
EYTC - Hungary finished on the top of the historical youth event
The sport's first continental youth championship was held on August 18 and 19 in Pécs, Hungary. 49 players from 15 nations came to the event to decide who the best youth players were in all five categories.
The semi-final pairings for boys' singles, doubles, girls' singles and mixed doubles were established on the first day, while the group matches for girls' doubles were played on Tuesday morning. The second day continued with the semi-finals.
The first finalists came from girls’ singles after Angelina Atanasova (BUL) beat Kriszta Lakatos (ROU) confidently, and Line Roquiny also reached the gold game. The Belgian took the victory in two sets against Gavriel Helin Zerrad (ISR). With that, Lakatos and Zerrad finished third.
In the final, Atanasova came back after losing the first and became the sport’s first youth European champion ever.
Girls’ singles, final
Angelina Atanasova (BUL) - Line Roquiny (BEL) 2:1 (9-,4,7)
Stefan Orlowski (POL) faced Saxe Paarup-Clausen (DEN) and advanced to the final after two close sets. Milan Csabi, on home soil, gave no chance to the Austrian Alexander Hamm. Hamm and Paarup-Clausen returned home with bronze medals, while after a close three-setter, Milan celebrated for the gold.
Boys’ singles, final
Milan Csabi (HUN) – Stefan Orlowski (POL) 2:1 (7-,9,4)
In girls’ doubles, Boglarka Simo/Kriszta Lakatos (ROU) did not let the local athletes gear up. Veronika Speth/Gabriella Barna finished with bronze, while on the other branch, Atanasova returned to the table and reached the finals in this category too, with Divna Stoeva, after beating Sara Bacatelo/Soraia Comparada from Portugal. In the final, Atanasova showcased her talent and got her second title today.
Girls’ doubles, final
Boglarka Simo/Kriszta Lakatos (ROU) – Angelina Atanasova/Divna Stoeva (BUL) 0:2 (8-,6-)
Martim Vasques/Goncalo Reis (POR) had multiple chances against Daniel Botond Varga/Mate Hercegfi (HUN), but the home side closed the semifinal and advanced to the final. Saxe Paarup-Clausen/Frederik Guldborg-Mondrup (DEN) clashed with Peter Gergely/Bence Simo (ROM) and won confidently. In the final, another three-setter happened in front of almost half a thousand spectators. However, the Danish duo was not affected by the home crowd and triumphed.
Boys’ doubles, final
Daniel Botond Varga/Mate Hercegfi (HUN) – Saxe Paarup-Clausen/Frederik Guldborg-Mondrup (DEN) 1:2 (8-, 9, 7-)
Bence Simo/Boglarka Simo (ROU) triumphed in three sets against Goncalo Reis/Sara Bacatelo (POR) for the gold match, while Daniel Botond Varga/Lara Rozalia Kovacs (HUN), enjoying the support of the home crowd, left the opponents, Viktor Antalfi/Divna Stoeva from Bulgaria, speechless.
Mixed doubles, final
Bence Simo/Boglarka Simo (ROU) - Daniel Botond Varga/Lara Rozalia Kovacs (HUN) 0:2 (11-,6-)
Hungary topped the medal table, Bulgaria came in second, while the Danish team finished third out of 15 countries.
Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |
1. Hungary | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
2. Bulgaria | 2 | - | 1 | 3 |
3. Denmark | 1 | - | 1 | 2 |
4. Romania | - | 2 | 1 | 3 |
5. Poland | - | 1 | - | 1 |
5. Belgium | - | 1 | - | 1 |
7. Portugal | - | - | 3 | 3 |
8. Austria | - | - | 1 | 1 |
8. Israel | - | - | 1 | 1 |