In the Men’s Singles Event at the European Under 21 Championships in Skopje Belgium’s Louis LAFFINEUR created one of the biggest upsets by defeating the leading name in the event and securing a place in the Round of 16. In the last match in group A in Stage two the 26th seed Louis LAFFINEUR overcame the number one seed Eduard IONESCU to book his place in the next stage. He recorded all three wins in the group. “I feel good because it was my last match of the group and decided who will take the first place. It is good; now I will finish first. IONESCU is a good player; he is the champion of Europe in the U19 category. So that makes me especially happy to win this match and now focus on the next duels. I kept a lot of pressure on him throughout the match. However when I was losing in the 4th game I said to myself: ‘Okay I don’t care about the score. If I win then great; if I lose then I continue in the next game ‘” explained LAFFINEUR. Belgium’s player continued “IONESCU was under so much pressure I don’t know why. We are young; sometimes it’s just like that. I entered the match really well; I won the first game and he was perhaps tense because he was a champion once and wants to win the title again.” LAFFINEUR reminded us about his misfortunes with injuries. “In the cadet category I was first in the European ranking and the world’s second. But then injuries came and I couldn’t continue playing in this category. However the most important is the senior category…” Maciej KUBIK of Poland and Ivor BAN of Croatia Iulian CHIRITA of Romania and Simon BELIK of Czechia also secured passage to the next stage. Thibault PORET of France joined them after a long duel against one of the nicest surprises of the event Spain’s Daniel BERZOSA. Unfortunately the duel against the Frenchman was the one Daniel lost and he also suffered an injury in the midst of the match but we all hope he will recover for tomorrow’s challenges. PORET said after the match “My backhand was good; I missed just a couple of shots in crucial moments which was great. In crucial moments I was okay. My choice in service made the difference in this tight match. I served very well in crucial moments. When the opponent asked for a medical timeout it did not influence my game. I focused on my game my tactics and in fact it was very good for me because I won the 3rd game. I do not feel pressure being first in the group. I will relax a little; I have a doubles match later on and I will be back to play that match. I try to play in the senior category to go up in the ranking and go in the top 100 in 2024.”  

The singles events at the European Under 21 Championships in Skopje reached the knockout stage after three days of fights in groups. Reigning champion Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia faced no difficulties on her way to the Round of 16 but for a few favorites it was a shaky road. ARAPOVIC overcame Anastasia STERNER of Austria Mari BALDWIN of England and Matilda HANSSON of Sweden. “I do not feel any pressure. I don’t expect anything; I just go into the next match and focus on that match only. We will see how it goes. Before the match there is preparation on tactics. However when a match starts I just focus on that one and play like every other one ” said ARAPOVIC who won the European Top 10 two years ago and will play in Busan at the World Championships next month. In Group B two players upset the rankings: Luciana MITROFAN of Romania and Elise PUJOL of France both exceeded their seedings and reached the knockout stage. Elena ZAHARIA of Romania justified her status in Group C where Leana HOCHART of France created an upset and reached the next stage. Helena SOMEROVA of Czechia recorded all three wins including the one over the No. 4 seed Martine TOFTAKER of Norway and Maria BERSOZA of Spain. “I hope again to win in the next match and I am so happy now. My expectations are to reach the quarterfinals maybe but I am very happy because I won against BERSOZA who is a surprise of this tournament. She played so well but what made the difference was my successful attack ” said SOMEROVA. In the same group Matilde PINTO of Portugal also booked her place in the third stage. She joined Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland and Veronika MATIUNINA of Ukraine. The No. 6 seed Sophia KLEE also won all three matches in her group. The final victory in her line of successes was against Ilona SZTWIERTNIA of Poland. “Since the beginning of stage two it’s been really difficult but now I am really happy to win the group and go to the best of 16. I am happy that I could manage this and I am looking forward to the next stage. I am ready to play to have fun and really looking forward to playing the following matches ” said KLEE. Germany’s player was the European Doubles champion in the U15 category won the Europe top 10 and U19 in teams. Her best results include the runner-up position last year at the European U21 Championship. “A year and a half ago I started living in Dusseldorf where I practice with the women’s national team and my whole life right now is about table tennis. I practice twice a day and fight to improve to get better… and yes this is a very important tournament for me; it is my last one in this category.”

