France captured their second European Under 15 Girls Teams title after overcoming third seeds Germany 3-2 in a gripping final at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar. Seeded fifth, the French side completed an impressive campaign by defeating one of the pre-tournament favourites to lift the trophy.
Sweden and Switzerland secured the bronze medals.
Eva LAM gave France the perfect start with a composed 3-1 victory over Amelie Guzi JIA. Germany responded immediately as Anna WALTER edged Albane ROCHUT in a dramatic five-game encounter to level the match.
Germany then moved ahead after JIA and WALTER combined to defeat LAM and ROCHUT in the doubles, putting the defending finalists within one point of the title.
With France facing elimination, LAM produced another outstanding performance, defeating WALTER 3-1 to force the decisive fifth match. There, ROCHUT held her nerve against JIA, winning in four games to seal the title for France.
It is the second European Under 15 Girls Teams crown for France, who once again demonstrated remarkable resilience by recovering from a 1-2 deficit in the final to deny Germany and complete a memorable championship run.
Eva LAM:”I believed we could win because we had already beaten Germany 3-0 in the group stage. They changed their line-up for the final, but I was really happy that I could contribute two points in the singles. Of course, I was a little disappointed that we lost the doubles, but in the end we still got the victory.
For my second singles, I just tried to stay calm and play my game. A final is never easy, no matter what happened earlier in the tournament.
I think this was definitely the toughest match of the competition. Even though we had already played Germany in the group stage, a final is completely different. You have to deal with much more pressure, and that’s what made this match the biggest challenge.”
Final
France – Germany 3-2
- Eva LAM – Amelie Guzi JIA 3-1 (10-12, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6)
- Albane ROCHUT – Anna WALTER 2-3 (11-7, 12-14, 11-6, 5-11, 9-11)
- Eva LAM, Albane ROCHUT – Amelie Guzi JIA, Anna WALTER 1-3 (6-11, 11-6, 9-11, 5-11)
- Eva LAM – Anna WALTER 3-1 (11-5, 15-13, 7-11, 11-8)
- Albane ROCHUT – Amelie Guzi JIA (13-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8)
Semi final
Sweden – France 0-3
- Siri BENJEGARD – Albane ROCHUT 2-3 (11-2, 7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 7-11)
- Nike LUNDQVIST – Eva LAM 0-3 (3-11, 4-11, 3-11)
- Siri BENJEGARD, Alicia ENBOM – lbane ROCHUT, Eva LAM 0-3 (3-11, 8-11, 5-11)
Switzerland – Germany 1-3
- Enya HU – Amelie Guzi JIA 3-1 (13-11, 11-9, 12-14, 11-7)
- Ilvi ULRICH – Anna WALTER 1-3 (11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 9-11)
- Enya HU, Ilvi ULRICH – Amelie Guzi JIA, Anna WALTER 0-3 (4-11, 9-11, 8-11)
- Enya HU – Anna WALTER 1-3 (11-8, 8-11, 5-11, 9-11)
