As the World Junior Mixed Championships is coming to an end there have been wins for a number of European countries including England, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.
Callum Hemming and Hope Warner won their match against Carl Harrbacka and Tilda Sjoo in the mixed doubles. A close two sets but also a comfortable victory in the end. The first set was Hemming and Hope’s despite going behind and they came back to win it 19-21. The second set was very similar to the opening. The only difference was that the English pair took a lead, which gave the Swedes no ‘hope’ which they went on to seal the match.
Hemming believes that overall tournament has been great for both him and Warner and the country as a whole.
“This was another challenge for the team as it had been a long week but we came together and performed well leaving us in 9th position which is the third time in 11 years England have done this, so this was a huge achievement for the coaches and players.”
Hope Warner, Hemming’s partner in the mixed doubles, believes that the team spirit has been there throughout a difficult tournament.
“We’ve had a fantastic team spirit all week, working hard with each other and the coaches so it was a great feeling to get the win for the whole team.”
Dennis Koppen of the Netherlands was put to the test by Bulgarian Lliyan Stoynov in a match that took all three sets for Koppen to take victory. The Dutchman went ahead in the first game by winning pretty comfortably 17-21, which did not take much effort to beat his opponent.
The second game was a poor one by Koppen, as Stoynov took no prisoners and took the game with a 21-14 victory, giving the seventeen year old a wakeup call. The third set was the closest of all but the Dutch coming out with a 18-21 win giving him the match which looked to have slipped away from him.
Marek Aubus was flying the flag for the Czech Republic in a match against Mongolian Sumiyasuren Enkhbat after coming from a game behind to take the match from the grasp of his opponent from Mongolia. The first set was not what the Czech would have hoped for with the Mongolian fifteen year old taking an early lead in the first game which he nearly messed up as it took three game points to beat the Aubus.
The second set was for the Czech Republic as Aubus showed the world what he is really like with a 21-4 victory taking the match into a third set, with the momentum with Aubus. Power and determination was on show in the final set with a very comfortable win for the Czech, beating his opponent from Mongolia by 21-11.