Koharu ITAGAKI and Josephina NEUMANN of Germany secured the gold medal in the Under 15 Girls Doubles Event at the ORLEN European Youth Championships. They emerged victorious in the final defeating Nina GUO ZHENG and Leana HOCHART of France (4 7 4).
The bronze medals went to Veronika POLAKOVA of Czechia and Maria BERZOSA of Spain as well as Julia LEAL of Portugal and Andreea BAISU of Romania.
“We played very well in the final and were not as nervous as we were in the semis against Veronika and Maria. We lost against Nina and Leana in the team’s event 1-3 so the pressure was on them to justify that win. Therefore we just focused on playing our game and we executed it very well ” said NEUMANN.
The key to their success was their close friendship according to both players. “We are good friends we often play with each other we practice together and we speak with each other very much ” added ITAGAKI.
In the semifinals both matches were decided in straight games. Koharu ITAGAKI and Josephina NEUMANN triumphed over Veronika POLAKOVA of Czechia and Maria BERZOSA of Spain (10 9 6). After closely contested opening games the German pair took control of the match.
Nina GUO ZHENG and Leana HOCHART secured their spot in the final by defeating Julia LEAL of Portugal and Andreea BAISU of Romania in straight games (4 7 4).
