Romania and France will contest tomorrow’s Under 19 Boys Teams final at the European Youth Championships in Gondomar after overcoming Spain and Poland respectively in the semifinals. Spain and Poland saw their title hopes come to an end, but both teams will leave Portugal with bronze medals.
Ninth seeds Romania continued their remarkable run by defeating fourth seeds Spain 3-0, although every match proved to be a fierce battle.
Robert ISTRATE recovered from a two-game deficit to overcome Francesc CARRERA in five games. After dropping the opening two games 11-7 and 11-9, the Romanian raised his level, taking the next three 11-8, 11-8, 11-4 to give his team the lead.
Robert PODAR then doubled Romania’s advantage with another five-game comeback. Luca KHIDASHELI claimed the opening game before PODAR won the next two 11-9, 11-9. The Spaniard forced a decider, but PODAR held firm to close it out 11-6.
Andrei TIBIRNA sealed Romania’s place in the final with a four-game victory over Dario SALCEDO. After losing the opening game, TIBIRNA responded with three consecutive wins, edging a crucial third game 12-10 before closing the match 11-9.
“Although the score says 3-0, it was a very difficult match from the beginning. They are a very strong team and had already achieved some great results in the tournament. Every match was close, with two of them going to five games.
When Robert was trailing 0-2 in the opening match, I never stopped believing in him. We are always there for each other, in the difficult moments as well as the good ones. I think his comeback was a combination of both tactical changes and mental strength, and he managed to turn the match around.
My own match was also challenging. I knew Luca is a very strong player because I had watched him throughout the tournament, and he had already beaten some excellent opponents. I prepared very well, and my coach helped me a lot with the tactics. I think that preparation, together with sticking to the game plan, made the difference and helped me win,” said Robert PODAR.
Top seeds France also had to work hard to book their place in the title match, defeating second seeds Poland 3-1.
Nathan PILARD gave France the perfect start with a straight-games victory over Samuel MICHNA, winning 11-9, 11-6, 11-6.
Poland levelled the tie as Marcel BLASZCZYK defeated Nathan LAM in four games, recovering after dropping the second game to take control of the contest.
Antoine NOIRAULT then produced one of the comebacks of the day. Trailing Mateusz SAKOWICZ by two games, the Frenchman fought back brilliantly, winning the final three games 11-5, 11-9, 11-9 to move France within one point of the final.
The decisive fourth singles also went the distance. PILARD recovered twice against BLASZCZYK before dominating the closing stages of the match. After levelling the contest at 2-2 with an emphatic 11-3 fourth game, the Frenchman completed the comeback by winning the decider 11-4, sending France into tomorrow’s gold medal match against Romania.
“It was already a very difficult situation because the team score was 1-1, and even the first two matches had been very close. I didn’t start my match well, but I think the comeback was mainly about tactics. I changed a lot of things, especially with my serve and receive, and that allowed me to turn the match around.
Winning that point was extremely important. At 1-1, going 2-1 ahead instead of 2-1 behind makes a huge difference for the whole team. It also gave Nathan a much better position going into his match, and he played a really good game to finish the job.
I’m very happy with our team’s performance today. Everyone fought hard and supported each other. Tomorrow will be another difficult match, but we came to this competition to win the title. We’re ready for the challenge and looking forward to the fight,” said Antoine NOIRAULT.
Romania – Spain 3-0
- Robert ISTRATE – Francesc CARRERA 3-2 (7-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-4)
- Robert PODAR – Luca KHIDASHELI 3-2 (4-11, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-6)
- Andrei TIBIRNA – Dario SALCEDO 3-1 (6-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9)
France – Poland 3-1
- Nathan PILARD – Samuel MICHNA 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-6)
- Nathan LAM – Marcel BLASZCZYK 1-3 (9-11, 11-5, 7-11, 7-11)
- Antoine NOIRAULT – Mateusz SAKOWICZ 3-2 (9-11, 3-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9)
- Nathan PILARD – Marcel BLASZCZYK 3-2 (6-11, 12-10, 3-11, 11-3, 11-4)
