The 2023 ORLEN European Youth Championships are now behind us. After 10 days of fierce battles Romania is at the top of the medal standings with the most number of gold medals – 6 and the most overall medals – 17. Poland Germany and Portugal follow. It is a clear victory for Romania achieving 6 gold medals just like in 2022 but also securing more silver and bronze medals. Behind the numbers lie more interesting facts: In the Under 15 Girls Singles Hanka KODETOVA and Nina GUO Zheng played the youngest final ever. Both are still Under 13. While KODETOVA reached the semifinals of the U13 championships in June in Zagreb here she won the Under 15 title. Only two Under 13 players did that before her: Otilia BADESCU in 1983 and Olga NEMES in 1981. Good company to be in. In the Under 15 Boys Singles Tiago ABIODUN followed in the footsteps of Marcos FREITAS who won the cadet boys in 2002 and the junior boys in 2006 and was until now the only Portuguese player with a singles title in youth championships. In Under 19 Girls Elena ZAHARIA won two titles at these European Youth Championships raising her total number to 7 which brings her into the top 10 of the best players at the EYC. She is now on par with Galia DVORAK. The record holder is Vladimir SAMSONOV with 13 titles. In the girls’ category Adina DIACONU leads this ranking with 12 titles. In Under 19 Girls Doubles Zuzana WIELGOS and Anna BRZYSKA are the first Polish players to win this title. In Under 15 Boys doubles Patryk ZYWORONEK and Mateusz SAKOVICZ are the first full Polish pair to win this title. In 2006 (Pjotr CHODORSKI) and 2018 (Maciej KUBIK) there were Polish winners but both had Croatian partners (CHODORSKI with Borna KOVAC and KUBIK with Ivor BAN). European Youth Championships Table Tennis 2023 Medals table                 Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 Romania   6 4 7 17 2 Poland   2 2 3 7 3 Germany   2 2 2 6 4 Portugal   2 1 1 4 5 France   1 4 6 11 6 Czechia   1 1 2 4 7 Austria     2 2 4 8 Spain       3 3 8 Italy       3 3 10 Croatia       1 1 10 Wales       1 1 10 Netherlands       1 1 10 Türkiye       1 1              

In a fantastic final Eduard IONESCU of Romania secured the gold medal for the second year in a row in the Under 19 Boys singles at the ORLEN European Youth Championships. In the final he overcame Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland. The bronze medalists are Kas VAN OOST of the Netherlands and Teodor ISTRATE of Romania. IONESCU needed five games to overcome Milosz REDZIMSKI (8 5 -8 9 12). “I am so proud I managed to defend my title. I had a really slow start here. I was not at the top of my game in the team’s event at the beginning. I needed some time to adjust to the venue. However as the tournament went by I was playing better and better. By the time I got to the finals everything fell into place. Milosz already beat one of my teammates so I was well prepared for his game. Even so it was not much helpful. He has a very unique service game and I lacked a bit of my own experience of playing against him since I never did. It is good that in the Round of 16 I won the hardest match for me here. Beating Thibault PORET after being 1-3 down boosted my confidence and eventually brought me to the gold ” said IONESCU. Milosz REDZIMSKI moved to the ultimate stage after a convincing victory over Kas of the Netherlands in a match that lasted four games (7 6 6 4). “I’m really happy to make it to the finals of this tournament. In the semifinals I played very well against the opponent from the Netherlands. He played a good game too but I was really confident and made good decisions. For me it is important that I’m well-rested. In the previous days I had a big problem with that so I couldn’t play my best table tennis. Now I feel very strong and I hope that I will play a good game in the final ” said REDZIMSKI and added: “I was better than VAN OOST in service and receive. That was really important because later I could take the initiative and win the points.” In the other semifinal Eduard IONESCU overcame Teodor ISTRATE (1 -7 -9 7 8 8). “It is sad when you have to stop your friend in such an important match. We train together play together travel together we are like a family. Despite my victory I am not 100 percent happy because I feel bad for Teodor ” said IONESCU. “On the other side I am very happy with my performance and I hope I can maintain it in the final that lies ahead of me.”    

