on a good way for Paris next year.” Baus said: “It’s a good feeling to win singles and doubles.  We played some good matches and we are very happy to win our first doubles titles.  We are looking forward to Paris.  The main goal this week was to play good and win the title.  Every title is a nice thing and I am very happy about it.” Others who won titles in singles and doubles included: Andela Muzinic Vincetic of Croatia (Singles 3 and Mixed 5-10) Italy’s Giada Rossi (Singles class 2 and mixed doubles class 4) and Ukrainian teammates Viktor Didukh (Single class 8 and mixed doubles class 14) and Maryna Lytovchenko (Singles class 6 and mixed doubles class 14). Giada Rossi said: “I am very happy and proud of what we have done.  We played well because we win.  We are a good team.  This is a good venue to play in so we had a good feeling. “Last year me and Federico won silver in world champs and I won gold in singles so it was important to come here and win this championship because we are the best European double.” All of the results from the ITTF European Para Table Tennis Championships 2023 can be viewed at  https://www.ittf.com/tournament/5484/ITTF-European-Championships-2023/ The full list of doubles winners is:   CLASS WINNER   RUNNER-UP   Men’s 4 Julien Michaud / Fabien Lamirault FRA Iker Sastre / Miguel Angel Toledo ESP 8 Thomas Schmidberger / Valentin Baus GER Maxine Thomas / Emerik Martin FRA 14 Esteban Herrault / Clement Berthier FRA Henrik Brammer / Peter Rosenmeier DEN 18 Patryk Chojnowski /  Piotr Grudzien POL Lev Kats / Ivan Mai UKR 22 Grp Lucas Edouard Creange / Timothe Ivaldi FRA Maciej Makajew / Damian Fira POL Women’s 5-10 Helena Dretar Karic / Andela Muzinic Vincetic CRO   Nada Matic / Borislava Peric Rankovic SRB 14 Aida Dahlen / Merethe Tveiten NOR Juliane Wolf / Stephanie Grebe GER   20 Natalia Partyka / Karolina Pek POL Neslihan Kavas / Merve Demir TUR Mixed 4 Federico Crosara / Giada Rossi ITA Rafal Czuper / Dorota Buclaw POL 7 Thomas Oliver Bruechle / Sandra Mikolaschek GER Mladen Ciric / Borislava Peric-Rankovic SRB 10 Grp Ali Ozturk / Irem Oluk TUR Jack Hunter-Spivey / Meg Shackleton GBR 14 Viktor Didukh / Maryna Lytovchenko UKR Jean-Paul Montanus / Kelly Von Zan NED 17 Piotr Gudzien / Karolina Pek POL Andras

After two days of play in the Group stage at the 023 STUPA European Table Tennis Championships in Malmö seven teams in the Men’s Event and seven in the Women’s Event have already secured their places in the Round of 16. In each of the 14 occasions the top teams in their respective groups justified their status.  In the Men’s Event the teams that have already secured a place in the knockout stage are Germany Sweden France Portugal Croatia England and Belgium. Slovenia lost to Denmark yesterday and Darko JORGIC and his teammates await the outcome of the duel between Denmark and Türkiye. In the Women’s event with two wins already Germany Romania France Portugal Hungary Luxembourg and Sweden have progressed to the Round of 16. Slovakia after a defeat against Czechia awaits the match between Slovakia and the Netherlands. Whilest the top teams will have a break today we will follow matches between the teams seeded in positions two and three in the groups for the remaining positions. You can follow the live score here Live streaming on ETTU.TV. Pictures here Men Group A Poland – Finland 3-2 The last encounter in Group A delivered a thrilling duel that ended after five matches filled with drama. Poland recovered from a 0-2 deficit to beat Finland and secure a place in the Round of 16. Alex NAUMI set the stage for the upset as he overcame Samuel KULCZYCKI in five games. Milosz REDZIMSKI had beaten BOLL a day earlier but could not find the answer for Benedek OLAH tonight. It was Maciej KUBIK who changed the course of the match. Aleksi RASANEN could not maintain the momentum for his team. Samuel KULCZYCKI overcame Benedek OLAH to level the score. OLAH was the fiRst to make a lead but then Samuel took the control of the match. Milosz REDZIMSKI beat Alex NAUMI in the decisive match in straight games. “I lost my first match against Benedek OLAH. I didn’t play well in that match. I knew I needed to maintain my concentration if there were to be a last match. I’m happy that I could focus and then I managed to win. I’m so thrilled. NAUMI really surprised us with his victory in the first match against Samuel [Kulczycki]. He played very well today. Then I had a really tough loss against OLAH. They were 2-0 up which was not nice for us. We really needed to keep playing and keep fighting and we won “said REDZIMSKI. Any thoughts about tonight’s draw? “After this kind of match – nope [laughing]. Now we just want to sleep. Tomorrow we will think about the upcoming playoffs.” Germany is at the top of the Group. Group