The afternoon session in the Round of 16 of both the Men’s and Women’s Singles events at the 2023 Krakow European Games began with great upsets. In thrilling duels both the number two seeds departed from the competition earlier than their rankings predicted.
Natalia BAJOR of Poland (14) – Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria (2) 4-1 (4-11 11-4 11-3 11-8 12-10)
Cheered on by the enthusiastic home crowd Natalia BAJOR reached the quarterfinals of the Women’s Singles at the European Games in Krakow. In the process she overcame the number two seed and European champion Sofia POLCANOVA.
“I still don’t know how I did it how I beat a European champion. I have had a lot of health problems recently. This is actually the first tournament where I am playing well this year. I am very happy that I got into shape just for the tournament taking place in Poland ” said BAJOR.
Natalia certainly made the home crowd proud.
“The atmosphere here in Krakow is great. Recently I played in Lagos where the atmosphere was equally intense so it was a good warm-up. In my opinion the European Games are well organized and at a very high level including the training hall ” explained BAJOR.
Natalia will face Jia YUAN in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
“I lost against her in the European Championships last year but tomorrow is a new day and anything can happen.”
Daniel HABESOHN of Austria (26) – Truls MOREGARDH of Sweden (2) 4-3 (11-6 6-11 12-10 12-10 11-13 3-11 11-7)
Unlike BAJOR’s straightforward success Daniel HABESOHN failed to finish the match after leading 3-1. Truls MOREGARDH made a recovery to level the score but in a thrilling finish the Austrian halted his spirited comeback.
“I had a great start to the match and I could have finished it much earlier. I still believe I made the right decision but Truls won the fifth game. Then he started shouting cheering himself up and tried to push himself back into the match. And he easily won the next game ” said HABESOHN.
The game continued both on the table and mentally. At such high quality and high stakes every detail matters.
“In the sixth game I told myself to calm down. I had to stay focused. I even told my coach to keep a straight face. I didn’t want to see a negative reaction or anything that could cause me to lose my focus ” said HABESOHN.
In the seventh game Daniel had a 7-2 advantage but even that was not enough to ensure a safe closure.
“It has happened so many times that players have wasted such advantages. I had to stay calm and not think about victory just about the next point.”
In the next round Daniel will meet Andrej GACINA.
“I think he was cheering for me. I am definitely the underdog in that match. However in this championship I beat PITCHFORD after being 1-3 down and I overcame MOREGARDH…”
Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany (3) – Eduard IONESCU of Romania (29) 2-4 (11-7 11-7 12-14 7-11 10-12 5-11)
In a fantastic comeback and with a bold and aggressive performance 18-year-old Eduardo IONESCU raised the bar even higher by defeating the number three seed OVTCHAROV.
“I couldn’t find the right solution in the opening games of the match. However my coach Andrei FILIMON told me few small things I needed to change. I quickly managed to adjust those changes and I won four games in a row. I wasn’t afraid; I just kept the momentum when I started winning. I lived in the moment and played ball by ball ” explained IONESCU.
“Something like that rarely happens to me. Everything went according to plan. I was leading 2:0 10:8 in the third and three more times in extra time. I had five set points to lead 3:0. After that he got better and I got much worse my game almost completely collapsed. I had another chance in the fifth set. But if you leave all your chances like I did today and your game collapses then it’s probably normal that you lose ” said OVTCHAROV.
Ivana MALOBABIC of Croatia (25) – Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania (8) 0-4 (3-11 6-11 2-11 8-11)
Elizabeta SAMARA dominated the match against Ivana MALOBABIC securing a quick victory.
“Despite the difference in rankings it is always dangerous to underestimate your opponent. It was good that I didn’t have a very challenging match but I prepared well. It was a good opportunity for me to warm up for what’s coming tomorrow ” said SAMARA.
Tomorrow in the quarterfinals SAMARA will face the number one seed HAN Ying.
“We play in the same club in Poland and Japan and we are very good friends. There is nothing new we can do to surprise each other. It will be a good match for sure ” stated SAMARA.
Jonathan GROTH of Denmark (13) – Alexis LEBRUN of France (5) 3-4 (11-6 9-11 8-11 11-6 11-9 7-11 8-11)
Once again in the Round of 16 iwe saw a seven-game thriller. LEBRUN was under severe pressure in the match against GROTH but he kept fighting back.
“I didn’t play at the level I wanted. I made mistakes with the tactics and I had to make a lot of changes during the game. I had to adjust my service and find a way to counter Jonathan’s excellent backhand. It was a very difficult match ” explained Alexis.
Dora MADARASZ of Hungary (22) – YANG Xiaoxin of Monaco (4) 0-4 (1-11 3-11 8-11 11-13)
YANG started the match in superb style but from the third game onwards MADARASZ managed to create a few chances. However she failed to capitalize on them.
“I was well prepared for this match. It was one of those duels that could have gone either way. MADARASZ is a very dangerous player. I put her under pressure in the first two games but then she started to recover. She adjusted her game and had a 5-1 and 7-3 lead but mentally faltered when she couldn’t finish the game in her favor ” explained YANG.
Nina MITTELHAM of Germany (3) – SHAO Jieni of Portugal (10) 4-1 (11-8 11-9 11-3 9-11 11-6)
As no. three seed in men’s event OVTCHAROV departed the Hutnik Arena defeted Women’s no. three Nina MITTELHAM justified her sstatus in the match against SHAO Jieni.
“In the end I am satisfied that I won. I actually played quite well but now I’m pretty worn out physically. I didn’t focus well at the end and in the fourth game I didn’t play the tactics I had planned. But in the fifth game I was able to switch back relatively quickly. I’m looking forward to my bed now because I’m pretty tired. Between the mixed and the singles I couldn’t go back to the athletes’ village the time would have been too short. Not being able to rest is quite exhausting. Bernadette SZOCS tomorrow is not my favourite opponent. I have lost many times but I have also won twice. It depends on the form of the day” said Nina.
QIU Dang of Germany (1) – Niagol STOYANOV of Italy (31) (11-8 11-2 11-4 11-7)
No. one seed QIU Dang showed no mercy against Niagol STOYANOV.
“I played well and was physically very fresh played the things I can play. I am very happy that I could win clearly because tomorrow I have two important matches the mixed final in the evening and the match against Alexis LEBRUN in the morning. So it’s good that I was able to save energy today. I was able to beat Alexis twice at the World Team Championships. But he is constantly developing and has good results. But I don’t need to hide either and I haven’t played badly lately either “said QIU.
