Italy successfully defended their crown in the Under 15 Boys Event at the European Youth Championships in Ostrava. They faced a fierce challenge from first-time finalists Türkiye on their way to another prestigious title. Before Malmö, Italy’s only previous victory in this category came in 1993.
Danilo FASO, Francesco TREVISAN, Giulio CAMPAGNA, and Pietro CAMPAGNA were listed for the Italian champion team. Silver medalists Türkiye were represented by Kenan KAHRAMAN, Görkem ÖÇAL, Kuzey GÜNDOĞDU, and Ahmet ŞAHAN.
The semifinalists were Germany, with Jonas RINDERER, Lukas WANG, Samuel KUHL, and Tian Nghia PHONG; and Poland, with Jan MRUGALA, Mateusz WISNIEWSKI, Piotr LACKI, and Hubert KWIECIŃSKI.
In the final, TREVISAN and FASO overcame KAHRAMAN and ÖÇAL in singles, while Türkiye secured their only point in the doubles.
“First, I played against KAHRAMAN. I had never won against him before, so I was a little bit scared. I didn’t start well, I lost the first game, but then I started to believe I had a chance, and I did it,” said TREVISAN and continued:”The last game was really crazy, I won 19-17, but it was up and down the whole time. I changed my receive at the end because his serve was always the same, and I also slowed things down, I stopped rushing and took more time.”
Danilo FASO added:
“I won the first match 3-0 against ÖÇAL. He’s a really good player. I had played against him at the Europe Top 10 and won there too, so I went into this match more relaxed. The last game was the most difficult, I won 14-12. I didn’t change much in the match, just stuck to my game.”
FASO explained what happened in the doubles.
“We lost the doubles 0-3. It was a really tough match, and they played really well. I think if we had won the second game, which we lost 13-15, we could’ve taken the match. But in the end, we lost 0-3. In the last encounter, I played against KAHRAMAN. I beat him 3-1. I was up 2-0 and 8-6, but lost that set 8-11. In the fourth set, I returned to my rhythm and won.”
Both players agreed that the final was their toughest match of the tournament:
“They are really good players, and we really wanted to win — and we made it!”
On their way to the final, Italy defeated Germany, Spain, and Hungary in the knockout phase. Türkiye reached the ultimate match after victories over Poland, France, and Czechia.
FINAL
Türkiye – Italy 1-3
- Kenan KAHRAMAN – Francesco TREVISAN 1-3 (11-6, 7-11, 7-11, 17-19)
- Görkem ÖÇAL – Danilo FASO 0-3 (9-11, 8-11, 12-14)
- Kenan KAHRAMAN, Görkem ÖÇAL – Francesco TREVISAN, Danilo FASO- 0-3 (11-4, 15-13, 12-10)
- Kenan KAHRAMAN – Danilo FASO 1-3 (8-11, 12-14, 11-8, 10-12)
SEMI FINAL
Germany – Italy 0-3
- Jonas RINDERER – Francesco TREVISAN 1-3 (11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 7-11)
- Tian Nghia PHONG – Danilo FASO 0-3 (11-13, 5-11, 3-11)
- Jonas RINDERER, Samuel KUHL – Francesco TREVISAN, Danilo FASO 2-3 (6-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 5-11)
Poland – Türkiye 2-3
- Jan MRUGALA – Kenan KAHRAMAN 3-2 (6-11, 8-11, 14-12, 11-9, 12-10)
- Mateusz WISNIEWSKI – Görkem ÖÇAL 0-3 (4-11, 7-11, 4-11)
- Jan MRUGALA, Mateusz WISNIEWSKI – Kenan KAHRAMAN Görkem ÖÇAL 0-3 (6-11, 8-11, 8-11)
- Jan MRUGALA – Görkem ÖÇAL 3-1 (11-9, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7)
- Mateusz WISNIEWSKI – Kenan KAHRAMAN 0-3 (3-11, 7-11, 6-11)
