The Orlen 2023 European Youth Championships commenced this Friday in Gliwice Poland. After July 23rd we will have 14 new champions in the Under 19 and Under 15 boys’ and girls’ categories. The Championships start with the team events in Arena Gliwice while the individual events are scheduled from July 19th.
In the Under 19 Boys’ event title holders Romania France Germany and Belgium top their respective groups. Runners-up from 2022 Poland is in a group with Belgium. Romania is led by last year’s singles and doubles champion Eduard IONESCU. Two weeks ago Eduard showed his strength in a more fierce competition at the European Games where he beat Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany to reach the quarterfinals of the Singles Event in Krakow. Iulian CHIRITA is also on the team. He won gold in the Under 15 Mixed Doubles event last year in Belgrade. Darius MOVILEANU clinched gold last year with IONESCU.
For France will play Hugo DESCHAMPS Flavien COTON Thibault PORET and Alexis KOURAICHI. The host nation seeded at the position no. 4 will be represented by Mateusz ZALEWSKI Mateusz ZELENGOWSKI Alan KULCZYCKI Michal GAWLAS and Milosz REDZIMSKI.
Silver medalists from Belgrade 2022 Romania’s girls are also at the top of the Under 19 Girls’ Group A while Germany title holders Poland and France are the leaders in Groups B C and D respectively.
For Romania Elena ZAHARIA Ioana SINGEORZAN Bianca MEI ROSU Evelyn UNGVARI and Oana STRUNA will be playing. Germany is represented by Mia GRIESEL Naomi PRANJKOVIC Eireen KALAITZIDOU and Lea LACHENMAYER. Last year’s singles winner Annett KAUFMANN will not play.
Poland is seeded at the position no. 3 represented by Zuzanna WIELGOS Anna BRZYSKA Natalia BOGDANOWICZ Ilona SZTWIERTNIA and Wiktoria WROBEL.
In the Under 15 Boys’ event Austria Poland Germany and Slovakia are at the top of their respective groups of four. France and Sweden were last year’s winners and runners-up. In the Under 15 Girls’ event France Germany Czechia and Hungary lead groups A B C and D respectively. Romania clinched the title in Belgrade last year in that category.
