The German women who have already won the European Championships eight times will compete in Malmö with their strongest lineup to defend the title they surprisingly won in 2021 even without their Tokyo Olympics trio of HAN Ying Petrissa SOLJA and SHAN Xiaona. However the first-string team learned the hard way that even with their top players victory is not guaranteed as they lost the rematch of the 2019 European Championship final to Romania at the European Games in Krakow in June.
Tamara BOROS will send her best lineup consisting of HAN Ying Nina MITTELHAM SHAN Xiaona Annett KAUFMANN and Sabine WINTER into the title race.
“The European Championships are an important milestone for us on the long road to Paris where we want to be in top shape. We will do everything we can in Malmö to defend our title. I firmly believe in my team’s ability to achieve this although the European Games also showed how challenging this goal can be especially when facing Romania ” aid BOROS.
HAN Ying
On her preparation for the STUPA European Championships: “I have been training intensively for three weeks and am in pretty good form. I have made further technical improvements to my game. We have a strong team and when we play well we can beat any team.”
On her goals at the STUPA European Championships after losing in the final of the European Games against Romania: “When I’m on the table I always want to win. Unfortunately that didn’t work against Romania last time. They have a good team but we are starting with five very strong players and we are even better than we were at the European Games. We are all ready for a new big battle against Romania. If it comes to that we want to win it badly. I really don’t like losing!”
Nina MITTELHAM
On her current form: “My form is not yet precisely defined. I have trained hard and well. The tournament in Kazakhstan last week was my first in many weeks. There is room for improvement in my gameplay but mentally I felt very good. After reaching the semifinals I go to the European Championships in Malmö with good self-confidence.”
On the importance of the STUPA European Championships with an eye on the Olympics: “A European Championship is always crucial. Especially after the loss at the European Games we naturally want revenge against Romania and defend our title. Additionally winning grants us a direct ticket to the Olympics. There are other qualification opportunities afterward but the first ticket is always the most beautiful and then we have clarity right away. Moreover the European Championship title is always something beautiful: it’s a tournament you really want to win.”
SHAN Xiaona
On the goals at the STUPA European Championships: “The goal is to beat Romania. I think overall we are stronger even though it can be tough. Portugal and Sweden are also two teams that can be dangerous. But my guess is that we will face Romania in the final again. Bernadette SZÖCS is in top form Elizabeta samara plays well against defense so it won’t be easy. We lost at the European Games because we played under a lot of pressure while our opponent was not the favorite and played freely. If we meet Romania again we just have to fight 200 percent and release the pressure. If we all play our best table tennis we will win the title.”
Annett KAUFMANN
On her current form: “My form is not bad but I only started training again in the last week of August after the vacation. In the week before the European Championships I joined the national team for preparations in Düsseldorf. I worked a lot on my technique over the summer ran every day and improved my footwork. It showed directly in training and I feel good.”
On her personal expectations for the European Championships: “I hope of course that I might get some opportunities to play. But ultimately it’s secondary because it’s about the whole team. If others get to play I’ll support our team just as much as if I were at the table myself. I’m also looking forward to intense training in Malmö learning a lot and meeting friends again.”
Sabine WINTER
On her current form: “My form is certainly improvable due to some minor physical issues but it improved from day to day at the last tournament in Bulgaria. I played at a pretty good level there. And there is still just over a week until the European Championships to further build up my form.”
On the changed situation compared to 2021 when the team defeated host Romania in the final as underdogs: “In 2021 I had pressure because I wanted to prove that we as players behind the top 3 can play at a high level. Playing as an underdog is somewhat easier but we will certainly handle the role of the favorite well in Malmö.”
