The Under-19 Boys’ teams event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö group stage concluded with a few upsets with Sweden topping the list. Romania justified their status as the top seed while Sweden beat the odds securing all three victories and leading their group standings to advance to the round of 16.
In Group A Romania beat Spain 3-0 Italy 3-2 and Bulgaria 3-0. In the first two matches Andrei ISTRATE Darius MOVILEANU and IULIAN Chirita were in the team while today Dragos BUJOR replaced ISTRATE.
“We had a bit of a shaky start with the very hard match against Italy winning 3-2 but in the end it’s good that we won and managed to play a very good game to win the group ” said BUJOR.
Romania is in pursuit of their third consecutive title.
“Our goal for the tournament since we are the top seeds in teams is to win it for the third time in a row. I’m very delighted to be part of the team for two years in a row and I’m just going to play my game. Hopefully we are going to win all of the medals.”
In the same group Italy secured the second position by defeating Spain in a nerve-wracking duel that went to five matches. Hector SAAVEDRA and Daniel BERZOSA gave Spain a dream start by beating Federico VALLINO and Giacomo IZZO but Giacomo ALLEGRANZA changed the pace of the match. He beat Francesc CARRERA before VALLINO and IZZO won their duels.
In Group B Sweden ranked third concluded the first phase with victories over Poland 3-2 Belgium 3-1 and Israel 3-2. Against Israel Isak ALFREDSSON lost both his encounters but today he led the team with two wins over Belgium’s Alessi MASSART and Tom CLOSSET. William BERGENBLOCK lost to CLOSSET and David BJÖRKRYD beat Per GEVERS.
“It was a really tight game but I think we have got a really good team spirit. That helped us very much today. The last match between Tom CLOSSET and Isak ALFREDSSON was very emotional and I really had to remind my player to be calm and play easy. It was great for our team to win the group and get a free evening now because I think they are tired right now. I also have to say thank you to the loud and supportive crowd here in Malmö. It was really fun to play before this audience ” said team coach Pär GERELL who was clearly happy after the victory.
Isak ALFREDSSON was very pleased that his team won this difficult match.
“It was a hard match and we felt a bit of pressure in the last match against Tom CLOSSET. When I won the third game 16-14 it was the key to my victory. It was a pleasure to play for my team in front of the home crowd and family. Now I will have a nice rest and peace after many tough matches ” said Isak.
The top seeds in Group B Poland with Rafal FORMELA Mateusz ZALEWSKI and David MICHNA beat Israel in straight matches today to secure the second spot in the group.
Germany concluded their group stage with a defeat leaving Slovenia with a consolation victory at the bottom of the group. Wins over Hungary and Czechia were sufficient to launch them to the top. Today Germany’s number 1 Andre BERTELSMEIER was missing from the team. The defeat however did not affect the standings as Hungary overcame Czechia in a five-match duel that swung from one side to another. Davis SZANTOSI and Balasz LEI beat Martin SIP and Vit CADLEC but Zoltan VARGA’S loss to Stephan BRHEL brought Hungary back into the game. SIP leveled before SZANTOSI overcame CADLEC 3-2 in the decisive match.
In Group D France secured all three wins overcoming Croatia the Netherlands and Türkiye. While the first two matches concluded 3-1 the last one against Türkiye went the full distance. Without Flavien COTON France found itself in a difficult situation trailing 1-2 but Antoine NOIRAULT Nathan LAM and Celian BESNIER found a way to secure the victory and top position in the group.
“We are very happy with our performance so far. We have a young team and this tournament is a great experience. In the first match it was difficult because the atmosphere in the arena was very loud and tough. After a while it was easier to handle the noise and we are very happy to win our group ” said LAM.
Coach Nicolas GAUDELAS added “It has been a tough tournament so far. My young players are not used to playing in this loud atmosphere. I think that we could have won our matches easier than we did but after all we won the group and that is what is most important. We will use the extra time we get by winning our group to have rest and peace and prepare for the rest of the tournament.”
Croatia won the morning session’s match against the Netherlands in straight matches to secure its place in the round of 16. Borna PETEK set the pace with a very important victory over Gabrielius CAMARA. Leon BENKO and Ivan HENCL prevailed against Brent RONDE and Remi CHAMBET-WEIL.
“Tactically I was well prepared for CAMARA and that helped me find a way to succeed after a very poor performance in the first two games. I lost the first one and won the second by a narrow margin. After I pulled off the close victory in the second game it was much easier for me to play. I had great support from the team; we all fought like it was the final ” said PETEK. “We met earlier this year and I also won but it was a much closer encounter.”
In the group stage the team suffered only against France with a 1-3 loss but overcame Türkiye 3-0.
“It could have been better; we did not seize our chances against France but still we are safely through to the knockout stage.”
Luka ZLATKOV has not yet entered the game but has provided great support to the team from the bench.
“We are one of the teams with the greatest fighting spirit here. It gave us the edge in close duels. Unfortunately it did not help us against France but nevertheless it did not spoil our plans.”
You can see the pictures in the EYC album on Flickr here.