B Czechia – Italy 3-2 The last session in the Arena was reserved for drama tonight. Lubomir JANCARIK led Czechia into the knockout stage after securing two wins over Italy’s Matteo MUTTI and John OYEBODE. Pavel SIRUCEK lost to John OYEBODE but in the decisive match he overcame MUTTI. Andrea PUPPO defeated Jiri MARTINKO. Josef PLACHÝ Coach of the Czechia Men’s Team: “It was a tough group. First the big favorite Sweden and then Italy against whom we were the favorites. I’m glad we made it after a hard-fought battle. The Italians have a young team and they played really well. The most important thing was that Lubomír JANČAŘÍK confirmed in this match that he is in excellent form. I believed in him and had no doubt that he would score two points. And then of course it was decisive that Pavel ŠIRUČEK managed to get comfortable after the first match and scored the third point.” Lubomír JANČAŘÍK: “It was not pleasant at all to start the second match at 1:2 and know that a loss means a trip home. I played against John OYEBODE in the qualifiers and won quite easily. But this was a different situation. I thought that if I didn’t catch the beginning there would be a problem. But I have to admit that I did it and I played well. We certainly deserved to advance.” In Group B Sweden holds the top position. Group C: Ukraine – Serbia 3-0 While France takes a break after their successful first two days Ukraine won the battle for the second position in Group C. Dimitrije LEVAJAC put Yaroslav ZHMUDENKO under severe pressure and forced him to go the full distance but Ukraine’s player showed no mercy in the last two games. Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA had an easier job against Zsolt PETO. Viktor YEFIMOV sealed the match with a win over Marko JEVTOVIC launching Ukraine into the knockout stage. Group D: Hungary – Greece 3-1 After 2 and a half hours of fierce fighting Hungary booked their place in the round of 16 to join Portugal from Group D by overcoming Greece. Panagiotis GIONIS beat Adam SZUDI to give Greece their only point. SZUDI overcame Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS who also fell victim to Bence MAJOROS. Tamas LAKATOS overcame Georgios STAMATOUROS. “We played against Greece only once before and that was at the World Championships. They beat us 2-3 so we knew it was going to be a close encounter and how difficult it is to play against them. Against GIONIS I could not produce the play that could stop him. He was very good today. MAJOROS played outstandingly against SGOUROPOULOS and he beat him 12-10 in the decisive game. With LAKATOS winning four games we were in the driving seat. It was 3-1 but it is never easy to enter the game at 1-1. My match against SGOUROPOULOS lasted a full five games again. I was down in each game but I kept on fighting. It would have been so difficult if GIONIS had returned for the decisive match. We had to finish it ” explained SZUDI. Group E: Switzerland – Austria 0-3 Austria beat Switzerland to join Croatia in the Round of 16. All three matches concluded in straight games. Andreas LEVENKO beat Elias HARDMEIER Robert GARDOS prevailed against Loic

After a comparatively quiet opening day at the 2023 STUPA European Table Tennis Championships in Malmö the second day of play brought more suspense. The favorites faced challenges and the atmosphere is already heating up. You can follow the live score here Live streaming on ETTU.TV. Pictures here Slovenia – Denmark 1-3 Led by the number one player in Europe Darko JORGIC Slovenia faced a setback and lost to Denmark. The leading team in Group F currently ranked at position no. 11 in the World Rankings lost 1-3 against team no. 21. Denmark even had a chance to win 3-0 but Darko JORGIC managed to win the close opening encounter against Anders LIND by the narrowest margins. Jonathan GROTH overcame Denoi KOZUL in an equally dramatic style overcoming a 1-2 deficit. Tobias RASMUSSEN won in straight games against Peter HRIBAR before GROTH sealed the victory with a 3-0 win over JORGIC. “At the start the match between Anders and Darko was the one we usually see. He always plays close matches against JORGIC. Unfortunately he lost 9-11 in the decisive game. I started well against KOZUL but after the first game I started to play less aggressively maybe a little bit slow and he is too good a player to allow such an approach. He seized the opportunity. I found my rhythm in the fourth game started to play aggressively again. I found my legs which “gone” in the second and third games. It was important to carry on that wave against Jorgic in the second match. He is very good against left-handers and it is not good for me. It allows him to play with his backhand in full power. I took control and had an advantage in each game. He put much