2021 European Team Championships

[Juan El Gordo Pérez]

The 2021 European Team Championships got underway in Cluj-Napoca on Tuesday 28th September, with group action commencing on both the Men’s and Women’s fronts.

One of the day’s outstanding performances came from Ukraine’s Yaroslav Zhmudenko, who played a pivotal role in his team’s dramatic 3-2 win against Belarus in the Men’s Team event.

Picking up a brace, Zhmudenko toppled Aleksandr Khanin (11-7, 11-4, 11-9) and Pavel Platonov (11-4, 5-11, 11-9, 13-15, 11-8) to help his team hold off a robust all-round effort from Belarus. Yevhen Pryshchepa was the other player from Ukraine to register a win, defeating Khanin across five games (8-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-4, 11-3) to promote his team to the top of Group A.

“We are happy to win. Belarus is always a strong team, even if they didn’t play today with their leader. We had a difficult start, but after that, we proved that we have a good heart to fight and win.” Yevhen Pryshchepa
The host nation Romania celebrated an opening day win against Luxembourg, moving joint top of Group H in the process. Luka Mladenovic’s stunning upset of Ovidiu Ionescu (11-13, 3-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-8) handed Luxembourg an ideal start to the match, but it proved a lead the team ultimately couldn’t capitalise on. Rares Sipos and Hunor Szocs turned the tide for Romania with back-to-back successes against Eric Glod (11-5, 7-11, 16-14, 8-11, 11-9) and Traian Ciociu (11-8, 11-8, 11-5) before Ionescu made amends with a ruthless display in his meeting with Glod (11-5, 11-8, 11-9).

“It is such a nice feeling; I’ve got goosebumps! Even now, I feel so excited. I would like to give my thanks to all my friends and my family who came to support us. There were so many spectators, and we are looking forward to seeing more of them in the coming days.” Rares Sipos
Joining Romania at the summit of Group H is Slovenia following its 3-1 win over Finland, while the Czech Republic and Croatia accounted for Italy and Hungary 3-0 to move top of Group G. The trio of Robin Devos, Cedric Nuytinck and Martin Allegro guided Belgium past Greece in a 3-2 thriller, with Slovakia, Poland, Denmark and Russia also up-and-running.

Slovakia is off to a winning start in the Women’s Team event following a comprehensive 3-1 win over Group A rivals Spain. Maria Xiao handed Spanish hopes an early boost following her impressive outing against Tatiana Kukulkova (13-11, 11-8, 11-4). However, an immediate response followed as Barbora Balazova and Ema Labosova prevailed against Galia Dvorak (11-5, 11-7, 11-2) and Sofia-Xuan Zhang (11-7, 13-11, 11-8) respectively to put Slovakia ahead. Balazova completed the comeback soon after as she battled past Xiao (12-10, 4-11, 11-6, 11-5).

“The most important moment that gave us the edge was definitely the duel between Ema and Zhang, as that pushed us to victory much easier than we originally thought. Maria was really good at the beginning of the match, but I managed to level against Galia. We were club mates for a while, and we know each other very well. Then Ema produced the perfect victory, which gave me an advantage for the following match and put Xiao under extra pressure.” Barbora Balazova
Prithika Pavade once again showcased her talent on the international stage as she led France to a statement 3-0 success against Turkey in Group H. The 17-year-old opened the scoring for France with her four-game win against Sibel Altinkaya (11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6), before Yuan Jia Nan and Pauline Chasselin followed up with triumphant outings against Simay Kulakceken (11-2, 11-9, 8-11, 16-14) and Ece Harac (11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-4).

“I was here three years ago at the European Youth Championships, and it is a great place to play. Everything looks great, and I feel good because I am familiar with this place. My team had a good start. All the matches were close, and Turkey has a very good team. I can’t say that one match was more difficult than the other as, for me, every match is difficult, and I take them all very seriously.” Prithika Pavade
Elsewhere, 2019 Women’s Team runners-up Portugal secured a winning start to life in Group E with Fu Yu’s brace playing a vital role in the team’s 3-1 victory over Croatia. Italy, Belarus and Sweden couldn’t have asked for a better opening to Groups B, C and F respectively, after dispatching Belgium, Serbia, England 3-0. The Czech Republic and Luxembourg lead Groups D and G.

