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.