variation into his game but I was ready each time. It was a good team match and we had good support from the bench. I think that was our big advantage compared to Slovenia’s bench. It gave us extra power.” Tomorrow Denmark will play against Türkiye. Romania – England 2-3 The last team to leave the venue in the morning session was England. They prevailed against Romania after a fierce battle and arrears of two matches to null. Ovidiu IONESCU and Eduard IONESCU demonstrated powerful play against Paul DRINKHALL and Liam PITCHFORD before Tom JARVIS put England on the winning track in the duel against Iulian CHIRITA. Furthermore Liam faced match point in the duel against Ovidiu before he won. Paul overcame Eduard in a less dramatic style. “Being two null down against Romania was not the greatest start for sure. We all fought hard but Tom was the one to start the ball rolling to get back to it ” said Liam. “Today was tough for me; I did not play yesterday because on Saturday I had a little bit of an injury. I did not start at 100 percent but I did my best for the team. I did not feel great in the first match but in the second I started to get into it. I fought like I could. We showed who we are today to come back from two null down and match point down; to show the spirit. We came back from something we should probably have lost in the recent past. But it is coming back and we are having team spirit. We are happy that everyone got a win and contributed.” Paul said: ”I lost against Eduard at the European games so it was a very nice win. today However despite 0-2 at the start I could not say that we did not do much wrong. They played two very good matches but this game is who gets first to three…” Luxembourg – Poland 3-1 Luxembourg also secured a spot in the Round of 16 after wins over Wales and today against Poland. Unlike yesterday in their second match they were forced to go the full distance. NI Xia Lian beat both Natalia BAJOR and Zuzanna WIELGOS. Katarzyna WEGRZYN prevailed against Tessy GONDERINGER. Sarah DE NUTTE overcame WIELGOS and lost to Natalia BAJOR. “Team effort is what was most important today – everybody gave their best so we are happy with each of us. It was not an easy match; we won 3-2 so it was really to the end. Every match was important and finally we’re happy to be first in the group ” said Sarah DE NUTTE. France – Italy 3-1 In the dramatic duel in which players from both sides managed to come back from the verge of defeat twice France prevailed to secure their place in the Round of 16. Italy and Türkiye will decide in a direct clash which team will join France. In the opening match YUAN Jia Nan had a safe 2-0 lead before Nikoleta STEFANOVA recovered to win the match. In the next one the drama continued with Giorgia PICCOLIN establishing a 2-1 lead before she lost in an edgy decisive game finish. Prithika PAVADE won the last two games both 11-9 each. In the match of Audrey ZARIF everything went straightforward against Debora VIVARELLI before YUAN sealed the duel with a win over VIVARELLI. Speaking of the opening match between YUAN Jia Nan and Nikoleta STEFANOVA ZARIF explained: “Stefanova is really a very good player and here she is in good shape. Her service game was exceptionally well today. On the other side YUAN struggled with the adaptation to the venue.” Pressure was high and it affected PAVADE’s game. She was in arrears against PICCOLIN. “Last year I practiced a lot with Georgia and I knew what to expect. There were a few key moments in our duel today. Most important was the second game. She had a game point against me. I managed to save it and then the last game was amazing. Our level of play was fantastic and only a few details made a change. It was very close and now I am happy that

The final stage of the 2023 STUPA European Table Tennis Championships began today in Malmö. Over the first three days 32 teams divided into 8 groups for both the Men’s and Women’s Team Events will compete for a place in the Round of 16 which is scheduled for Thursday after a day off. You can follow the live score here Live streaming on ETTU.TV. Pictures here Türkiye – France 0-3 The bronze medal-winning Team France from Cluj 2021 started their journey in Malmö in superb fashion. Prithika PAVADE set the tone for the match with a victory over Ozge YILMAZ followed by YUAN Jia Nan and Charlotte LUTZ. Sibel ALTINKAYA and Simay KULAKCEKEN were unable to cause an upset in the opening match of Group C. “The first four games were really close. Calling a timeout in the fifth was a rewarding decision ” said PAVADE about her match. Charlotte LUTZ’s thoughts:”I think my team managed really well. Prithika had a little trouble in the first match but performed excellently in the last set. Yuan managed all three sets very well. I