Top seed in the Under 19 Boys Singles Event at the GAZPROM European Youth Championships in Varzdin the Germany’s Kay STUMPER overcame Andrei Teodor ISTRATE of Romania without due alarm; whilst in similar vein the no.3 seed Ivor BAN of Croatia enjoyed success against Alexis KOURAICHI of France to book the place in the quarterfinals. In the lower half of the draw Adrien RASSENFOSSE no. 2 seed was the biggest casualty of the Round of 16. Darius MOVILEANU of Romania upset the seedings and won the duel against the Belgium’s player.
Kay STUMPER overcame Andrei Teodor ISTRATE in six games (9:11 11:5 7:11 11:5 11:1 11:9).
“ISTRATE played very well and he made it extremely difficult for me. He played very safe not making a lot of mistakes. We played against each other in Slovenia month ago and it was 3:1 so I knew what to expect. I am very confident I can win here ” said Kay STUMPER.
Alexis KOURAICHI suffered by the hands of Ivor BAN (7:11 10:12 11:6 11:6 10:12 5:11).
“ KOURAICHI is a very dangerous player who puts a lot of balls at the table. The crucial moment when I made a break was at 2:2 and 8:4 for him. I managed to recover and to win that game and that set the course of the remaining part of the match. I reached the quarterfinal now and I do not have hight expectations. I just goes from match to match and only thing I wish for is to play my best table tennis. The result will come as it did so far ” said BAN.
Damir AKHMETSAFIN of Russia overcame Thibault PORET of France in seven games thriller (12:10 8:11 11:3 7:11 11:7 9:11 8:11)
“I played against PORET seven times before this time and I lost all the matches. It is my first win and I am so happy I did it at European Championships. This is my first and last one and I hope I will crown it with some medal ” said AKHMETSAFIN.
Maciej KUBIK of Poland overcame Eduard IONESCU of Romania (11:9 6:11 6:11 13:11 11:3 7:11 11:6).
“At the beginning I did not feel well at all. On the other side Eduard IONESCU was playing top quality game. I faced 1:2 and 6:10 in reverse and change the mind – set. I just started to play ball after ball become calmer and pushed to equalizer at 2:2. It opened new space for me. I played more rallies and I become more successful whilst my confidence grew ” said KUBIK.
Darius MOVILEANU of Romania beat Adrien RASSENFOSSE of Belgium (11:7 11:9 13:11 11:4).
“I know how good player Adrien is and I expected hard duel. I managed to be more focused comparing to previous matches and raised the level of the game. I am aiming for the medal in singles and I hope to win gold in the Mixed doubles ” said MOVILEANU.
Adam KLAJBER of Slovakia lost to Csaba ANDRAS of Hungary (11:5 5:11 5:11 8:11 11:13).
“I was very tired but I am happy that I could win. After the opening game I changed the tactics and I am so thankful to my coach who believed me and helped me in the hardest moments ” said ANDRAS.
Alexis LEBRUN of France overcame Tomas MARTINKO of Czech Republic (11:7 9:11 11:2 11:9 12:14 11:9).
“I struggling with the receive of MARTINKO’s service and that made this game very difficult. I did not win many points on his service but luckily I was very good with my service. That was my strongest points and it gave me the edge in crucial points like when it was 9:9 in the closing stages. I played all team’s matches before we lost in the final also I am still in game in mixed doubles and doubles and I hope to win in all three events ” said LEBRUN.
Samuel KULCZYCKI of Poland was stretched to full distance against John OYEBODE (11:9 15:13 10:12 9:11 11:7 12:10).
“It will be very hard to play against CSABA in the quarters for the medal because I am very tired ” said KULCZYCKI.