Titleholder Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia recorded two wins in Stage Two of the Women’s Singles Event at the European Under 21 Championships in Skopje. Unlike the number one seed Nicole ARLIA of Italy faced more pressure and lost a match against Luciana MITROFAN of Romania. ARAPOVIC overcame Anastasia STERNER of Austria and Mari BALDWIN of England while in Group B last year’s semifinalist ARLIA prevailed against Josephina NEUMANN of Germany before losing to MITROFAN. “In the first game my adversary played more defensively but after I returned and gained a 2-1 3-1 lead I saw that she wanted to attack more and win more points. I think that she was not focused enough. She lost focus because of her disappointment and I on the contrary was focused all the time especially when attacking and that made the difference. After I won a couple of poiunts I saw that she was upset angry even kind of lost and I managed to keep my thoughts together. I am very satisfied with my game and the results and I hope to improve my game and results here ” said MITROFAN. Reigning European Under 19 champion Elena ZAHARIA is heating up and she overcame Sara TOKIC of Slovenia and Lena HOCHART of France who also suffered at the hands of the 19-year-old Nomin BAASAN of Sweden. “I was really nervous in the 6th set but I tried to stick to the tactics. Sometimes I have these moments in matches and that made an impact on my serve and my game and the adversary controlled the match in those moments. After that I reminded myself that I need to stick to the tactics. I can cope with such tense moments follow my tactics and not change anything unless it’s not working ” said BAASAN. Helena SOMEROVA of Czechia created an upset by beating Martine TOFTAKER of Norway the number 4 seed. Similarly Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland overcame Ines MATOS of Portugal the number 7 seed.

The top seed in the Men’s Singles Event at the European Under 21 Championships in Skopje Eduard IONESCU of Romania successfully began his journey in North Macedonia. However the complete spotlight today was stolen by Andre BERTELSMEIER of Germany who recorded two wins in straight games including one against the No. 5 seed Darius MOVILEANU of Romania. BERTELSMEIER defeated Pierre KASES of Austria in the opening match of the Second stage of the Championships before overcoming MOVILEANU. Germany’s player is seeded at position No. 27. “We played against each other twice before; he won the first one and I was better last time. Today it was crucial for me to fight for every ball. There comes my 4-0 win but the match was much closer than the result predicted today ” said BERTELSMEIER. Top seed IONESCU overcame William BERGENBLOCK of Sweden and Kas VAN OOST of the Netherlands. “I am happy with my form; everything is falling into place on the way to the top ” said IONESCU. European under 15 champion Tiago ABIOUDUN of Portugal ranked at position No. 52 in the seedings also recorded two wins in his group. He overcame Germany’s Matthias DANZER and Croatia’s Ivor BAN. Against BAN he was stretched to the full distance. “At 3:1 I lost my pace. Leading 3:1 I realized I could be a little bit passive and at 3:2 I became very nervous. At 3:2 I started playing aggressively again. The last game was very hard but I continued fighting and managed to win. I did not change my game in the last three games. I followed the same tactics: a long service in the backhand and a short one in the forehand no spin and it turned out very well ” explained Tiago ABIODUN. Speaking of last year Portugal’s player said: “2023 was a good year for me. I played in the U17 category for the first time and in Linz I made it to the semi-finals. Also U19 quarter-finals so I am very happy with my performance. In 2024 I will try to make it to the U19 World Championship and keep working for European events.” Reigning champion Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland concluded the day successfully with wins over Flavien COTON of France and Ivan HENCL of Croatia. “I try not to think of last year’s championships. This is a new chapter another tournament and all my thoughts are here just to play and fight. I do not feel any pressure; every player as you saw plays very well. I did not know my last opponent Ivan Hencl; he played very well so I must be fully focused on every match and fight ” said REDZIMSKI. The last round of the second stage will be played tomorrow. The two best-ranked players from each group will progress to the round of 16.

