Anna HURSEY of Wales clinched gold in the Women’s Singles event at the European Under 21 Championships in Bratislava by defeating the reigning champion Veronika MATIUNINA of Ukraine.
The bronze medallists are Ioana SINGEORZAN and Elena ZAHARIA, both of Romania.
Nineteen-year-old HURSEY overcame MATIUNINA in five games (11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 12-10, 11-9) in superb fashion.
“I think it was a very close and tough final. I played quite well. Maybe I made a few mistakes I shouldn’t have, but I’m happy I got through it. Stylistically it was difficult for me, since MATIUNINA has much more experience, but in the end, I found a way,” said HURSEY.
“It’s great that I won it for Wales, because normally we don’t have so many strong results. I’m happy I could win this for Wales.”
In the semi-final earlier today, HURSEY showed no mercy against Ioana SINGEORZAN of Romania, winning in straight games (11-7, 11-6, 11-7, 11-5).
“We’ve played a few times before. Two years ago at the European Under 21, also in the semi-final, she beat me in a really close match. I also lost once to her at a WTT Feeder event, so this was my first win against her,” HURSEY explained.
“I’ve been playing really well recently and I’m happy I won this one. We analyzed her game in detail, but more than anything, my level of play right now is really high.”
In a rematch of last year’s final, the 2022 champion and 2023 runner-up Elena ZAHARIA stretched reigning champion Veronika MATIUNINA to a full seven games, but once again the Ukrainian player prevailed (11-8, 11-6, 3-11, 9-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8).
“The most important thing for me was to stay calm no matter what was happening, because Elena is a very dangerous player,” said MATIUNINA.
“Our matches are always close. I knew it would be a long match, and even if I built a big lead, it wouldn’t be enough. ZAHARIA is very smart and always finds a way to adapt and change her tactics to win.”
That’s exactly what happened in the semi-final.
“Elena was down 0-2. I was leading without much difficulty in the opening stages. Then suddenly, I had no answers. She came back and leveled. At 2-2, it was really important for me to win the fifth game,” MATIUNINA continued.
“Unfortunately, I faced another setback in the decider. ZAHARIA took an early lead, and my coach Krisztina TOTH called for a time-out. That was a crucial moment. We managed to break the momentum and turn the game around completely.”
