Young European talents have already secured their medals with their quarterfinal wins at the 2022 European Junior Championships, but who will make it to the big finals?
Exciting day in Belgrade, Serbia, with the Round of 16 and quarterfinals happing on the same day of the 2022 European Junior Championships. Win or lose, the young competitors have got to show the talent that we have in Europe.
Eight medals Denmark
The team event winners of the 2022 European Junior Championships are continuing their quest for titles in the individual event this week. Denmark will be leaving Belgrade far from empty-handed. In fact, almost none of the Danes who qualified for the quarterfinals lost in this evening’s matches — with the exception of Benedicte Sillassen/ Maria Højlund Tommerup. This means that the country has secured a total of eight medals. We will have to see in the next two days what colour they will be.
Jakob Houe and Christian Faust Kjær will be competing together in the men’s doubles semifinal against Natan Begga/ Baptiste Labarthe, France. However, that will not be all for the Danish pair. They will both be playing in the men’s singles, although not against each other — Houe will be facing Poland’s Dominik Kwinta, while Kjær will be playing against top seed Alex Lanier.
Unseeded Jeppe Søby/ Sofie Røjkjær had a tough challenge ahead today, having to face number two seeds Viktor Petrovic/ Andjela Vitman, winners of a bronze at the European U17 Championships last year. However, the duo delivered and won a thrilling three-game match.
Petrovic/ Vitman make the home crowd roar
Serbia and the local audience had a lot to celebrate this morning as their chances of winning a medal on home soil got bigger thanks to Viktor Petrovic/ Andjela Vitman winning against French duo Yohan Barbieri/Elsa Jacob. However, the deed wasn’t done yet, as standing on their way to the podium were Danes Jeppe Søby/ Sofie Røjkjaer.
It was a close match, with both pairs fighting fiercely for every point. The supportive crowd fuelled the Serbian pair’s efforts, who despite losing the first game and being close to doing so in the same way in the second game, they took the match to a third game. The Danes closed the match with a win, but Serbian fans got to enjoy a great performance from their representatives.
Regining European U17 champions looking to repeat their triumphs
Several of last year’s European U17 champions and medallists have come to Belgrade, Serbia to compete for more. French talent Alex Lanier, who won the gold in that competition both in singles and men’s doubles, is now just fighting in the first event.
Lanier faced Charles Fouyin, Belgium, and won in straight games, just as he has done all throughout his performances in Belgrade. Baptiste Labarthe, with whom he won the men’s doubles gold in the European U17 Championships last year, will also be in the semifinals, but this time partnered with Natan Begga. They will be facing no other than top seeded Danes Christian Faust Kjær/ Jakob Houe.
Malya Hoareau/ Camille Pognante were close to making it three medals for France. They played against Switzerland’s Lucie Amiguet/ Vera Appenzeller, but the Swiss pair have taken the event by storm, securing a medal for Switzerland by winning an intense three-game quarterfinals match.
Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova, the reigning European U17 women’s singles champion, played in today’s quarterfinals against English player Leona Lee. Despite Lee’s strong performances in the singles event throughout the week, it was not enough to stop the Bulgarian player from taking the win and the chance to advance onto the semifinals.