The final stage of the 2023 STUPA European Table Tennis Championships began today in Malmö. Over the first three days 32 teams divided into 8 groups for both the Men’s and Women’s Team Events will compete for a place in the Round of 16 which is scheduled for Thursday after a day off.
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Türkiye – France 0-3
The bronze medal-winning Team France from Cluj 2021 started their journey in Malmö in superb fashion. Prithika PAVADE set the tone for the match with a victory over Ozge YILMAZ followed by YUAN Jia Nan and Charlotte LUTZ. Sibel ALTINKAYA and Simay KULAKCEKEN were unable to cause an upset in the opening match of Group C.
“The first four games were really close. Calling a timeout in the fifth was a rewarding decision ” said PAVADE about her match.
Charlotte LUTZ’s thoughts:”I think my team managed really well. Prithika had a little trouble in the first match but performed excellently in the last set. Yuan managed all three sets very well. I was a bit nervous before my match but I believe I played well so I’m happy and proud of my team.”
Belgium – Netherlands 3-0
Cédric NUYTINCK Martin ALLEGRO and Adrien RASSENFOSSE secured an opening match victory against the Netherlands’ Gabrielius CAMARA Kas VAN OOST and Barry BERBEN. The most dramatic moment occurred in the closely contested match between Martin and Kas after Cedric achieved a straight games win in the opening match.
“I had a difficult start. I was too aggressive with my forehand at the beginning. I changed my tactics slowed down and made fewer mistakes. It worked for me when we were up 2-0 and winning 3-0 against the Netherlands was an excellent opening for us ” said Adrien RASSENFOSSE. “Now we are facing Slovakia in the next match and our goal is to win the group even though we expect it to be challenging especially when playing against a chopper.”
Norway – England 1-3
Norway’s Borgar HAUG overcame Samuel WALKER and pushed Paul DRINKHALL to go the distance in the fourth match. Despite his brave efforts England ultimately prevailed in the opening duel. Alexander FRANSSON and LAM Khai Noah lost to Paul DRINKHALL and Tom JARVIS.
“It was a good team performance; everyone played well and made some great moves. It’s a solid team win and we are looking forward to the upcoming matches ” said DRINKHALL.
When asked about his own matches:
“I played well maintained good focus right from the start. The match against Borgar HAUG was tough; I had faced him two weeks ago and it also went 3-2 so I knew it was going to be a challenging contest.”
Regarding expectations for the rest of the tournament:
“We don’t have specific expectations but we are determined to fight. We are a strong team and a united unit and that’s what we aim to demonstrate.”
Wales – Luxembourg 0-3
NI Xia Lian gave Luxembourg a dream start with a victory over the young Anna HURSEY. Sarah DE NUTTE and Tessy GONDERINGER faced fewer challenges in their encounters with Charlotte CAREY and Lara WHITTON.
Coach Tommy DANIELSSON on the match:”This match turned out to be easier than expected. A 3-0 victory is a clear result. NI continues to improve and impress everyone. Despite her recent illness and withdrawal from the last WTT in Bulgaria she managed to win her match against Anna HURSEY 3-1. Now our goal is to aim for the Olympics in Paris which would be a fitting end to a brilliant career. Sarah played a tactically well match against Carey and Tess secured a 3-0 win giving us a strong start in this tournament.”
Germany – England 3-0
The defending champions Team Germany emerged victorious against England in straight matches. Nina MITTELHAM SHAN Xiaona and Annett KAUFMANN secured three 3-0 game victories over Emily BOLTON Jasmin WONG and Mollie PATTERSON.
“I am very pleased with our team’s performance ” commented Annett KAUFMANN who is a multiple junior European champion and had already contributed to the European Championship title in Cluj two years ago. She left no chance for the three-year-older Mollie Patterson in the three-player position in Malmö. “Nana” (Note: Xiaona Shan) and Nina played with confidence and consistency. I am also very satisfied with my game; I played well and felt comfortable.”
SHAN expressed her satisfaction with the successful start saying “Even though England’s best player was not present the first game at a major tournament is always challenging so I am very pleased. It was important to begin the tournament well and we achieved that.”
