European Youth Championships | 15 Jul 2024

Romania to Face Italy in the Battle for Gold in Under 15 Boys Event

Italy will meet Romania in the final of the Under 15 Boys teams event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö. Türkiye and Czechia lost their semifinal duels and will have their consolation in bronze.

Seeded at position no. 2, Italy beat no. 6 seeds Türkiye in straight matches, but despite the result, the nail-biting duel generated great tension and drama. Danilo FASO and Francesco TREVISAN on one side, and Görkem ÖÇAL and Kenan KAHRAMAN on the other, knew each other very well. All four players were members of the mixed teams that clashed in the final of the European Under 13 Championships played two years ago in Zagreb. In contrast to that clash, Italy won the match in Sweden.

“It was a difficult match, but we are used to playing with each other and we knew how to achieve good focus. We are very happy with the place in the final, but also we are very satisfied with our game,” said TREVISAN.

Danilo FASO added, “It is good to be in the final. We did not forget what happened in Zagreb. It is good to win. They challenged us the most so far in the Championships.” Speaking of their next adversary, Romania, he said, “We will give our best. We do not think about our adversary. We are focused only on our performance.”

No. 3 seed Romania prevailed against Czechia. Jan SKALDA overcame Mihai NAGY at the beginning of the match, but from that point, Romania was in the driving seat. Robert Alexandru ISTRATE overcame Jakub KABELKA, who also suffered at the hands of NAGY in his second singles match.

“It was a tough match. Both teams played very well. We fought really hard. In the end, we were a bit stronger. We are looking forward to meeting Italy in the final. They have two really strong players in their team,” explained ISTRATE.

The final will be played tomorrow at 17:30 CET.