Elena ZAHARIA of Romania emerged as the newly crowned champion in the Under 19 Girls Singles at the ORLEN European Youth Championships. In an all-Romanian final she overcame Ioana SINGEORZAN. The bronze medalists are Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania and Anna HURSEY of Wales. ZAHARIA needed six games to secure her gold against SINGEORZAN (13 -4 5 8 -9 9). “I stayed focused until the end and played each point like it was the last one. I also want to congratulate Ioana; she played amazingly throughout the whole tournament and I am proud of her. She was also at the top of her game in the final. I feel extreme gratitude toward my whole team and my coaches; without them it would not have been possible ” said ZAHARIA. “Tonight for sure I will not drink to celebrate it but I will dance for hours. Then tomorrow I will hit the road again. I travel to Kongo for another tournament.” In the penultimate stage the all-Romanian clash between Elena ZAHARIA and Bianca MEI ROSU ended in favor of the higher-ranked player but not without big suspense (-3 7 -9 7 8 8). “She is a really strong player and I was not at the top of my game. This time Bianca did not seize the opportunity but she is a top-class young player and I am sure in the future she will have much better results. This time I took advantage of my experience; I had more variations in tactics to beat her ” said ZAHARIA. If this one was a close contest the clash between Ioana SINGEORZAN of Romania and Anna HURSEY of Wales was a jewel among thrillers. After four games ended by narrow margins SINGEORZAN recovered from 1-3 in reverse to secure her place in the final (-15 -12 10 -8 8 5 9). “After being down 0-2 I told myself I had to keep calm and maintain my composure. When I was losing I thought to myself that she is not the first player who left me in reverse. It happened many times and still I was able to win. It also made me very angry but in a good way. It motivated me to play even stronger ” said Ioana SINGEORZAN.  

Hanka KODETOVA of Czechia clinched the gold medal in the Under 15 Girls Singles Event at the ORLEN European Youth Championships. In the final she overcame Nina GUO ZHENG of France. Both girls were born in 2010. The bronze medalists are Maria BERZOSA of Spain and Leana HOCHART of France. KODETOVA faced a very strong adversary in the final. Nina performed at a very high level but it wasn’t enough to stop Hanka (11 -7 8 -7 7 5). “The end of the first game was very important. In such matches it always helps to win the opening part of the match. I don’t think this was the hardest match of the tournament; the quarter-final against Germany’s Koharu ITAGAKI was probably harder. But Nina Guo ZHENG also played great and the gold medal was at stake. I think I was a little bit better in the match. The tournament was very long but I still felt good physically. That was also important; I had enough strength ” said KODETOVA. Hanka KODETOVA faced serious pressure in the match against Maria BERZOSA of Spain before she moved further to secure her place in the final (12 -6 7 8 -6 8). “I have already played with Maria BERZOSA several times and I know that every ball is decisive. It was similar this time as well. It was a very evenly matched play and the little things decided the outcome. From the third game I felt that I believed in myself more. The rival seemed as if she was afraid. But I have to admit that even I played nervously and was a little scared at the end. It was about advancing to the finals of the European Championship so that’s understandable. I am happy that I succeeded and in the final the chances are open. I have a strong opponent waiting for me again but I will want to win ” said KODETOVA. In the other penultimate match Nina GUO ZHENG beat her teammate Leana HOCHART of France (6 7 -7 -4 12 9). “I played very well but I was also very nervous because I was playing against my teammate. We know each other very well and I have never recorded a win against her which added to my stress. She did not like my forehand because I have pimples and every time I played with my forehand she was uncomfortable ” said Nina.  

