Member Associations | 11 Sep 2024
Serbia and Romania Triumph in Team Events, Greece Dominates Singles at Balkan Championships in Sarajevo
At the Balkan Championships held last weekend in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Romania clinched gold in their respective Men’s and Women’s team events, while the most successful nation in the singles was Greece, securing both titles: Konstantinos ANGELAKIS in the Men's Singles and Aikaterini TOLIOU in the Women's Singles.
In Sarajevo, Serbia's Men's Team, consisting of Nemanja DJILAS, Dimitrije LEVAJAC, and Pero TEPIC, defeated Greece’s team of Konstantinos ANGELAKIS, Georgios SAMATOUROS, and Konstantinos KONSTANTINOPOULOS in the final. Romania, with Hunor SZOCS, Dragos BUJOR, and Luca OPREA, claimed the bronze medal.
Romania’s Women’s Team, composed of Bianca MEI ROSU, Tania PLAIAN, and Evelyn UNGVARI, overcame Türkiye's lineup of Simay KULAKCEKEN, Gulpembe OZKAYA, Busra DEMIR, and Merve Nur OZTURK. Bulgaria’s team, featuring Tsvetelina GEORGIEVA, Maria YOVKOVA, Viktoria PERSOVA, and Kalina HRISTOVA, secured third place.
In the Men's Singles, the regional champion is Konstantinos ANGELAKIS, who defeated Romania’s Dragos BUJOR in the final. The semi-finalists were Ziver GUNDUZ and Ibrahim GUNDUZ from Türkiye.
In the Women’s Singles, Aikaterini TOLIOU of Greece triumphed over the top seed, Tania PLAIAN, to win the gold medal. The bronze medalists were Tsvetelina GEORGIEVA of Bulgaria and Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania.
In the Men's Doubles, Hunor SZOCS and Dragos BUJOR bested Konstantinos ANGELAKIS and Konstantinos KONSTANTINOPOULOS. In the Women’s Doubles, Maria YOVKOVA and Kalina HRISTOVA defeated Serbia’s Reka BEZEG and Radmila TOMINJAK.
Finally, in the Mixed Doubles, Nemanja DJILAS and Reka BEZEG overcame Dimitrije LEVAJAC and Radmila TOMINJAK to take the title.
During the BChampionships important elections were conducted for the Balkan Table Tennis Union (BTTU). The BTTU Congress made the following decisions regarding leadership:
President of BTTU Executive Board - Aleksandar MATKOVIC (Serbia)
Members of BTTU Executive Board:
- Mr. Alexander NACHEV (Bulgaria)
- Mr. Mirsad PAJEVIC (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Mr. Nehat CITAKU (Kosovo)
- Mr. Goran TILOVSKI (North Macedonia)
In addition, the Congress confirmed the hosts for upcoming BTTU Championships in 2025:
- Balkan Youth Championship: Orestiada, Greece
- Balkan Senior Championship: Bursa, Turkey
- Balkan U11-U13 Championship: Albena, Bulgaria
- Paralympic Championship: Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia
- Veteran Championship: Ilijaš, Bosnia and Herzegovina