was a bit nervous before my match but I believe I played well so I’m happy and proud of my team.” Belgium – Netherlands 3-0 Cédric NUYTINCK Martin ALLEGRO and Adrien RASSENFOSSE secured an opening match victory against the Netherlands’ Gabrielius CAMARA Kas VAN OOST and Barry BERBEN. The most dramatic moment occurred in the closely contested match between Martin and Kas after Cedric achieved a straight games win in the opening match. “I had a difficult start. I was too aggressive with my forehand at the beginning. I changed my tactics slowed down and made fewer mistakes. It worked for me when we were up 2-0 and winning 3-0 against the Netherlands was an excellent opening for us ” said Adrien RASSENFOSSE. “Now we are facing Slovakia in the next match and our goal is to win the group even though we expect it to be challenging especially when playing against a chopper.” Norway – England 1-3 Norway’s Borgar HAUG overcame Samuel WALKER and pushed Paul DRINKHALL to go the distance in the fourth match. Despite his brave efforts England ultimately prevailed in the opening duel. Alexander FRANSSON and LAM Khai Noah lost to Paul DRINKHALL and Tom JARVIS. “It was a good team performance; everyone played well and made some great moves. It’s a solid team win and we are looking forward to the upcoming matches ” said DRINKHALL. When asked about his own matches: “I played well maintained good focus right from the start. The match against Borgar HAUG was tough; I had faced him two weeks ago and it also went 3-2 so I knew it was going to be a challenging contest.” Regarding expectations for the rest of the tournament: “We don’t have specific expectations but we are determined to fight. We are a strong team and a united unit and that’s what we aim to demonstrate.” Wales – Luxembourg 0-3 NI Xia Lian gave Luxembourg a dream start with a victory over the young Anna HURSEY. Sarah DE NUTTE and Tessy GONDERINGER faced fewer challenges in their encounters with Charlotte CAREY and Lara WHITTON. Coach Tommy DANIELSSON on the match:”This match turned out to be easier than expected. A 3-0 victory is a clear result. NI continues to improve and impress everyone. Despite her recent illness and withdrawal from the last WTT in Bulgaria she managed to win her match against Anna HURSEY 3-1. Now our goal is to aim for the Olympics in Paris which would be a fitting end to a brilliant career. Sarah played a tactically well match against Carey and Tess secured a 3-0 win giving us a strong start in this tournament.” Germany – England 3-0  The defending champions Team Germany emerged victorious against England in straight matches. Nina MITTELHAM SHAN Xiaona and Annett KAUFMANN secured three 3-0 game victories over Emily BOLTON Jasmin WONG and Mollie PATTERSON. “I am very pleased with our team’s performance ” commented Annett KAUFMANN who is a multiple junior European champion and had already contributed to the European Championship title in Cluj two years ago. She left no chance for the three-year-older Mollie Patterson in the three-player position in Malmö. “Nana” (Note: Xiaona Shan) and Nina played with confidence and consistency. I am also very satisfied with my game; I played well and felt comfortable.” SHAN expressed her satisfaction with the successful start saying “Even though England’s best player was not present the first game at a major tournament is always challenging so I am very pleased. It was important to begin the tournament well and we achieved that.” Portugal – Greece 3-1 Portugal secured the opening match victory over Greece with Marcos FREITAS proving once again that he is in splendid shape. Marcos overcame both Georgios STAMATOUROS and Panagiotis GIONIS. Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS was the only player to score for Team Greece as he defeated Joao GERALDO while Tiago APOLONIA prevailed against GIONIS. “I’ve played Panagiotis Gionis many times and I’ve both won and lost to him. In the first game I made too many unforced errors but after that I think I adapted well to his spin. I am physically well-prepared. In my club in the German league we have a defensive player Wang Xi and we’ve practiced a lot which has helped me ” said APOLONIA. Looking ahead to the next match: “We have Hungary tomorrow. There are no weak teams so we all have to prepare well to make it possible to win the group.” Croatia – Switzerland 3-0 Andrej GACINA Tomislav PUCAR and Filip ZELJKO succeeded against Loic STOLL Elias HARDMEIER and Pedro OSIRO without facing significant challenges. “It’s the first match and it’s always a little difficult to start a tournament. Today it was very important that we started to fight and continued every point. We were favorites in this match and managed to win 3-0. Tomorrow it’s a tough match against Austria and we