The leading player in the opening stage of the Men’s Event at the European Under 21 Championships in Skopje Flavien COTON of France concluded all three rounds in Stage 1 undefeated. He progressed to Stage 2 with Miguel PANTOJA of Spain who upset the rankings by beating Miha PODOBNIK of Slovenia. In Group 2 there were no problems for Simon BELIK of Czechia but Mateusz ZELENGOWSKI lost to Daniel BERZOSA thus failing to secure a place in the next stage. Mateusz ZALEWSKI of Poland showed no mercy in Group 3 with Andrii GREBENIUK of Ukraine following him with one defeat in the same group. European Under 21 champion in doubles Ivor BAN of Croatia had a 9:0 record and safely concluded the day while Nazar TRETIAK of Ukraine followed him from the second position. In Group 5 Tommaso GIOVANNETTI of Italy was first as the rankings predicted but Andre KASES of Austria upset the order with a better game ratio as three players in the group had three defeats – the Austrian Filip DELINCAK of Slovakia and Arnau PONS of Spain. From the bottom of Group 6 William BERGENBLOCK of Sweden launched himself to the top with three wins. Wim VERDONSCHOT of Germany was second leaving Tom CLOSSET of Belgium and Samuel ARPAS of Slovakia behind. “I feel amazing playing very well. I think I receive well serve well and generally play a good game. It is too early to tell the outcome; at the moment I just play don’t think too much try to play my game and I have a good chance by just playing my game. It is too early to tell if I will become a surprise of this tournament. I will give my best and focus on one game at a time ” said 16-year-old BERGENBLOCK. Also progressing to the next stage were Borna PETEK of Croatia and Louis LAFFINEUR of Belgium Andre BERTELSMEIER of Germany and European under-15 champion in Singles Tiago ABIODUN of Portugal Andrea PUPPO of Italy Tom SCHWEIGER of Germany Lei BALASZ of Hungary Kas VAN OOST of Netheralnds Connor GREEN of England Ivan HENCL and Leon BENKO of Croatia and Matthias DANZER of Germany.

On the opening day of the European Under 21 Championships in Skopje the Group phase took center stage. It was a highly successful day for the highest-ranked player in the opening stage Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania. The European bronze medalist in the Under 19 category in Gliwice concluded the day at the top of Group 1 with three victories over Elvira RAD of Spain Elise PUJOL of France and Foteini MELETIE of Cyprus. PUJOL surpassed her rankings and finished second moving on to the second stage after defeating RAD. In Group 2 Clea DE STOPPELEIRE of France also upset the rankings to advance to the next phase. However Matilde PINTO of Portugal managed to join her from the second spot after one defeat. The same order was maintained in Group 3. Anastasia STERNER recorded three wins to secure the top position in Group 3. Austria’s player seeded at position no. 31 overcame the 11th-seeded Ukraine’s Veronika MATIUNINA on her way to the top (-5 9 11 -9 11). “It was a very close game so I think it was about who was braver who takes more risks – wins ” said STERNER. “For this tournament I just want to give my best and I’ll see what it will bring. I hope I can beat more and more good players and I just hope that I can fight with everybody.” Anastasia moved to Austria several years ago and is now the leading player in the Under 21 category. “I have been in the national team for almost a year. I just want to continue growing because I have many abilities to show and show what I can do. Just hoping to improve faster and faster. This year I will participate in the World Championship with Team Austria and I hope I can show my best game. Also I am looking forward to the European U19 championship and European Senior Championship where Austria is the host so I hope to show my best game ” said STERNER. In Group 4 there was an interesting situation with three players having two wins and one defeat. Eventually Iolanta YEVTODII of Ukraine placed at position no. 33 at the seedings emerged at the top of the group in front of Maarit Ramona BETZ of Finland who is 32nd and Agathe AVEZOU of France who is 12th on the list. Helena SOMMEROVA of Czechia and Matilda HANSSON of Sweden both beat Emine ERNST of the Netherlands to secure a place in the next round. Also progressing to the next stage were Sara TOKIC of Slovenia Ilona SZTWIERTNIA of Poland Luciana MITROFAN of Romania Natalia BOGDANOWICZ of Poland Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland Nomin BAASAN of Sweden Maria BERZOSA of Spain Naomi PRANJKOVIC of Germany Sara DEVOS of Belgium Mari BALDWIN of England Lena HOCHART of France Tsvetelina GEORGIEVA of Bulgaria Josephina NEUMANN of Germany and Adriana ILLASOVA of Slovakia.

