Iulian CHIRITA of Romania and Anna HURSEY of Wales captured the Mixed Doubles title at the ROMSTAL European Under 21 Championships after defeating Germany’s Wim VERDONSCHOT and Josephina NEUMANN 3-1 (11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9) in the final.
The Romanian-Welsh combination produced a superb performance to lift the trophy, overcoming a German pair that had also reached last year’s final and was hoping to go one step further this time.
CHIRITA and HURSEY started strongly, taking the opening two games before their adversaries responded in the third. However, the champions held their nerve in a closely contested fourth game to seal the title.
“We feel really good. We had a tough match,” said HURSEY after the victory.
CHIRITA praised both the quality of the opponents and his partnership with the Welsh star.
“It was a hard match. The opponents were very good, they were finalists last year. We played well, managed to win in the end and we are very happy.”
The pair credited their teamwork and communication as crucial factors in their success.
“It was very important. We didn’t play our best in singles, so we focused a lot on this event and in the end we won,” explained CHIRITA.
Looking back on their path to the title, CHIRITA identified the opening round as their most difficult test.
“In the first round we were leading 2-0 and then it became 2-2 against William BERGENBLOCK and Alexandra CHIRIACOVA. But all the matches were difficult.”
The German duo of VERDONSCHOT and NEUMANN secured silver for the second consecutive year after once again reaching the final. Earlier in the day, they defeated Andrei ISTRATE of Romania and Nicole ARLIA of Italy 3-1 (11-6, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10) in the semifinals.
CHIRITA and HURSEY booked their place in the final with a dominant 3-0 (11-3, 11-8, 11-5) victory over Slovenia’s Brin VOVK and Sara TOKIC.
Mixed Doubles Final
Iulian CHIRITA (Romania), Anna HURSEY (Wales) – Wim VERDONSCHOT, Josephina NEUMANN (Germany) 3-1 (11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9)
Semifinal
Wim VERDONSCHOT, Josephina NEUMANN (Germany) – Andrei ISTRATE (Romania), Nicole ARLIA (Italy) 3-1 (11-6, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10)
Iulian CHIRITA (Romania), Anna HURSEY (Wales) – Brin VOVK, Sara TOKIC (Slovenia) (11-3, 11-8, 11-5)
PHOTO by: Mihaela-Ionela BOBAR and Simion Sebastian TĂTARU
