Poland’s Anna BRZYSKA continued her impressive form at the ROMSTAL European Under 21 Championships, winning Group 8 in Stage 2 and securing her place in the knockout stage.
The Polish player has been one of the most consistent performers in the tournament so far. She began her campaign by topping Stage 1 Group 8 with victories over Denmark’s Sofie Khanh-Linh ECKEROTH, Lithuania’s Lukrecija JUCHNAITE and Italy’s Miriam CARNOVALE, advancing with a perfect 3-0 record.
BRZYSKA carried that momentum into Stage 2.
She opened with a convincing 4-0 victory over Germany’s Josephina NEUMANN before producing another dominant display to defeat Spain’s Maria BERZOSA 4-0. Those results left her in a strong position heading into the final group match against France’s Elise PUJOL.
The French player provided BRZYSKA’s toughest challenge of the tournament so far, but the Pole stayed composed in the key moments to secure a 4-2 victory and complete another unbeaten group campaign.
Reflecting on her performance, BRZYSKA admitted that the match against PUJOL was her most difficult test.
“I am very happy that I won because I had a very strong opponent. Yesterday I won both matches 4-0. It wasn’t easy, but I was happy with the way I played. Today was the hardest match. She played really well and I had to stick to my tactics throughout the match. I’m happy that I managed to win.”
Behind BRZYSKA, Germany’s Josephina NEUMANN secured second place in the group. After her opening defeat to the Polish player, NEUMANN bounced back with a 4-2 victory over PUJOL before defeating BERZOSA 4-1 to book her place in the knockout stage.
BERZOSA had started strongly by beating PUJOL 4-2 in her opening match, but defeats to BRZYSKA and NEUMANN saw the Spaniard finish third. PUJOL, despite pushing the group winner harder than anyone else, ended the group without a victory.
Having now won six matches from six across the opening two stages of the competition, BRZYSKA heads into the knockout rounds full of confidence.
“I want to play my best.”
PHOTO by: Mihaela-Ionela BOBAR and Simion Sebastian TĂTARU