In the Under 15 Boys Singles Event Tiago ABIODUN of Portugal who was the most valuable player in the teams event justified his status by clinching the title. In the final he overcame Patryk ZYWORONEK of Poland. The bronze medalists are Sandro CAVAILLE of France and Petr HODINA of Austria. After the final Tiago was overwhelmed with joy. “I feel amazing. This is unbelievable. This being my last year in Under 15 I am so happy to have the opportunity to enjoy such beautiful moments ” said Tiago. “I played against Patryk ZYWORONEK in Podgorica and he beat me 3-0 but now I am in a completely different shape. Also there I could not play well on the return which was not the case here throughout the whole tournament. Despite the weaker start in the match today I managed to find a way to be more aggressive and take over control.” In the semifinal Patryk ZYWORONEK overcame Sandro CAVAILLE of France in a thrilling match (7 7 -2 9 5). “It was a very hard match; the final result doesn’t show the real drama we had. He played very well. It was 4-1 but every game was tough. He had a good service very difficult for me. The key to winning was mental. I had a big focus during the whole match and I enjoyed every single point after I won it. I love to play surrounded by supporters; it gives me the power to play better ” said Patryk ZYWORONEK. Tiago ABIODUN showed his excellent skills in Gliwice by overcoming Petr HODINA of Austria in a tough battle (7 -7 6 -9 9 8). However he was severely challenged on his way to the final. “We already met in the teams event and it was a very hard match; maybe this one was even harder. I am very passive with my backhand so I was forced to play many balls on the forehand to be more aggressive ” said Tiago ABIODUN.  

In the Under 19 Boys Doubles Event Darius MOVILEANU and Eduard IONESCU of Romania successfully defended the title they won one year earlier in Belgrade. In the ORLEN European Youth Championships they prevailed against their teammates Iulian CHIRITA and Teodor ISTRATE of Romania. The bronze medalists are Thibault PORET and Hugo DESCHAMPS of France along with Marcel BLASZCZYK and Alan KULCZYCKI of Poland. In the all-Romanian final Darius and IONESCU won in straight games but the matches were closely contested (9 8 8). “Even though it was 3-0 it was tough. Just like in the singles event I had to face ISTRATE and it was very difficult. We know each other very well and the decisions we made in the finishing stages of the games were crucial. We performed better towards the ends and it gave us the edge today ” said IONESCU. MOVILEANU added: “They won the bronze at the Under 21 European Championships so their skills couldn’t be underestimated. They are very strong but we proved once again that we can beat anyone.” In the semifinals Iulian CHIRITA and Teodor ISTRATE overcame Thibault PORET and Hugo DESCHAMPS of France in a thrilling five-game match (-5 6 5 -11 5). “We are very happy that we finally managed to beat the French pairings. It never happened before we lost against them was most recently in Podgorica and after that they beat us in the semifinal of the Under 21 European Championships. I remember that match; we had the advantage in the initial games but eventually they beat us before they won the title. However this time it was third time lucky for us and we are in the final ” said ISTRATE. CHIRITA added: “We played very well today because we were well-prepared. We learned from our defeats. We played perfectly in the finish after being tied 2-2 in the games.” Darius MOVILEANU and Eduard IONESCU succeeded against Marcel BLASZCZYK and Alan KULCZYCKI of Poland inflicting pain in the hearts of the home nation supporters (-9 9 6 3). “It was difficult especially as they had a 1-0 lead at the beginning. They had a better start ” said MOVILEANU. Eduard IONESCU underlined his teammate’s thoughts: “They started very strong; it was the first time that we played against them. At first it was hard to adapt to their game but then we found a way by changing our tactics.”  

