Home Favourite FLORO Impresses on Opening Day in Bratislava

Only 16 years old, Damian FLORO made a strong start on home soil at the 2025 European Under 21 Championships in Bratislava. Playing at Tipos Arena, the Slovakian, seeded 53rd, defied expectations by defeating croatia’s Ivan HENCL, the 29th seed.

“I felt a little pressure before the start because it’s not easy playing at home. It also takes time to adjust to the venue and its conditions. However, once the game started, I felt the ball well, found my rhythm, and that boosted my confidence,” said FLORO.

FLORO previously made his mark by finishing second at the Europe Youth Top 10 two years ago in the Under 15 category in Bucharest. Last year, he was part of the Slovakian Under 19 team that secured bronze at the European Youth Championships in Sweden after a semi-final loss to Germany. In the quarterfinals, Slovakia beat Croatia, with FLORO winning his match against HENCL.

“That win was very important to me today. Despite the ranking difference, I felt confident,” added FLORO.

When asked about his ambitions for the tournament, FLORO was optimistic:

“Now I think I have a good chance to get through the group stage, and hopefully the next round too. I know reaching the knockout phase is very ambitious—but why not?” he said with a smile.

The opening stage of the tournament features 48 players divided into 12 groups (Groups 1–12). The top two players from each group will advance to Stage 2, producing 24 qualifiers. Tomorrow, the eight top-seeded players will join them in the main draw.

Top seeds in the men’s event: Eduard ONESCU (Romania), Andre BERTELSMEIER (Germany), Flavien COTON (France), Iulian CHIRITA (Romania), Tiago ABIODUN (Portugal), Balazs LEI (Hungary), Andrei ISTRATE (Romania), Kas VAN OOST (Netherlands).

See the pictures by T. SEREDA here.

Follow the results here.

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The European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) is the governing body of the sport of table tennis in Europe, and is the only authority recognized for this purpose by the International Table Tennis Federation. The ETTU deals with all matters relating to table tennis at a European level, including the development and promotion of the sport in the territories controlled by its 58 member associations, and the organization of continental table tennis competitions, including the European Championships.

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