The opening rounds in the Men’s Group Stage at the European Under 21 Championships in Skopje announced exciting proceedings of the Championships in North Macedonia. A few favorites were already defeated or faced fierce challenges. However the top-seeded player in qualifications Frenchman Flavien COTON was not among those who suffered. He overcame Miguel PANTOJA of Spain in straight games (6 10 9). In Group 2 Simon BELIK of Czechia also recorded a win over Daniel BERZOSA of Spain (9 9 12) but in the same group Mateusz ZELENGOWSKI of Poland was forced to go the full distance in the duel against Sharpel ELIA of Cyprus (-8 2 8 -6 8). “I didn’t know much about the adversary because there weren’t videos on Youtube so I didn’t know what to expect. I was too nervous during the match. I was winning in the first game 6:2 and then the game was just lost. I lost the shape and the tactics started receiving badly and that was the key why the match was that tough ” explained ZELENGOWSKI who clinched the title at the WTT Youth Contender Linz 2023. “Last year I won the title in Skopje in Mixed doubles but in singles I was pretty bad; I have to admit that but I really like the atmosphere here the city… For 2024 most likely I will try to qualify for the European Championships U19 and continue playing on a good score in the German league. Here I try not to have big expectations because when I create them they always disappear in the first rounds of the tournament. That was pretty close to happening today ” admitted ZELENGOWSKI. A player who suffered an unpleasant fate in the opening round was the no. 14 seed Tom CLOSSET of Belgium who lost to no. 40 seed Wim VERDONSCHOT of Germany (-9 9 5 7). Adam KLAJBER of Slovakia the No. 15 seed lost to Petek BORNA of Croatia no. 38 seed (6 7 -8 12) and no. 44 seed Aljaz GODEC of Slovenia overcame Kas VAN OOST of Netherlands no. 18 seed (6 10 7).

In the initial round of the Women’s Singles qualifications at the Under 21 European Championships favorites encountered early challenges. In Group 9 Maria BERZOSA seeded at position no. 46 caused an upset by defeating Germany’s Naomi PRANJKOVIC listed at position no. 21 in the seedings in straight games (9 9 10). “The victory at the very beginning of the Championships is a great way to boost confidence and it gives me extra motivation to proceed ” said BERZOSA. Maria BERZOSA had already garnered attention at the European Team Championships in Malmö. The 15-year-old recorded valuable wins over Tessy GONDERINGER of Luxembourg and Konstantina PARIDI of Greece contributing to Spain’s advancement to the quarterfinals. “Maria seized the opportunities we gave her as the third player to the fullest. Her wins helped us achieve a very good result in Sweden ” said coach Silvia ERDELYI. In the European Youth Championships last summer in Poland Maria secured bronze medals in all three categories: Under 15 Singles Doubles and Teams Event. The opening round witnessed several more surprising outcomes. Iolanta YEVTODII of Ukraine ranked at position no. 33 defeated the no. 12 seed Agathe AVEZOU of France in three games (11 9 7). Matilda HANSSON of Sweden seeded at no. 37 emerged victorious over Emine ERNST of the Netherlands the no. 13 seed in a hard-fought five-game match (9 -10 8 -7 8). “Perhaps it could have been an easier match. I lost my tactics in the fourth game. I believe I performed well in the third game and if I had continued in that manner it could have been easier. Nevertheless I am content. I think I could have made a comeback in the fourth game. I took a timeout and towards the end of the fourth game I felt I found my rhythm. I had some good shots missed a few but it wasn’t sufficient ” said Matilda HANSSON. Viktoria PERSOVA of Bulgaria seeded at no. 44 secured a win against Malamatenia PAPADIMITRIU of Greece the no. 17 seed in straight games (6 9 7). Mari BALDWIN of England the no. 41 seed overcame Leah TVEIT MUSKANTOR of Sweden seeded at position no. 18 after five games (-7 -7 14 6 8). Additionally Jana RIERA of Spain seeded at position no. 43 succeeded in the match against Adriana ILLASOVA of Slovakia the no. 20 seed in five games (7 -12 -7 7 7).  

