In a thrilling final of the Under 19 Boys event at the ORLEN European Youth Championships Romania emerged as the champions clinching the gold medal. The defending champions put on a remarkable display in Gliwice overcoming Czechia in straight matches.
The Romanian team that competed in the final consisted of Darius MOVILEANU Eduard IONESCU and Iulian CHIRITA with Alexandru Dragos BUJOR and Teodor ISTRATE also listed. Czechia was represented by Simon BELIK Ondrej KVENTON Stepan BRHEL Martin SIP and Vit KADLEC.
Taking home the bronze medals were France with Thibault PORET Flavien COTON Hugo DESCHAMPS and Alexis KOURAICHI and Germany with Tom SCHWEIGER Andre BERTELSMEIER Matthias DANZER and Wim VERDONSCHOT.
The pivotal clash that determined the outcome of the match was the intense duel between Darius MOVILEANU and Simon BELIK. Darius found himself match point down but managed to mount a remarkable comeback ultimately winning the five-game duel.
“I have faced BELIK many times before with victories and defeats on both sides. I knew beating him would be challenging and I had to give my all for every single ball. The match was incredibly close and the match point I encountered in the decisive game is a testament to that. However that victory paved the way for our success here ” said Darius.
Throughout the knockout stage Romania demonstrated their prowess by securing convincing 3-0 victories over Israel Croatia and France.
“While we maintained a flawless record we encountered several challenges. The match against France was particularly tough. However for me the most demanding match aside from the final was our encounter with Spain during the group stage ” shared MOVILEANU.
Eduard IONESCU has been in exceptional form this season. Just a few weeks ago he showed his talent by defeating numerous top-ranked seniors including Dimitrij OVTCHAROV at the European Games. Now he continues to shine in his own age category.
“This final was incredibly demanding. We did not anticipate facing Czechia today. Darius’s achievements were crucial providing us with a significant boost and relieving much of the pressure on me during the second match ” added IONESCU.
Iulian CHIRITA commended their adversaries acknowledging their strength as a team.
“They proved to be an incredibly strong team forcing us to perform at our absolute best. We couldn’t afford to lose focus even for a split second. They fought tenaciously for every ball punishing any lapse in concentration or weak shot ” praised CHIRITA.
Before this victory the Romanian Under 19/Junior boys’ team had previously secured this title only once back in 1958 prior to their success last year in Belgrade.
Czechia has yet to claim this title despite reaching the final in 1998 2007 and 2016. However as Czechoslovakia they boasted an impressive record with 6 titles (1961 1968-1970 and 1980) and 6 additional finals (1965 1972 1975 1979 1981 1982).
Final
Czechia – Romania 0-3
Simon BELIK – Darius MOVILEANU 2-3 (11-9 9-11 12-10 7-11 11-13)
Ondrej KVETON – Eduard IONESCU 1-3 (5-11 11-13 11-8 11-13)
Stepan BRHEL – Iulian CHIRITA 0-3 (6-11 5-11 5-11)
