Tomislav PUCAR (GSTK Zagreb) and Hana ARAPOVIĆ (Mladost) have once again become the national champions in Croatia both claiming their third consecutive titles in Vrsar.
PUCAR secured victory in the final with a 4-0 win against Andrej GAĆINA (STK Zagreb) marking his best performance of the tournament. PUCAR and GAĆINA have faced each other in several finals before with the 37-year-old from Zadar emerging victorious on every official occasion. However this time in Vrsar the nine years younger PUCAR from Pula seized his moment currently being the highest-ranked Croatian table tennis player on the world ranking list. This marks PUCAR’S third consecutive title while GAĆINA boasts 11 titles!
“The last two I won against Filip ZELJKO. It’s tough to play against someone you train with every day. We know each other inside out all the tricks serves receptions… But I’m glad I came out on top this time; I’ve lost about 3-4 finals to him before. I had two tough matches against BAN and BENKO both had the upper hand at some point. It wasn’t easy but such matches can be tricky when it comes to younger guys. They have nothing to lose just to be heroes and they improve every day. I’m glad I managed to overcome all that and I hope it stays that way in the future. I feel sorry for GAĆINA’S injury; I hope he recovers soon ”highlighted PUCAR.
As for the final match PUCAR dominated from the start quickly taking a 3-0 lead. In the fourth set GAĆINA felt discomfort in his leg with which he has been struggling for some time and decided not to take any risks thus conceding the match.
In the women’s final we witnessed a repeat of last year’s showdown but this time it was much more uncertain. Ivana TUBIKANEC (Sveta Nedjelja) led 3-1 holding all the cards in her hands but she lacked the finishing touch. Hana ARAPOVIĆ (Mladost) managed to pull herself out of the abyss equalizing at 3-3 and then dominating in the decisive set for her third consecutive title.
“Tubikanec played very well; she outsmarted me tactically and at that moment I didn’t have the right answer. Then I changed my tactics although the fifth and sixth sets were also tight. Of course I’m satisfied; I managed to turn the match around win the title again and I’m especially pleased that we regained the mixed doubles title ” said Arapović who won everything she played for in Vrsar.
In addition to defending the individual title she also won the mixed doubles title and in the junior category she clinched all three champion titles.
TUBIKANEC reached the final for the second consecutive year and this time added a silver medal from the doubles.
In the men’s doubles the new national champions are Luka LOZUŠIĆ and Ivor BAN (Vodovod/GSTK Zagreb). They had a tough match in the semifinals where they were trailing 7-3 in the fifth set against defending champions Borna PETEK and Luka ZLATKOV. When they pulled through that they had no major problems in the final defeating Josip MUSTAPIĆ and Rino VIDAN (Požega/Starr) 3-0. BAN and LOZUŠIĆ are also Croatian champions in the junior category with ban adding two golds in mixed doubles with Hana ARAPOVIĆ.
“We’re happy to have won two titles in Vrsar; it couldn’t have been better. In the semifinals we were in a bad situation at one point but we managed to turn it around. As for me maybe I could have done better in the senior singles but I was still playing against PUCAR. In Vrsar I competed in six categories and took first place in five ”Said Ban.
In the women’s category the title went to Andrea PAVLOVIĆ and Marta VUKELIĆ (STK Zagreb/TIS) who were better in the final with a 3-0 victory over Ivana TUBIKANEC and Zrinka REBIĆ (Sveta Nedjelja/STK Zagreb).
“Despite the 3-0 score every set was quite uncertain. We had a tough match in the semifinals but neither I nor Marta were at our best in that match. I’m glad we made it through despite playing below our usual level. As for the individual part I’m not satisfied with the result but there were several occasions where one point decided the outcome. However whenever the match was on the line Cakol played really well showing that she’s in good form. I hope that luck will turn to my side someday ”said PAVLOVIĆ.
In the mixed doubles the gold went to Ivor BAN and Hana ARAPOVIĆ (GSTK Zagreb/Mladost). The European champions under 21 didn’t face real competition in this tournament just like in the junior category they won two days earlier. Over the four days of the championship for juniors and seniors BAN and ARAPOVIĆ only dropped two sets in total and to conclude they defeated Borna PETEKA and Andrea PAVLOVIĆ (STK Zagreb) 3-0 in the senior final.
Men’s Singles semi final PUCAR (GSTK Zagreb) – BENKO (GSTK Zagreb) 4:2 (-8 8 7 -8 7 7) PETEK (STK Zagreb) – GAĆINA (STK Zagreb) 0:4 (-5 -9 -6 -9); final: PUCAR (GSTK Zagreb) – GAĆINA (STK Zagreb) 4:0 (4 8 11 0)
Men;s Doubles semi final: PETEK/ZLATKOV (STK Zagreb) – LOZUŠIĆ/BAN (Vodovod/GSTK Zagreb) 2:3 (9 -10 -3 10 -9) VIDAČEK/ZNIKA (Požega/Starr) – MUSTAPIĆ/VIDAN (Požega/Starr) 2:3 (7 -3 11 -4 -8); final: LOZUŠIĆ/BAN (Vodovod/GSTK Zagreb) – MUSTAPIĆ/VIDAN (Požega/Starr) 3:0 (8 6 5).
Women’s semi final: ARAPOVIĆ (Mladost) – CAKOL (Varaždin) 4:1 (-9 5 5 10 7) vukelić M. (TIS) – Tubikanec (Sveta Nedjelja) 3:4 (-8 12 8 -9 8 -7 -7); final: ARAPOVIĆ (Mladost) – TUBIKANEC (Sveta Nedjelja) 4:3 (9 -4 -5 -6 7 7 2)
Women’s Doubles semi final: TUBIKANEC/REBIĆ (Sveta Nedjelja/STK Zagreb) – VRDOLJAK/MARKATI (Cibalia/Hodošan) 3:1 (8 10 -9 5) rioža/Smailji (Vrsar) – PAVLOVIĆ/VUKELIĆ (STK Zagreb/TIS) 2:3 (6 -7 -7 5 -5); finale TUBIKANEC/REBIĆ (Sveta Nedjelja/STK Zagreb) – PAVLOVIĆ/VUKELIĆ (STK Zagreb/TIS) 0:3 (-13 -9 -9)
Mixed Doubles semi final: PETEK/PAVLOVIĆ (STK Zagreb) – BENKO/ĆOSIĆ (GSTK Zagreb/Mladost) 3:2 (5 -7 10 -7 11) BAN/ARAPOVIĆ (GSTK Zagreb/Mladost) – HENCL/REBIĆ (GSTK Zagreb/STK Zagreb) 3:1 (-8 13 6 4); final: PETEK/PAVLOVIĆ (STK Zagreb) – BAN/ARAPOVIĆ (GSTK Zagreb/Mladost) 0:3 (-5 -9 -6)