[Juan El Gordo Pérez]

Day two at the Gazprom 2021 European Team Table Tennis Championships in Cluj-Napoca provided plenty of talking points as group stage matters continued to hot up on Wednesday 29th September.

One of the day’s tightest encounters in the Women’s Team event saw Hungary and Croatia take to the table in a pulsating Group E clash. Hungary enjoyed the perfect start as Dora Madarasz quickly dispatched Ivana Malobabic (11-9, 11-7, 11-8) before Georgina Pota made it 2-0 overall with her comeback win over Mateja Jeger (4-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6). Petra Petek and Jeger brought Croatia back into the contest soon after, beating Leila Imre (11-5, 11-4, 13-11) and Madarasz (11-9, 11-4, 11-7). However, the vastly experienced Pota delivered when she needed to the most, brushing aside Malobabic (7-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-6) to guide the Hungarian team over the finish line.

“The match against Croatia was difficult. We knew that it would not be easy. Playing against pimples is was always challenging, especially for me and Dora. The last time I played against pimples was three years ago. Today everybody did a very good job despite the fact that we have a young team. I am very proud. It was a very good start for us, and I hope that we will win again tomorrow.” Georgina Pota
Romania is off the mark after condemning Belgium to its second 3-0 defeat in Group B. Getting the ball rolling for the host nation, Bernadette Szocs recovered from a slow start to beat Nathalie Marchetti (8-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-8) before Elizabeta Samara doubled the defending champion’s advantage with victory over Margo Degraef (11-7, 11-2, 10-12, 11-7). Daniela Monteiro Dodean then stepped forward to finish the job, coming out on top against Sara Devos (11-5, 11-5, 11-3).

“This is an excellent start for the Romanian team. It is not always easy to play at home, and we felt a little more pressure than usual as the first matches are always hard. We are not used to playing matches at home, but I believe that our team will continue to play better and better. Playing with spectators is something “new” for us as we have played many home matches without spectators in the last year due to the Covid pandemic. It is such a good feeling to have our supporters here. We have prepared very hard for this Championships, and we are ready for the big fights to come because as the Championships progresses, it will get even tougher.” Bernadette Szocs
Another significant challenger in the title race, Germany showcased its firepower for all to see with a commanding 3-0 win against Group B opponents Slovakia. Over in Group C, Austria proved just as convincing, accounting for Serbia by the same margin. Ukraine, Poland, Russia, and the Netherlands also prevailed in Groups D, E, F, G, and H.

Beaten by their Serbian counterparts twice on the road to Cluj-Napoca, England secured revenge in its first Group C outing in the Men’s Team event. Liam Pitchford led the line for the English outfit, outclassing Marko Jevtovic (11-6, 11-2, 7-11, 11-9) and Zsolt Peto (11-9, 12-10, 11-5) in the opening and closing fixtures of the match. However, Sam Walker arguably proved the decisive factor as he demonstrated nerves of steel, saving three match points to defeat Jevtovic 3-2 (5-11, 11-7, 11-7, 4-11, 12-10).

“It was a really tough match for me and my team, so it was amazing to get through it. I feel relieved! It has been a while since I played in an event like this. It has been really tough; sometimes, I don’t manage the pressure well, which I have been working on. Obviously, today I managed to handle that quite well, as I saved three match points.” Sam Walker
Croatia survived a stern test to overcome Group G rivals Italy in a match that went right down to the wire. Andrej Gacina proved critical to the Croatian team’s success after he managed to beat Marco Rech Daldosso (11-7, 13-11, 11-5) and Niagol Stoyanov (6-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8) to complete a commendable brace. Italy also registered two wins following strong outings from Stoyanov and Leonardo Mutti, but Tomislav Pucar’s straight games success against Rech Daldosso (11-7, 11-6, 11-9) saw Croatia clinch victory in the deciding match.

“I played quite bad in the first match against Niagol, but I managed to play better against Marco. Serving and receiving was the most important thing when playing against him. In the opening points, he was very good, but I managed to win the short points. Our next duel against the Czech Republic is very important for us. We will have a direct clash for a place in the quarter-final.” Tomislav Pucar.
Joining Croatia at the summit of Group G, the Czech Republic made it two wins from two following a 3-1 win against Hungary. The other teams to emerge triumphant on day two were Germany, Sweden, Austria, Portugal, France, Slovenia and Romania.