Top seeds Nina GUO ZHENG and Leana HOCHART of France successfully defended their Under 19 Girls Doubles title at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar, defeating Poland’s Natalia BOGDANOWICZ and Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA in four games. The bronze medals went to AIN’s Aleksandra BOKOVA and Anastasiia IVANOVA, together with France’s Jade HUYNH and Alexia NODIN.
The French pair prevailed 3-1 (15-13, 11-3, 10-12, 11-6) in a high-quality final. After surviving a dramatic opening game, GUO ZHENG and HOCHART quickly took control of the contest before the Polish duo extended the match by claiming the third game. France regained the initiative in the fourth to seal back-to-back European titles.
GUO ZHENG admitted they had expected another close encounter.
“We had played them before and won 3-2, 11-9 in the deciding game, so we knew it was going to be another very difficult match. They’ve been playing together for a long time and have great understanding, so we expected a tough challenge. They were in front for much of the match, but we stayed patient, kept believing in ourselves and, in the end, we’re really happy to have defended our title from last year.”
The champions had earned their place in the final with a straight-games victory over Aleksandra BOKOVA and Anastasiia IVANOVA of AIN, seeded No. 21. Although the scoreboard read 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 12-10), the French pair had to withstand a determined fightback in the third game before completing the win.
GUO ZHENG explained that previous meetings with the AIN pair proved valuable.
“We had already played against this pair before, so we knew what we had to do. Léana had faced one of them previously, which also helped us with our preparation. Tactically, our plan against BOKOVA was to play long to her forehand because we felt she had some difficulties in that area. We managed to execute our game plan well, and we’re very happy with the win.”
She also made the pair’s ambitions clear before the final.
“Now we’re looking forward to the final. We really want to defend the title.”
BOGDANOWICZ and RAJKOWSKA secured the second place in the final by recovering from a difficult opening game to defeat seventh seeds Jade HUYNH and Alexia NODIN of France 3-1. After losing the first game heavily, the Polish pair responded impressively to prevail 2-11, 11-2, 11-8, 11-6.
BOGDANOWICZ attributed the turnaround to the work done before stepping to the table.
“I think it was a great match for us. We gave everything we had from the first point to the last. We prepared really well beforehand, watched videos of our opponents and came into the match with a clear tactical plan. I think our preparation was one of the keys to the victory.”
Final
- Nina GUO ZHENG, Leana HOCHART (France) – Natalia BOGDANOWICZ, Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA (Poland) 3-1 (15-13, 11-3, 10-12, 11-6)
Semi finals
- Nina GUO ZHENG, Leana HOCHART (France) – Aleksandra BOKOVA, Anastasiia IVANOVA (AIN) 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 12-10)
- Natalia BOGDANOWICZ, Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA (Poland) – Jade HUYNH, Alexia NODIN (France) 3-1 (1-2, 2-11, 11-8, 11-6)