Portugal – Greece 3-1
Portugal secured the opening match victory over Greece with Marcos FREITAS proving once again that he is in splendid shape. Marcos overcame both Georgios STAMATOUROS and Panagiotis GIONIS. Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS was the only player to score for Team Greece as he defeated Joao GERALDO while Tiago APOLONIA prevailed against GIONIS.
“I’ve played Panagiotis Gionis many times and I’ve both won and lost to him. In the first game I made too many unforced errors but after that I think I adapted well to his spin. I am physically well-prepared. In my club in the German league we have a defensive player Wang Xi and we’ve practiced a lot which has helped me ” said APOLONIA.
Looking ahead to the next match:
“We have Hungary tomorrow. There are no weak teams so we all have to prepare well to make it possible to win the group.”
Croatia – Switzerland 3-0
Andrej GACINA Tomislav PUCAR and Filip ZELJKO succeeded against Loic STOLL Elias HARDMEIER and Pedro OSIRO without facing significant challenges.
“It’s the first match and it’s always a little difficult to start a tournament. Today it was very important that we started to fight and continued every point. We were favorites in this match and managed to win 3-0. Tomorrow it’s a tough match against Austria and we will try to play our best “explained PUCAR.
Regarding their chances for the rest of the tournament:
“We have a good team but there are many good teams here. If we are in good shape and play well I think we can go until the end.”
Slovenia – Türkiye 3-0
Europe’s top-ranked player Darko JORGIC started the match against Türkiye with a winning style as he defeated Ibrahim GUNDUZ and set the pace for Deni KOZUL and Peter HRIBAR who followed suit in their duels against Abdullah YIGENLER and Ziver GUNDUZ.
Darko JORGIC shares his thoughts on the match:”I was up 2-0 in the game and thought it would be easy. He started to play better and in the fourth he had one game point. I tried to play more consistently serving more to his forehand which yielded results and gave me more chances to attack. We’ve practically secured a place in the round of 16 now with a 3-0 victory and 9-2 in games. However we aim to win the group and Denmark will be a tough opponent.”
Greece – Sweden 0-3
On home soil Sweden showed no mercy. Christina KALLBERG needed five games to break the ice against Konstantina PARIDI but after that Sweden was in the driver’s seat. Linda BERGSTROM beat Aikaterini TOLIOU and Filippa BERGAND prevailed against Malamatenia PAPADIMITRIOU.
Coach Tobias BERGMAN gave his view of the match: “As we expected at the European Championships it was a little tense at first. There’s always nervousness at the start of a tournament but still winning 3-0 is impressive.”
Stina KALLBERG expresses her feelings: “I was nervous to play at home and didn’t want to disappoint the supporters. It was hard to find the rhythm of the game and I missed too many simple balls.”
Linda BERGSTRÖM reflects on her performance: “I was a bit too passive in my game but did better when I got her moving.”
France – Serbia 3-0
In a powerful performance France justified their status and overcame Serbia. Brothers Felix and Alexis LEBRUN recorded wins over Dimitrije LEVAJAC and Aleksa GACEV while Can AKKUZU beat Zsolt PETO.
Can AKKUZU discusses the team effort and his own win: “First of all we’re happy to win the match because that’s the most important thing. I think all three of us played very well. We started the match well and that boosted our confidence for the next player’s match. My two friends did well and after that it was easier for me as I could start with less pressure. We’re happy.”
He also shares his thoughts on Malmö and the championships: “Actually I like the coffee here a lot (laughs). The venue is good and the conditions are really favorable. We don’t need to travel between the hall and the hotel which is really helpful for us.”
Regarding the match against Ukraine: “Before every game we will prepare ourselves in the usual manner. We want to bring our game to the table and we will see if we need to make any adjustments. But in the end we will approach it as we always do—with a lot of energy and a focus on enjoying the game.”
Romania – Croatia 3-0
Two years ago runners-up Romania led by Bernadette SZOCS with Elizabeta SAMARA and Andreea DRAGOMAN overcame Croatia in straight matches. Mateja JEGER MAJSTOROVIC and Lea RAKOVAC failed to steal a game while Hana ARAPOVIC forced SAMARA to go the full distance.
Netherlands – Slovakia 1-3
Netherlands’ Shuohan MEN managed to take a point from Slovakia in the full-distance match against Barbora BALAZOVA but Tatiana KUKULKOVA showed superb form. She beat Emine ERNST and MEN. Ema LABOSOVA prevailed against Tanja HELLE.
