In the Under 15 Girls event at the ORLEN European Youth Championships Germany clinched the gold medal for the seventh time by defeating France in the final.
The German team consisted of Koharu ITAGAKI Josephina NEUMANN Lorena MORSCH and Lisa-Sophie WANG. The silver medalists Team France were represented by Nina GUO ZHENG Leana HOCHART and Gaetane BLED.
Taking home the bronze medals were Spain with Maria BERZOSA Irina GIMENO FONT Isabel CONCHILLO and Renata SHYPSHA and Czechia with Veronika POLAKOVA Hanka KODETOVA and Anna HOLEJSOVSKA.
In the final match Koharu ITAGAKI got off to a strong start by defeating Nina GUO ZHENG. However Josephina NEUMANN struggled in her first appearance at the table and was unable to score against Leana HOCHART.
“I was extremely nervous in that match. Playing in the final was overwhelming. Despite knowing that France was the favorite and that we had nothing to lose I still felt the pressure to give our best. We were not under pressure but it’s hard to forget what’s at stake ” said Josephina NEUMANN.
France claimed victory in the doubles match but NEUMANN and ITAGAKI secured wins in their respective singles matches.
“At one point during the doubles match Koharu was ‘frozen ‘ but I encouraged her and she played fantastically in the singles ” said NEUMANN.
Both ITAGAKI and NEUMANN emphasized the importance of the support they received from their teammates on the bench.
“The girls on the bench were cheering and screaming for us and we had supporters in the stands. It was incredible.”
Germany defeated Czechia Moldova and Austria in the knockout stage to reach the final.
The German girls have previously won this title six times (1994 1998 1999 2009 2012 2021) and have been runners-up in three finals (2005 2008 2011).
France has yet to secure victory in the Under 15 girls event having lost in the final in 2013 2015 and 2017.
The record holders for the most titles in this category are the Soviet Union and Romania (both with 11) followed by Russia (9) and Hungary (8).
Final
Germany – France 3-2
Koharu ITAGAKI – Nina GUO ZHENG 3-0 (11-5 12-10 11-7)
Josephina NEUMANN – Leana HOCHART 0-3 (9-11 8-11 10-12)
Koharu ITAGAKI Josephina NEUMANN – Nina GUO ZHENG Leana HOCHART 1-3 (10-12 4-11 11-8 6-11)
Koharu ITAGAKI – Leana HOCHART 3-0 (14-12 11-7 11-9)
Josephina NEUMANN – Nina GUO ZHENG 3-0 (13-11 11-9 11-4)
