At the Athens Riviera in Piraeus Greece celebrated double success. Both Men’s and Women’s teams secured the passage to the Stage 2 of the 2023 European Teams Championships by winning their respective B Groups. The winners in each Group moved to Stage 2 followed by teams finishing on the second position.
In Group B1 Greek team composed of Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS Georgios STAMATOUROS and Giorgos KONSTANTINOPOULOS recorded two wins; all in straight matches and straight games. In front of home crowd they overcame Bosnia and Herzegovina and Lithuania. In the last match in the Group Lithuania overcame Bosnia and Herzegovina to pass the group. In the last match for Lithuania on duty were Valdas MARTINKUS Matas VILKAS and Kestutis ZEIMYS.
In B2 in Sarajevo with two wins Netherlands is at the top. Kas VAN OOST Gabrelius CAMARA and Barry BERBEN overcame Norway in straight matches and with Milo DE BOER in the line up they also beat Ireland in five matches. Norway’s Haug BORGAR Alexander FRANSSON and Lars RONNEBERG were in line up for the victory over Ireland.
Also in Bosnia and Herzegovina since Armenia withdrew only Turkiye and Estonia played to decide the positions in the Group B3. Turkiye’s Abdullah YIGENLER Batuhan ULUCAK and Ibrahim GÜNDÜZ overcame Estonia’s Maksim VUKHA Toomas LIBENE and Stanislav STROGOV in the match for the leading position.
In Group B4 in Helsinki Finland led by Benedict OLAH beat Montenegro and Latvia. OLAH recorded all four wins in two team‘s matches although Daniels KOGANS of Latvia put him on severe pressure. Latvia forced Finland into the five matches with Daniels KOGANS and Olegs KARTUZOVS winning two points. Alongside OLAH Alex NAUMI was also in good shape to help Finalnd secure top spot at the standings. Montenegro’s Filip RADOVIC Filip RADULOVIc and iRfan CEKIC beat Latvia to move to the spot no. 2.
At home soil in Budapest Hungary recorded two wins for the top spot at the standings. Against Cyprus Adam SZUDI Tamas LAKATOS and Nandor ECSEKI recorded straight three matches win whilst against Hungary they needed four since Elias HARDMEIR scored against LAKATOS. The duel between Switzerland and Cyprus concluded in favour of Swiss team. Loic STOLL Barish MOULLET and Pedro OSSIRO played for the winning side.
In Strassen Luxembourg also took the advantage of the home soil. Eric GLOD Luka MLADENOVIC and Mael VAN DESSEL showed no mercy against Israel and Bulgaria. Israel’s team composed of Tal ISRAELI Michael TAUBER and Itay AVIVIV secured second position.
In women’s Teams event in Helsinki Croatia concluded phase one at the top of the standings in Group B1. Ivana MALOBABIC Hana ARAPOVIC and Mateja JEGER MAJSTOROVIC recorded two straight matches wins against Norway and Finland. In all -Scandinavian duel Finland’s Marina DONNER Ramon BETZ Anna KIRICHENKO and Aleksandra TITIEVSKAJA beat Norway in five matches.
In Group B2 was seen the biggest drama. All three duel went full distance. Belgium prevailed in both thrillers with Margo DEGRAEF Lilou MASSART and Juli VAN HAUWAERT all three scored against Switzerland and Israel. Israel’s Elinor DAVIDOV Karmit DOR and Sinai ITZHAKI lead the tam to the next phase.
In Sarajevo in Group B3 England secured the place in the phase two. In two matches against Estonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina Emily BOLTON Tin Tin HO and are unbeaten whils Denise PAYET struggled against Ema LOVRIC and Vitalia REINOL. Estonia’s Reelca HANSON Airi AVAMRI and Vitalia REINOL overcame Bosnia and Herzegovina to book second position.
In Pireaus host nation celebrated double success of their team since the women’s team also recorded two wins. Aikaterini TOLIOU Konstantina PARIDI and Malamatenia PAPADIMITROU beat both Wales and Montenegro in straight matches. Wales with Anna HURSEY Charlotte CAREY and Lara WHITTON beat Montenegro to secure next phase.
In Saldus Bulgaria overcame the hosts Latvia and Lithuania. Polina DOBREVA Maria YOVKOVA and Tsvetlana GEORGIEVA recorded two striagt matches wins. Lithuania’s Emilija and Kornelija RILISKYTE and Egle JANAKAUSKIENE are second.
