In the doubles events at the ITTF World Youth Championships in Helsingborg, European players left their mark in several categories despite China’s dominance.
Notable European Results
Under-15 Boys’ Doubles:
While China’s LI and TANG dominated the final against Emanuel OTALVARO of Colombia and Danilo FASO of Italy with a 3-0 victory, the European/Colombian pair demonstrated commendable efforts earlier in the tournament. Bronze medals went to Sandro CAVAILLE and Noah VITEL of France. Poland’s Samuel MICHNA and Patryk ZYWORONEK were halted in the quarterfinals.
Under-15 Girls’ Doubles:
WU Ying-syuan and CHEN Min-Hsin of Chinese Taipei claimed gold, halting the progress of Portugal’s Julia LEAL and Poland’s Katarzyna RAJKOWSKA, who earned bronze medals.
Under-15 Mixed Doubles:
Noah VITEL of France and LOY Ming Ying of Singapore clinched bronze. Sweden’s Siri BENJEGARD and Adam WALLIN were stopped in the quarterfinals.
Under-19 Boys’ Doubles:
China’s HUANG Youzheng and WEN Ruibo secured gold. Bronze medals went to France’s Flavien COTON and Nathan LAM, as well as the Brazilian/Portuguese duo of Leonardo IIZUKA and Tiago ABIODUN.
Under-19 Girls’ Doubles:
China’s QIN Yuxuan and ZONG Geman took gold after halting Germany’s Annett KAUFMANN and Wales’ Anna HURSEY in the semifinals.
Under-19 Mixed Doubles:
Germany’s Andre BERTELSMEIER and Mia GRIESEL reached the quarterfinals but fell short of the medal rounds.
Highlights from Other Categories
China swept the doubles gold medals across all events, with standout performances including:
- Under-15 Boys’ Doubles: LI and TANG’S commanding 3-0 victory.
- Under-15 Girls’ Doubles: WU and CHEN’S 3-0 win over Korea Republic’s CHOI and HEO.
- Under-19 Boys’ Doubles: WEN and HUANG’S thrilling 3-2 triumph over Korea Republic and Japan’s joint duo.
- Under-19 Girls’ Doubles: ZONG and QIN’S 3-1 victory over Japan’s MENDE and TAKAMORI.
- Mixed Doubles: A clean sweep for China, with HUANG and ZONG claiming the U19 title and LI and YAO victorious in the U15 category.