On the opening day of the 2025 European Teams Championships Stage 1 in Sarajevo, the top-seeded team in the Men’s Event, Greece, faced a tough challenge right from their first match. In their duel against Moldova, Greece’s Konstantinos ANGELAKIS lost his match to Vladislav URSU, who also managed to defeat Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS. However, as a team, Greece proved much stronger. Georgios STAMATOS overcame Felix COZMOLICI, while both Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS and ANGELAKIS redeemed themselves by defeating PUTUNTICA, securing the win for Greece. In the same group, Switzerland overcame Cyprus, but they had earlier suffered a loss to Moldova. Cyprus managed a victory over Latvia. In Group B, the top-seeded team Finland, featuring Benedek OLAH, Alex NAUMI, and Alexi RÄSÄNEN, played just one match today, comfortably defeating Ireland. The Dutch team, represented by Milo DE BOER, Kas VAN OOST, Barry BERBEN, and Gabrielius CAMARA, proved too strong for both Iceland and Ireland. However, Iceland delivered a surprise performance as Ingi Darvis RODRIGUEZ, Matthias Por SANDHOLT, and Magnus ULFARSSON secured a narrow five-match victory over Estonia. In Group C, the top seeds from Spain—Daniel BERZOSA, Rafael DE LAS HERAS, and Albert VIRALDELL—secured a win against Scotland. Meanwhile, Türkiye, represented by Abdullah YIGENLER, Ibrahim GÜNDÜZ, Ziver GÜNDÜZ, and Hakan ISIK, recorded two victories by defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina and Scotland. In Group D, Norway’s Borger HAUG, Khai Noah LAM, Martin FROSETH, and Alexander FRANSSON maintained their position at the top with wins over Greenland and Wales. Luxembourg also secured two victories, putting them in second place in the group. You can see the pictures here. Tournament Format The Stage 1 competition will follow a group-stage system for both the men’s and women’s events. Men’s Competition The top 4 teams from each group advance to the Main Stage (positions 1-16). The 5th and 6th placed teams will compete for positions 17-21 in a round-robin format. Main Stage (Positions 1-16) The winner of each group qualifies directly for the ETC Final Stage. The second-placed teams will play an additional match to secure the final two spots in the Final Stage. Main Stage (Positions 17-21) 1 group of 5 teams in a round-robin format. Men’s Teams: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, San Marino, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye, and Wales.
Strong Start for the Dutch Team at 2025 European Teams Championships Stage 1
Izet Tahirbegovic
Truls MÖREGÅRDH – Sweden’s Most Popular Athlete
During the Swedish Sports Gala on Monday, January 20th, celebrating the best sporting moments of 2024, Truls MÖREGÅRDH won the prestigious Jerringpriset, the people’s choice award. This marked the first time since the award’s inception in 1979 that a table tennis player claimed the honor. In a highly competitive field that included Olympic champions Armand DUPLANTIS (pole vault), Sarah SJÖSTRÖM (swimming), and David ÅHMAN/Jonatan HELLVIG (beach volleyball), Truls emerged victorious, standing on stage with Swedish sports’ most coveted prize. Truls MÖREGÅRDH was deeply moved during his acceptance speech, expressing heartfelt gratitude to his parents: “Thank you so much; I’m truly in a state of shock. I want to thank all of Sweden for the incredible support this year; it’s been absolutely amazing. It’s so much fun to see all the table tennis fever that’s been created in Sweden. I want to thank everyone who has supported me in every way possible; you know who you are – thank you so much. I’d like to thank two people a little extra today: mom and dad. Thank you for everything you do for me. You are truly the best parents in the world. I would never be where I am today without you. I love you. Thank you!” At the same gala, Jörgen PERSSON, the now-retired Swedish men’s national team coach, was honored as Coach of the Year for leading the Swedish team to remarkable achievements in 2024. In his acceptance speech, PERSSON reflected on his journey and expressed his gratitude: “A big thank you! I stood here 24 years ago and received an award as a team player. And now I’m standing here again, but this time as a leader. I could hardly have dreamed of this. It feels incredibly good. I naturally want to thank my table tennis federation, who believed in me as a leader. I am very grateful for that. Also, a big thanks to the Swedish Olympic Committee, who have supported table tennis all these years! The team sitting down here in front of us (Kristian KARLSSON, Anton KÄLLBERG, Truls MÖREGÅRDH)—without them, I would never have been standing here! I also want to take this opportunity to thank Mattias FALCK, who was part of the team, our physiotherapist Mikael HOLM, who has meant so much, and Jon Persson, who assisted me at the Olympics as an assistant coach. I have so many more people I could thank. I’ve learned so much from my former national coaches over the years. But I won’t go through all of them now, as that would make for a very long speech,” stated PERSSON.
