With 49 registered athletes from 15 nations, the European Youth Teqball Championships got underway on the 18th of August in Pecs, Hungary. On the first day of the competition, four categories’ matches were played until the semifinals. Teqball’s historical Youth European Championships, held in Pecs, Hungary that the sport has grown with huge steps since it was founded.

In boys’ doubles, the expected order was not disturbed. Daniel Botond Varga/Mate Hercegfi (HUN) finished at the top of Group A, while the Romanians, Peter Gergely/Bence Simo, became second. Martin Ganchev/Borislav Kraeshki from Bulgaria, with two losses and two confident wins did took the third place in the quintet, while Tobias Hotarek/Filip Sibrava (CZE), and Alex   Krescanko/Daniel Novak (SVK) had their head-to-head and the former triumphed with two (11,11) super-close sets. In Group B, Saxe Paarup-Clausen/Frederik Guldborg-Mondrup (DEN) and Martim Vasques/Goncalo Reis (POR) finished first and second, which meant that Stefan Orlowski/Przemysław Pawlak (POL) were unable to surprise the favourites and did not advance to the semifinals. The rest of the group finished in the following order: Eugeniu Storoj/Denis Andoni (MDA), Ori Biton/Tamir Cohen (ISR) and Loukianos Vartziotis/Dionysios Koumantzias (GRE). Tomorrow, the home team will face Portugal while Denmark’s top U19 athletes will be challenged by Romania’s. 

The schedule continued with the matchups of girls’ singles. Bulgarian 18-year-old Angelina Atanasova, as expected, confidently won her group. And the question was, who would follow her to the semis? From the trio of Eliska Melounova (CZE), Marta Oliveira (POR), and the competition's youngest athlete, Gavriel Helin Zerrad, who just turned 14 in May, the latter shocked everyone and qualified, securing the first Teqball medal ever for Israel. As FITEQ decided in 2024, two bronze medallists will be named at this event too. The 15-year-old bewildering Belgian, Line Roquiny, confidently won Group B. FITEQ World Ranking 57th, Kriszta Lakatos (ROU) got the second spot the moving over. The Hungarian Veronika Speth finished third, Malgorzata Jatzak (POL) fourth, and Laura Buckova (SVK) fifth. Atanasova faces Lakatos, while Zerrad will play for an even bigger shock against Roquiny. The SFs start at 10 AM on Tuesday. For the final, Atanasova faces Lakatos, while Zerrad may put the bar even higher against Roquiny. 

One of the most anticipated categories was the boys' singles, and the European Youth Teqball Championships’ biggest field did not let the expectations down. Group A was dominated by the Hungarian Milan Csabi, who has the highest position in the FITEQ World Ranking among all athletes in Pecs. The other qualifier became Viktor Antalfi (BUL) after he beat Elias Petzold (GER). Stefan Orlowski (POL) in Group B confidently advanced to the quarterfinals, and as second, Michal Molnar (SVK) followed him. For Maor Ankona (ISR), Tobias Hotarek (CZE,) the EYTC finished after the group stage. Alexander Hamm (AUT) and Martim Vasques (POR) had a clash for the first position, where the Austrian won. Thomas de Geyter (BEL) and the Italian Salvatore Pio Della Marca finished third and fourth. In the last group, Saxe Paarup-Clausen (DEN) and Peter Gergely (ROU) stood out; thus, Eugeniu Storoj (MDA) and Loukianos Vartziotis (GRE) did not reach the QFs. 

In the knockout stage, Csabi faced Gergely, and although it was expected to be tight, the Hungarian did not let the Romanian gear up. Hamm stayed cool against Molnar and will play with Csabi for the final. On the other hand, Paarup-Clausen showed why he is considered to be one of the biggest talents when he beat Vasques in the QF. The Danish dynamite will meet Orlowski, who previously beat Antalfi. The boys will face each other at 10:30. 

The first day’s last category was the mixed doubles. Romania's Simos gave no mercy in Group A. Viktor Antalfi/Divna Stoeva from Bulgaria followed them to the semifinals, while Filip Sibrava/Eliska Melounova (CZE), and Michal Molnar/Lea Bekecova (SVK) decided in a three-setter that the latter finishes as third. Daniel Botond Varga/Lara Rozalia Kovacs (HUN), and Goncalo Reis/Sara Bacatelo (POR) were the favourites of Group B, and the twosome playing on home soil finished on top. Thomas De Geyter/Roquiny Line Roquiny (BEL), Maor Anokna/Gavriel Helin Zerrad (ISR), and Tomasz Godlewski/Dominika Gontar (POL) closed the day in their group in this order. In the semifinals, Romania will try to stop Portugal, and Hungary meets with Bulgaria. 

Tuesday will start with the group stage of girls’ doubles. As a quick reminder, this is what we wrote about the category previously: The smallest field is in girls' doubles as well as the most unpredictable. Six nations, two groups, and the top two finishers of their trio will see each other on the road to the final. Boglarka Simo/Kriszta Lakatos (ROU) are experienced and well-known from other international competitions. Their opponents in Group A are Sara Bacatelo/Soraia Comparada (POR) and Hanna Zmojda/Dominika Gontar from Poland. After girls' singles, Angelina Atanasova also showed her talent in this category; her partner is Divna Stoeva. The hosting nation is represented by Veronika Speth/Gabriella Barna, while Slovakia's Laura Buckova/Lea Bekecova, similar to the majority of the challengers, are relatively unknown at the international stage.

The semifinals from 10 AM (CET) will be streamed on TEQ TV, while the finals will be from 4 PM.