by Simon Daish
Battling it out for the Junior Girls’ Team trophy was the first seeded side Romania and the third seeds France, in what was anticipated to be a dramatic showdown for the title.
However, despite the quality of the French lineup the final ended up being a fairly one-sided duel with Romania coming out of the tie on the correct side of a 3-0 victory.
First up for Romania was the highly rated Adina Diaconu, who came through the opening match against Leili Mostafavi across four games (11-8, 11-13, 11-5, 11-9) to give her country the early lead.
Andreea Dragoman then doubled the advantage for Romania after she edged out Lucie Gauthier in a close fought encounter (13-11, 11-6, 8-11, 8-11, 13-11), before the final was brought to a close with Tania Plaian’s straight games success over Nolwenn Fort (11-5, 14-12, 11-8) ensuring the title win for the top seeds.
The Junior Girls’ Team competition saw the top seeds claim the trophy, and there was a similar outcome over in the Cadet Girls’ Team final.
Russia emerged as champions of the tournament following a powerful 3-0 victory over the fourth seeds Italy, as Elizabet Abraamian and Ekaterina Zironova both put in strong displays for the no.1 seeds.
Follow the action live on the Official ITTF Channel.
(Photo: Bogdan Pasek)
