by Simon Daish
Poland fielded four competitors in the Round of 128 of the Cadet Girls’ Singles event, and much to the country’s delight there were victories all-round for its representatives.
Zuzanna Gaworska put in a good showing in the lower half of the draw, beating Norwegian opponent Akshaya Vimalasenan in straight games (11-6, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5) while a similar feat was achieved by fellow Polish player Katarzyna Krolikowska who prevailed against Beth Richards of Wales (11-6, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9).
More Polish success came courtesy of Kamila Gryko and Elzbieta Kwiatkowska, as both competitors registered dominant results in their fixtures against Finland’s Aleksandra Titievskaja (11-3, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4) and Slovenia’s Tara Kobetic (11-5, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9) to move through to the top 64.
Also emerging victorious on the day was the Austrian duo of Milena Erak and Sofia Lu Chen following positive outcomes against May Zahra (11-2, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-6) and Karlijn van Lierop (11-9, 11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 11-3), who represent Malta and the Netherlands respectively.
Three Lithuanian contestants safely progressed through to the Round of 64 after Emilija Riliskyte, Kornelija Riliskyte and Auguste Melaikaite came through their encounters with little difficulty, while two Portuguese athletes Ines Batista and Patricia Santos also enjoyed positive results.
There was a big shock in the Cadet Boys’ Singles competition on day seven, as Irish star Owen Cathcart lost out to Edward Wesshagen of Sweden.
Edward Wesshagen entered the tie with expectations against him, but an excellent display saw the Swedish representative outperform the cadet boys world number 42 across five ends (11-6, 11-6, 14-12, 4-11, 11-8).
Serbian players Vladimir Jovicic and Akos Benko will be happy with their showings on day seven in Guimarães, after they sealed their spots in the next stage of the competition.
Showing no signs of weakness Vladimir Jovicic comfortably held off opponent Kenan Panahov as the Azerbaijan competitor endured a four games to nil loss (11-8, 12-10, 11-2, 12-10), and Akos Benko successfully came through a closely fought out duel with Norway’s Henrik Nilsen (11-7, 10-12, 15-13, 8-11, 11-4, 13-11) to give Serbian fans plenty to cheer about.
Daniels Kogans will represent Latvia in the last 64 following his 4-2 triumph over Austria’s Samuel Ameti (4-11, 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7), while a dramatic seven games comeback victory against Ukraine’s Kiril Yurchenko (11-9, 8-11, 6-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-9) sees Aljaz Godec become Slovenia’s sole remaining contestant in the Cadet Boys’ Singles category.
Stag 2017 European Youth Championships: Results – Thursday 20th July
