MLADOST Tia Mobiteli pulled off a major upset to win the Croatian Cup in the women’s category, held at the sports hall in Dedići, while in the men’s category, STARR claimed the title in Varaždin.
The MLADOST team—featuring Sara TOKIĆ, Marta VUKELIĆ, Victoria PUSTAJ, and coach Darko ARAPOVIĆ—ended the long-standing dominance of DR. ČASL, who had won the previous seven editions of the Cup. In the semi-final, MLADOST defeated DR. ČASL 3–2, capitalizing on the absence of their opponents’ full roster of international reinforcements.
TOKIĆ gave MLADOST the early lead with a 3–1 win over ĐURAK BLAŽIČEVIĆ. LIU Jiaqi leveled the match with a straight-set victory over VUKELIĆ. In a pivotal encounter, PUSTAJ came from behind to defeat BOROVEC 3–2 (-9, 9, -6, 8, 5). LIU Jiaqi once again equalized for DR. ČASL by beating TOKIĆ 3–0.
In the deciding match, VUKELIĆ raced to a 2–0 lead over Đurak BLAŽIČEVIĆ, who then fought back to level the match. However, in a tense fifth set, VUKELIĆ edged out an 11–9 win in deuce, sending MLADOST to the final.
Interestingly, MLADOST also ended DR. ČASL’s winning streak in the national league during the 2014/15 season, and now they have repeated the feat in the Cup. In the final, MLADOST dropped only two games as they convincingly defeated VARAŽDIN to claim the prestigious trophy. VARAŽDIN had earlier defeated VRSAR 3–0 in the second semi-final.
The trophy was presented to the champions by Renato ČENGIĆ, Director of the Croatian Table Tennis Association (HSTS).
STARR Win Croatian Cup Titles
In the men’s event, STARR emerged victorious after defeating national champions LIBERTAS Marinkolor 3–0 in the semi-final, followed by a 3–1 win over GSTK ZAGREB in the final. This is STARR’s second Croatian Cup title, having previously won in the 2022/23 season.
STARR’s title-winning team included Ronald REĐEP, Divyansh SRIVASTAVA, Rino VIDAN, Mudit DANI, and Bono HRNČIĆ.
Alongside LIBERTAS, third place was also awarded to STK ZAGREB, who lost their semi-final 3–0 to GSTK ZAGREB.
The hosts opened the final with a win, as REĐEP narrowly defeated BENKO 3–2 (11–4, 8–11, 10–12, 11–7, 11–3). SRIVASTAVA then extended the lead to 2–0 with a 3–1 victory over HENCL. GSTK ZAGREB pulled one back through ZOVKO, who overcame VIDAN 3–2 (8–11, 11–6, 11–8, 8–11, 11–7), but SRIVASTAVA sealed the victory by edging BENKO again, 3–2. Though he led 2–0, the match went to a fifth set before the Indian player closed it out (11–9, 11–5, 11–13, 6–11, 11–4).
Since 2016, LIBERTAS Marinkolor has won the Cup four times, STARR twice, and GSTK ZAGREB once.
