Poland marched firmly through the group stage of the Under-15 Boys event at the European Youth Championships in Malmö. Similar to the Under-19 Boys event Sweden created an upset and booked their place in the knockout stage alongside another surprise Round of 16 team – Portugal.
Poland’s Patryk ZYWORONEK Samuel MICHNA Aleks PAKULA and Jan MRUGALA posted all three victories over France Germany and Greece winning all nine matches 3-0. Germany failed to secure the second position in the group as they were halted by the French team in the last match of the group stage. France led by Sandro CAVAILLE and with Noah VITEL and Nolan JOHNSTON overcame Germany and Greece 3-0.
“We won easily against Greece and Germany but it was very difficult to play against Poland. The opening match between CAVAILLE and ZYWORONEK was very close; it ended 9-11 in the decisive game. If it had gone the other way and we had won the opening match the duel could have easily gone in the opposite direction. However Poland proved their worth here with a very impressive run ” explained coach Boutefeu CLEMENCE.
The match that decided the team in the Round of 16 against Germany concluded with absolute dominance from the French side. “It was a very important match and they played it very well.”
The French Under-15 team clinched bronze last year. The only player remaining from the competition in Poland is Sandro CAVAILLE.
“These are young players and it is not good to speak about goals and set targets. For me it is important to speak about attitude energy and performance at the table. The goal is to go match by match and we will see. Maybe we will repeat our success from last year when we reached the medal rostrum with three new players which was a big surprise. Sandro is the only one who played last year in Gliwice and won bronze in the team and singles events.”
After three matches the top seeds in Group B Italy remained unbeaten. Danilo FASO Francesco TREVISAN and Eric PAULINA overcame Austria England and Sweden. The last match in the group they played against the hosts ended 3-0.
“Well it was very good because we finished first so it was interesting. We won the first match against England 3-1 and then the one against Austria 3-0 not so difficult. Against Sweden I only played one singles match against Sigge HEDBLAD an easy win but important to me. Francesco played very well against Sweden’s number one Adam GRAVSIÖ-WALLIN and got us 1-0 in the match ” said FASO.
What is the goal for your team?
“To go far of course. Maybe win but to reach the semifinals would be very good for us. Last year we lost in the quarterfinals against Austria. This year we’ll see. A semifinal would be good for us ”concluded FASO.
Despite the defeat today Sweden booked their place in the Round of 16 with wins over Austria 3-0 and England 3-2. Both teams were placed above the hosts in the group.
Surprisingly Romania will have to go through the playoff to reach the Round of 16. Türkiye and Portugal upset the rankings and moved forward directly. Türkiye secured the top spot led by the European Under-13 champion Görkem ÖÇAL and with Kenan KAHRAMAN and Berk OZTOPRAK. They beat Romania and Slovakia 3-0 but lost to Portugal 2-3. Portugal’s Dinis YE and Carlos GONCALVES only lost to Romania and finished second.
In Group D Czechia’s Jan SKALDA and Jakub KABELKA beat Hungary Belgium and Ukraine. Hungary’s Lenard SZABO and Mark GERGELY are second.
You can see the pictures in the EYC album on FLICKR here.
