Last week, the 2024 European Championships took place in Linz, Austria.
At this year’s EURO edition held in Linz (Austria), the TIBHAR players again won many titles.
In the men’s competition, Darko Jorgic, Alexis Lebrun and his brother Félix were aiming to reach the top of the podium. In the women’s competition, Bernadette Szöcs stood among the favorites, although she had never won the European title.
The tournament started with the mixed competition. Annett Kaufmann and her partner Patrick Franziska were eager to make the difference! After three very convincing performances in the first « rounds », the duo reached the semi-final where they were defeated against the local matadors Polcanova/Gardos, although delivering a breathtaking performance and several match balls. Annett and Patrick can be very proud of their bronze medal though.
In the final, the Austrian duo met against the pair from Spain (TIBHAR star Alvaro Robles and his partner Maria Xiao). The Spanish players won on a non-appealing score of 3 :0. The sympathetic left-hander won for the first time of his career a title of a European Championship and at the same time signed a historical victory for TIBHAR.
Among the TIBHAR athletes, the men’s doubles won two more medals. Four players using TIBHAR equipment reached the semi-final: the French favorites Alexis and Félix Lebrun and the outsiders Maciel Kolodziejczyk and Vladislav Ursu – very quickly the French were very convincing; effortless they beat their adversaries on a score of 3:0. However, the Austrian/Moldavian combination can be proud of their bronze medal.
The freshly formed pair from Sweden Källberg/Moregardh, who surprisingly defeated their countrymen Karlsson/Falck, met against the French brothers Lebrun in the final. It was clear from the start, that the two brothers were superior and would be victorious. Alexis and Félix won the second gold medal of the TIBHAR team. The women’s doubles also won a bronze medal – Natalia Bajor from Poland and her Slovakian partner Kukulkova reached the semi-final, where the pair unfortunately lost the fifth and deciding set 11:13. The favored doubles team, defending champions Bernadette Szöcs and Sofia Polcanova, also surprisingly lost the deciding set in the final against the Czech-Slovak combination (Matelova/Balazova) – leaving the TIBHAR starlet Szöcs with “only” the silver medal.
Hence that gave “Bernie” even more motivation before she went into the individual competition. After having effortless won the first rounds, the Romanian player clearly met no obstacle on her path to the quarter final. She barely won the 5th and 6th sets against the young French player Charlotte Lutz and, after equalizing at mid match 2 :2, Bernadette qualified herself for the first time of her career for the semi-final of a European Championship. She met against the freshly crowned mixed European winner, the Spanish Maria Xiao and defeated her on a score of 4 :1 in an interesting match. In the final, against her friend and double partner the Austrian Sofia Polcanova, her chances were very limited and Bernadette had to leave Linz with “only” a second silver medal. We are very proud of her performances and congratulate her very heartily for her first medal in an individual competition of a European Championship.
If the favorite among the women team managed to reach the final, it was a much more hazardous path for the players of the men’s competition. Thus, Félix Lebrun who surely stood among the top favorite of this competition, surprisingly lost against the German national player Benedikt Duda in the quarter final, when his brother Alexis on the other hand clearly defeated the other favorite Dang Qiu from Germany. In the semi-final Alexis defeated on a non-appealing score of 4 :0 the Swedish superstar Truls Moregardh and finally Benedikt Duda in the final on the exact same score. Alexis Lebrun won for the first time of his career a European title in singles; this medal is also the first title again for TIBHAR after Emmanuel Lebesson’s victory in 2016.
This is a historical victory for the French player Alexis Lebrun who is only 21 and a phenomenal success for the entire TIBHAR team.
TIBHAR is very proud of their players and proudly shares with them their great successes during these European Championships. TIBHAR congratulates all of them for their successes and is looking forward to further great successes.
Thee Pro’s on Social Media:
https://www.instagram.com/alexislebrun2003
https://www.instagram.com/felix.lebrun
https://www.instagram.com/szocsbernadettecynthia
https://www.instagram.com/nnbajor
https://www.instagram.com/arobles_4