France has already secured a place in the Under 19 Mixed Doubles final at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar after both of its remaining pairs progressed to the semi-finals.
Top seeds Antoine NOIRAULT and Leana HOCHART produced another commanding performance, defeating Ivan KAHN of the Netherlands and Julia LEAL of Portugal 3-0 (13-11, 11-8, 11-8). They will now face teammates Nathan LAM and Jade HUYNH, who overcame Italy’s Francesco TREVISAN and Manon LOTH 3-1 (12-10, 6-11, 12-10, 11-9).
The other semi-final will see Portugal’s Tiago ABIODUN and Mariana SANTA COMBA take on Romania’s Robert ISTRATE and Bianca MEI ROSU.
ABIODUN and SANTA COMBA continued their impressive run after eliminating the second seeds in the previous round, edging Poland’s Marcel BLASZCZYK and Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA 3-2 (11-8, 7-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-9). ISTRATE and MEI ROSU also recovered from losing the opening game to defeat Khai Noah LAM of Norway and Veronika POLAKOVA of Czechia 3-1 (7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-2).
Tiago ABIODUN said: “It was a really tough match. From the start, I believed we always had a chance. The third game was very important because it was so close. At 10-4, I just kept telling myself, ‘Next point, next point, next point.’ Then it became 10-9, and on match point I hit a ball that would have gone out if it hadn’t clipped the edge. It touched the table, and I’m very happy. This is the first time Mariana and I have played together, and I think we’re improving with every match. I’m really happy with the way she’s playing, and with my own level as well. Now we have a semi-final to win, and our goal is the gold medal.”
Bianca MEI ROSU explained: “This medal is very special for us because it’s our first European Championships playing together. It’s a big achievement, and I hope we can continue like this tomorrow.”
Robert ISTRATE added: “Our first match today wasn’t our best—we had to fight all the way and won 11-9 in the deciding game. In the quarter-finals we played much better, even though our opponents were stronger. I think we’re improving with every match. Tomorrow we want to play our best table tennis, show our true level, and hopefully reach the final.”
Earlier in the day, the Round of 16 produced only one major surprise, with the majority of the leading pairings progressing to the quarter-finals.
Top seeds Antoine NOIRAULT and Leana HOCHART of France defeated No. 13 seeds Jan MRUGALA and Karolina HOLDA of Poland in straight games, while second seeds Nathan PILARD and Nina GUO ZHENG of France were upset by No. 9 seeds Tiago ABIODUN and Mariana SANTA COMBA of Portugal. Third seeds Robert ISTRATE and Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania overcame No. 12 seeds Luca KHIDASHELI and Irina GIMENO FONT of Spain in four games.
No. 5 seeds Nathan LAM and Jade HUYNH of France beat No. 10 seeds Yoan VELICHKOV of Bulgaria and Lilou MASSART of Belgium, while No. 6 seeds Ivan KAHN of the Netherlands and Julia LEAL of Portugal recovered to defeat No. 31 seeds Dario SALCEDO and Renata SHYPSHA of Spain in five games. No. 7 seeds Marcel BLASZCZYK and Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA of Poland also needed the full distance before overcoming Daniil VITORSKI and Lizaveta TSIMASHKOVA of AIN.
No. 8 seeds Khai Noah LAM of Norway and Veronika POLAKOVA of Czechia edged No. 23 seeds Aleksei SAMOKHIN and Aleksandra BOKOVA of AIN in a five-game thriller, while Italy’s Francesco TREVISAN and Manon LOTH eliminated No. 35 seeds Serafim ORLOV and Eseniia SHIROKOVA of AIN in four games.
Semi-finals
Antoine NOIRAULT, Leana HOCHART (France) – Nathan LAM, Jade HUYNH (France)
Tiago ABIODUN, Mariana SANTA COMBA (Portugal) – Robert ISTRATE, Bianca MEI ROSU (Romania)