In the Under 19 Girls Doubles Event Zuzanna WIELGOS and Anna BRZYSKA of Poland clinched the gold medal at the ORLEN European Youth Championships. In the final they overcame Mia GRIESEL of Germany and Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania. On the third step of the medal rostrum stand Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia and Elena ZAHARIA of Romania along with Nicole ARLIA of Italy and Ioana SINGEORZAN of Romania. In the final WIELGOS and BRZYSKA prevailed in four games (-4 10 7 4). “The gold medal at the European Youth Championships tastes fantastic! The final was a very hard match. After the first game when we lost very easily we changed tactics. Ania plays more with pimples but I played more short on the receive ” said Zuzanna WIELGOS. Anna BRZYSKA couldn’t hide her joy: “I’m really happy with this result because it’s a great feeling! I love table tennis and the medals give me big motivation. A big thanks to my teammate Zuzia our team and our coach. It’s a big success for us!” In the penultimate stage Mia GRIESEL and Bianca MEI ROSU halted the progress of Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia and Elena ZAHARIA of Romania (5 2 7). “Mia and I already clinched the title in the Under 21 European Championships so we know each other well and know how to play together. It seemed that it was the key to success in this match – our good communication. Of course part of the success was to stay close to the table. The result does not show how difficult it was. Elena and Hana were the high seeded pairings. We were under enormous pressure. It took the best of us ” said Bianca MEI ROSU. In the other semifinal Zuzanna WIELGOS and Anna BRZYSKA overcame Nicole ARLIA of Italy and Ioana SINGEORZAN of Romania (-6 4 5 6). “I made a lot of mistakes in the opening game because they played to my forehand. In the second I started to play long to their backhands and Anna made a slice serve. It gave an effect because earlier they played a flip which caused more problems for us ” explained Zuzanna WIELGOS. Anna BRZYSKA said: “I think that the change of tactics with service and receive was the key to winning this game. It was a hard match but not the hardest. In my opinion the toughest match we had was with the Spanish players. They were very fighting and played really good table tennis.”  

In front of their home crowd Mateusz SAKOWICZ and Patryk ZYWORONEK secured the gold medal in the Under 15 Boys Doubles Event at the ORLEN European Youth Championships in Gliwice. They emerged victorious in the final overcoming Julian RZIHAUSCHEK of Austria and Tiago ABIODUN of Portugal. The bronze medals went to Kenan KAHRAMAN and Gorkem OCAL of Türkiye as well as to Danilo FASO and Francesco TREVISAN of Italy. All four players had previously competed in the final of the European Under 13 Championships where Türkiye’s representatives won gold. The winners from Poland justified their exceptional skills to clinch the crown in superb style (10 9 3 4). “It’s an unbelievable feeling to be a European Champion. We played a great match starting from our mentality to our performance on the table. We had fantastic cooperation during this tournament so we are very happy and enjoying this success ” said Patryk ZYWORONEK. Mateusz SAKOWICZ added: “Of course we were very nervous but who wouldn’t be in the European Championships final? We are really satisfied that we could overcome our stress and problems during the match.” In the penultimate stage Julian RZIHAUSCHEK and Tiago ABIODUN overcame Kenan KAHRAMAN and Gorkem OCAL of Türkiye (6 -5 8 7). The host nation supporters enjoyed the victory of their favorites in the semis Mateusz and Patryk. They defeated Danilo FASO and Francesco TREVISAN of Italy (-7 9 5 8). “In the first game I played poorly. We had a little bit of a problem because we thought we would play later but then we had to rush to the hall; we had a fast warm-up and ran to the table. They surprised us with fast serves and changes in shot placement. When I played better in the next game together with Patryk we took the initiative and they couldn’t surprise us again ” explained Mateusz SAKOWICZ and added “They didn’t play as strong and we wanted to place the ball in the middle of the table. We are very happy to be through to the finals.  

Koharu ITAGAKI and Josephina NEUMANN of Germany secured the gold medal in the Under 15 Girls Doubles Event at the ORLEN European Youth Championships. They emerged victorious in the final defeating Nina GUO ZHENG and Leana HOCHART of France (4 7 4). The bronze medals went to Veronika POLAKOVA of Czechia and Maria BERZOSA of Spain as well as Julia LEAL of Portugal and Andreea BAISU of Romania. “We played very well in the final and were not as nervous as we were in the semis against Veronika and Maria. We lost against Nina and Leana in the team’s event 1-3 so the pressure was on them to justify that win. Therefore we just focused on playing our game and we executed it very well ” said NEUMANN. The key to their success was their close friendship according to both players. “We are good friends we often play with each other we practice together and we speak with each other very much ” added ITAGAKI. In the semifinals both matches were decided in straight games. Koharu ITAGAKI and Josephina NEUMANN triumphed over Veronika POLAKOVA of Czechia and Maria BERZOSA of Spain (10 9 6). After closely contested opening games the German pair took control of the match. Nina GUO ZHENG and Leana HOCHART secured their spot in the final by defeating Julia LEAL of Portugal and Andreea BAISU of Romania in straight games (4 7 4).