Tatiana Kukulkova talks about the match: “We played against each other in the qualification and we won both matches so we know them quite well. Of course I felt a little pressure. I hadn’t expected that BALAZOVA would lose in the first match. In my first match against Emine ERNST she has short pimples on her forehand and I have short pimples on my backhand. I hate playing against short pimples! After the second game I ‘woke up.’ I think I had a little more confidence and that was the key to winning. In the last match against Shuohan MEN I had a 2-0 lead but let her back into the match. She got me moving from side to side but in the fourth game I moved a little faster and was able to win.”
Looking ahead to the match against Czechia: “Tomorrow we play against Czechia. We are good friends; MATELOVA and BALAZOVA often play doubles but on the table we are rivals. So I think it will be a very tough match and it will be a 50/50% chance I think.”
Germany – Finland 3-0
With Timo BOLL in the top position Germany’s men successfully started their campaign against Finland in the European Team Championships as expected. The team led by the 42-year-old record European champion coached by head coach Lars HIELSCHER from Düsseldorf in Malmö defeated the Finland confidently.
To start off BOLL currently ranked 66th in the world rankings as he makes his way back to the top after a persistent shoulder injury had a relatively easy time in the duel of left-handers with the 20-year-old Alex NAUMI. After a brief adjustment period in the first game in which Boll turned a 1:8 deficit into a 13:11 win the Finnish champion from the previous year who continued to play bravely until the end had no chance. Benedikt DUDA then defeated Finland’s best player Benedek OLAH whom he had narrowly lost to in four games in two WTT tournaments. Ricardo WALTHER contributed the decisive point with a convincing victory over the 18-year-old Sam KHOSRAVI.
“The start was a bit bumpy. It wasn’t a game that I’m super happy with because it wasn’t confident enough ” explained Timo BOLL. “I had problems finding my own rhythm and adapting to my opponent’s game and the conditions here. This happens to me often especially when there is such a significant change in equipment as here – from sand to grass so to speak. I expect that I can improve.”
Sweden – Italy 3-0
The host nation started the competition in Malmo in superb style. Truls MOREGAARD overcame John OYEBODE in straight games before Mattias FALCK did the same against Matteo MUTTI. In the third match Anton KALLBERG was put to the test. Andrea PUPPO took the first game and had a 2-1 lead but Anton recovered to win.
Jörgen PERSSON said:”Truls MÖREGÅRDH and Mattias FALCK had convincing wins. Anton had a tougher time but Andrea PUPPO played a very good match. We haven’t decided yet who will play tomorrow. The Czechia will be more difficult and we will give it our all.”
Anton KÄLLBERG added:”I missed a lot of openings and rebounds which allowed PUPPO back into the match. However I always felt that I could make a comeback.”
Mattias FALCK said: “I was meticulous and made very few mistakes. I feel good in terms of form.”
Bulgaria – Portugal 1-3
Portugal dropped a point against Bulgaria in a match where YU Fu and SHAO Jieni dominated. YU beat Maria YOVKOVA in straight games while SHAO prevailed against Tsvetelina GEORGIEVA. MariKalina HRISTOVA beat Ines MATOS to add one point to Bulgaria’s scoreboard.
“I lost my match so it’s good to have two teammates who always play very well as usual. For example Jieni Shao won both her games; she plays fast aggressively and has a lot of experience. I hope I can stay more focused in our next match ” said Ines MATOS.
Hungary – Belgium 3-0
Dora MADARASZ Georgina POTA and Mercedes NAGYVARADI overcame Belgium’s Lilou MASSART Margo DEGRAEF and Sara DEVOS. The only serious challenge in the match was faced by POTA in her encounter against DEGRAEF.
“The first match is always difficult and we are really happy that we won 3-0. My match ended 3-2 with the fifth set at 11-9. The last time we played against each other in Slovenia was also a tough match so I am happy that I managed to win. It’s challenging to start a big championship especially when you haven’t participated in official tournaments like WTT for the last 4 months “eplained POTA.
Any expectations for the rest of the tournament?
“In the next match we play against Ukraine and I think it’s a 50/50 match. If we finish first in the group it will of course be easier in the upcoming matches.”
