Karambasis, Ballou, Kourousis in the top 16 of Europe

Kostas Karambasis (AO Ariston Paianias) took 11th place in the junior dueling sword, Eleni Ballou (AOX Aigaleo) took 16th place in the junior exercise sword and Alina Kouroussi (AO Apollon Vrilissio) took ninth place in the junior epee at the European Youth Fencing Championship, while a total of eight of the 12 fencers who competed with the Greek colors qualified from the qualifying round in the main board of their weapon.

It is worth noting that the Greek referee of the Olympic Games, Andreas Douvis, who is in Tallinn, took over to referee the junior epee final.

Teenage dueling sword

The 14-year-old Vassilis Tsokas (OXIF) with 2 wins and 4 losses in the pool could not make it to the main board and ended his presence with the 82nd place. Alexandros Thurman (AOFIPS Irida) and Konstantinos Karabasis (AO Ariston Paianas) passed with five and four wins respectively in six matches, while Panagiotis Theodoropoulos (AO Ariston Paanias) passed with three wins in five matches.

All three athletes advanced directly to the round of 64, where Thurman and Theodoropoulos’ run was halted with losses to Teodor Ando-Chan (Czech Republic, 15-10) and Fedor Hapersky (Israel, 15-10) respectively. . The two athletes finished 34th and 46th out of 103 athletes.

Karabasis, on the other hand, prevailed over the Dane Jonas Voelund 15-13 and in the round of 32 eliminated the French Aina Rahamefi (No. 9 in Europe and No. 8 on the board) with 15-13, securing a place in the top 16 of the tournament .

In the battle for entering the quarter-finals, he could not overcome the obstacle of the Israeli Alon Sharid (No. 13 in Europe). He was beaten 15-11 and eventually finished 11th in the European Junior Championships.

Now the attention of the four athletes will be focused on the next team and then the World Juniors in Plovdiv next April.

11th – Konstantinos Karabasis (AO Ariston Peanias)

34th – Alexander Thurman (AOFIPS Iris)

46th – Panagiotis Theodoropoulos (AO Ariston Paanias)

82nd – Vassilis Tsokas (OXIF)

Junior practice sword

Stavrina Garifallou (AOX Aigaleo) started excellently with the absolute of six victories in the qualifying round and passed without a fight directly on the board of “32”. Iliana-Daria Bouzika (GEF) and Eleni Ballou (AOX Aegaleo) also qualified in the main board of “64” with 3/3 and 2/4 in wins/losses respectively.

Anna Pilioura (VALUE) could not get a victory in the pool and ended her presence with the 74th place. On the board of “64”, Buzica was “bent” by the German Merle Herwig with 15-12 and won the 39th place among 76 athletes.

Garifallou was also eliminated prematurely, as she was defeated in her first “knockout” match for the ticket to the last 16 by the Hungarian Jasmin Papp (15-11) and finished 18th in Europe.

The best Greek performance was that of Ballou, who, despite being the last to qualify for the main draw from the qualifying round, played excellent fencing in the knockouts. The athlete of Nikos Kontochristopoulos eliminated the No. 22 on the board and No. 41 in Europe, the Hungarian Jasmin Sperka, 15-13, and then prevailed over the Czech Barbora Prokesova with 15-14 in an exciting match.

In the battle for the quarterfinals, she was defeated by Turkala Elif Sou AI with 15-10 and won the 16th place among the total of 76 female swordsmen.

16th – Eleni Ballou (AOX Aegaleo)

18th – Stavrina Garifallou (AOX Aigaleo)

39th – Iliana Daria Buzika (Florina)

74th – Anna Pilioura (VALUE)

Junior swords

An excellent start was made by Alina Kouroussi (AO Apollon Vrilission), after passing first on the main scoreboard from the qualifying round. With 4 wins and 2 losses, Katerina-Maria Hatzikokkinou (AO Aspida) also qualified.

Kalliopi Hatzakou (E Kostea Geitona) was left out of the main table for one place and finished her presence with the 49th place, while Alexandra Papapetropoulou (E Kostea Geitona) who took the 55th place was also left out of the qualifying round.

Hatzikokkinou in the first “knockout” match on the board of “64” eliminated the Danish Abigail-Marie Larsen with 15-13, but finally completed her presence in the round of “32” after the tta from the Polish Karolina Hoffmann (15-7). She took 23rd place in Europe among 66 gymnasts.

The 14-year-old Kourousi went through the table of “32” without a fight and then secured a place in the best 16 of the competition with an emphatic victory against Turkala Alara Cermen with 15-4. To enter the eight, she was defeated by Georgian Alexandra Kuvaeva 15-4 and, thanks to her excellent performance in the qualifying round, she was ranked ninth in Europe.

9th – Alina Kouroussi (AO Apollon Vrilissio)

23rd – Katerina-Maria Hatzikokkinou (AO Aspida)

49th – Kalliopi Hatzakou (E Kostea Geitona)

55th – Alexandra Papapetropoulou (E Kostea Geitona)