Norwegian international player Martine TOFTAKER currently holding the 9th place on the European U-21 ranking is taking part in the European Under 21 Championships in the capital of North Macedonia Skopje. Never before has a Norwegian female player achieved such a high ranking in Europe. TOFTAKER made a bold move at the age of 16 when she left home to relocate to Sweden joining a larger training group. This decision proved beneficial as she immediately witnessed improvement in her game. Subsequently she moved to France where she continued to practice in an even more extensive group before eventually settling in Belgium. In Belgium TOFTAKER engages in daily practice sessions with some of the best Belgian players. Her commitment to continuous improvement bore fruit last season when she clinched the prestigious His Royal Highness Kings Trophy the highest accolade for an athlete in Norway. Beyond her prowess in table tennis what captivates many about TOFTAKER is her business acumen. She finances her table tennis endeavors in part through her own firm Toftaker Content. Creating videos on TikTok particularly focusing on makeup she has garnered impressive viewership numbers with one video reaching an audience of 12.8 million people. “I will play one match at time with full focus. I always play to win but I am fully aware of that the other 54 players think the same. I have prepared well for the Under 21 Championships and I look forward to compete “said always positive Norwegian table tennis star before her start in Skopje. Her primary future aspiration is to qualify for the Olympics a dream she has nurtured since childhood.

The 8th edition of the European Under 21 Championships is set to take place in North Macedonia’s capital Skopje from January 24th to 28th 2024. A total of 55 players across both categories will be on duty and as has been the case since 2020 the complete program includes Singles Doubles and Mixed Doubles Events. Last year’s champion Croatia’s Hana ARAPOVIC will be on duty aiming to defend her title. Elena ZAHARIA of Romania the Under 19 European champion from Poland this summer will seek to reclaim her gold from the Under 21 event two years ago. Germany’s Sophia KLEE the 2023 runner-up is listed alongside semifinalists Nicole ARLIA of Italy. Other favorites include Charlotte LUTZ of France Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania Ines MATOS of Portugal and Anna BRZYSKA of Poland. In the Men’s Under 21 singles event European Under 19 champion Eduard IONESCU of Romania had a fantastic season last year reaching the Round of 16 in the European Games in Poland. Now he leads the elite in Skopje where he will face the reigning champion Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland. Judging by the rankings we could witness great duels between the best players from Poland and Romania. Poland is also represented by Maciej KUBIK while Romania’s Teodor ISTRATE who reached the semifinals last year Darius MOVILEANU and Iulian CHIRITA also have a good chance for a spot on the medal podium. Although the Lebrun brothers are absent France can count on Hugo DESCHAMPS and Flavien COTON. Hugo played in the Round of 16 last year. The draw for singles and doubles events will take place on Tuesday January 23rd 2024 at 12:00 at the SC Jane Sandanski where the Championships will be held.