On the opening day at the European Team Championships, Olympic bronze medalists and World silver medalists, team France commenced their quest for European medal rostrum in Zadar with a convincing win over Spain.
The best-ranked European player on duty in Zadar, Felix LEBRUN, recorded two victories on the opening day, against Daniel BERZOSA and Alvaro ROBLES. ROBLES also fell to the older LEBRUN brother, Alexis, while Juan PEREZ claimed Spain’s only point by defeating Simon GAUZY.
“Berzosa started very strong, he’s such a good player, but I managed to come back and secure the win ,” said Felix LEBRUN.“Next in line is Hungary. We expect a tough match, but I think today we played very well and can continue to perform at this level. We have a strong team, and our goal is the title, but we know it will not be easy.”
Sweden’s Mattias FALCK, Anton KALLBERG, and Elias RANEFUR opened their campaign in Zadar with a convincing 3–0 victory over Türkiye’s Abdullah YIGENLER, Ibrahim GÜNDÜZ, and Tugay YILMAZ.
Anton KALLBERG reflected on the positive start:“We had a very good experience today. Winning 3–0 is always satisfying, and we can be happy with our performance. We’re looking forward to playing more matches and keeping the momentum going.”
Asked about the team’s ambitions and the absence of Truls MÖREGÅRDH, he said:
“Truls missing the event is a big blow for us, of course, but we’re still dreaming of defending our title from last time. It’s going to be tough, but that has to be our goal.”
KALLBERG also praised his teammate’s composure:“Mattias did really well. Maybe he didn’t play his very best table tennis, but he managed to stay strong in the tight moments, winning two very close games. That’s what matters going forward, building confidence and learning to stay calm at 9–9 or 10–10, finding solutions when it really counts.”
“We have no pressure on us, we feel like we have nothing to lose. We all want to perform well, and we believe we can fight for medals again. It’s just a great feeling to be back at the European Championships.”
Mattias FALCK agreed that the team made a solid start.
“The first match is always a bit nerve-racking, but we started well. A 3–0 victory is a great way to begin, we all won our matches, and that gives us confidence for tomorrow.”
He emphasized Sweden’s medal ambitions despite the team’s injury setback:
“We want to fight for the medals as always. Unfortunately, Truls is injured, and we’re missing our number one, but we’re still aiming for a strong tournament and hopefully to reach the final.”
Reflecting on his own match, FALCK added:
“The margins are always small at this level. It was a close match, and my opponent played well. I just tried to stay calm and sometimes do something unexpected, a different serve or receive, when the score got tight. The key was to keep my cool. Usually, I’m more nervous at the beginning of a match, but it gets easier as it goes on. I just try to focus on each point, stay composed, and follow my game plan.”
Romania prevailed against the Netherlands, though the start was anything but easy. Iulian CHIRITA was pushed to the full distance against Gabrielius CAMARA, while Eduard IONESCU needed one game fewer to overcome Kas VAN OOST, and Ovidiu IONESCU completed the job against Barry BERBEN.
“It was a hard match we knew they had good players. The first matches are always tough, and I hope we’ll get better with every round,” said Iulian CHIRITA. “I also had a small accident with my racket I had to change it because I tore a rubber, but I still managed to stay focused. It was a good start for the team; the boys did their jobs, and we’re happy to start the Championships with a 3–0 win.”
The clash between Portugal and Greece ended in favor of the Portuguese team. Joao GERALDO beat Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS, Tiago ABIODUN overcame Konstantinos KONSTANTINOPOULOS, and although Joao MONTEIRO lost to Panagiotis GIONIS, he later sealed the overall victory by defeating SGOUROPOULOS.
“ GIONIS and I have known each other for more than 20 years, we’ve played so many matches. Today was his turn to win, but it was a very good match,” said Joao MONTEIRO. “Eventually, I managed to recover and win against Ioannis, and we hope to continue in this shape throughout the event.”
Host nation Croatia represented by Tomislav PUCAR, Andrej GAĆINA, and Frane KOJIC, kept the home supporters at the edge of their seats with a thrilling 3–2 victory over Moldova’s Andrei PUTUNTICA, Vladislav URSU, and Denis TERNA.
PUCAR defeated both PUTUNTICA and URSU, while TERNA overcame KOJIC. GAĆINA lost to URSU but clinched the decisive match against PUTUNTICA to secure the win.
Croatian Men’s Team Coach Neven KARKOVIĆ said:
“We expected a tough and close match like this. We hoped it wouldn’t be, but in the end, it was. There were many twists and turns. They didn’t really surprise us, except perhaps PUTUNTICA, who played much better than we had seen before. He caused us problems even though he lost both of his matches.
As for PUCAR, that’s what I really want to highlight. He played superbly. The first match he started a bit nervously, which is completely normal under pressure, he simply couldn’t afford to lose. But in his second match, against their best player, he was absolutely brilliant. I think he surprised everyone, the opponent, the crowd, the TV viewers, and even me personally. So dominant and composed, he swept their number one in the first two sets, which brought us all back after the earlier shock when KOJIC lost to Moldova’s third.”
Tomislav PUCAR added:“It was a difficult match, just as we expected. We knew they were a tricky opponent. They were seeded third in the group based on rankings, but that doesn’t reflect their true level, they simply do not play many international events. The match didn’t start well; we were down 1–2 against Moldova, but we stayed calm, managed to turn it around, and win. We hope to perform even better in the upcoming matches, starting with Austria on Monday. It’s hard to compare them directly to Moldova, but it will again be a very balanced encounter.”
Germany’s trio — Benedikt DUDA, Patrick FRANZISKA, and Ricardo WALTHER — were in the fast lane against Ukraine’s Andrii GREBENIUK, Anton MOLOCHKO, and Anton LIMONOV, securing a clean 3–0 victory.
“That was a solid performance in the first match,” said Benedikt DUDA. “We got used to the conditions very quickly, it’s not easy to play here. The table is fast, the ball jumps cleanly and takes a lot of spin, and in combination it can be tricky. It was good that we adapted quickly. Everyone did their job today, even those on the bench, it was a good team effort.”
