The best of the development leagues meet in the final of Kavala

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The first of the major junior table tennis events for the 2022-2023 season takes place this weekend, April 1st and 2nd in Georgia’s Kavala. The development championships close with the established final, which gathers the best athletes of the small categories, as they emerged from the total of six opens of this year’s series. As every year, the final concerns teenagers, boys and girls, boys and girls, and the right to participate in each category is given to the first 16 and the first 16 of the Special Score table of the development tournaments (with replacement athletes, who do not participate, from those immediately following in the standings). This number was completed in three categories, while a total of 85 children will compete. The results also count for the formation of the national teams and this element adds interest and prestige to the games. The final is organized at the indoor gym of Georgianis by E.F.O.E.P.A. in collaboration with the municipality of Pangaios and ASEA Kavala and is dedicated to the memory of the athlete of the local association Ioannis Giannikopoulos, who lost the unequal battle with terminal illness two weeks ago at the age of just 13.

The 85 children, who entered the raffles (with a limit of 96), come from 27 clubs throughout the country and are divided into 16 teenagers, 16 boys, 16 boys, 14 juniors, 13 girls and 10 girls. Classically, the event does not include the categories of Young men-Young women, which were not formed in any open anyway, as well as the mini-boys-mini-girls categories.

At the culmination of the development tournaments, which is also a reward for the efforts of the athletes from October until today, clubs from Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Florina, Kavala, Alexandroupolis, Chios, Corinthia, will be “represented”. Chania and Orestiada.

The favorites in the final come from the special rating of the 2022-2023 development championships and not from the general evaluation table of each category. The system of conduct does not change, in the 1st phase there are groups and in the 2nd knockout matches with full classification.

On the way to the Panhellenic age championships, the overwhelming majority of the big names of the six categories will be present in Kavala to chase honors and points. The first two favorites in each category are Yannis Malamoudis and Stathis Manolopoulos in the teenagers, Evangelia Meramvelliotaki and Stella Tzaridou in the juniors, Yannis Koutras and Kostas Fakaros in the boys, Stella Mavromataki and Georgia Spanou in the girls, Anastasios Fousekis and Konstantinos Isaakidis in the pampaids, Athanasia Goga and Elpida Tassiou in the pankorasides.

The program opens tomorrow Saturday at 11:00 with the girls’ groups and on its opening day it will end in the afternoon. The day after tomorrow Sunday the games start at 09:00 with quarter finals in the boys and the finals of all categories are estimated to take place at 14:00.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT IOANNIS YIANNIKOPOULOS

The dedication of the development final to the memory of Ioannis Giannikopoulos is the smallest tribute to the little angel on earth, who left us so unfairly and prematurely. He had started table tennis in 2018 when he was a second grader. He showed his talent, developed and even won medals in the mini girls category at the development open, culminating in the gold in Thessaloniki in February 2019. For three years he was involved in the sport systematically at ASEA Kavala until he was “struck” by illness in E elementary school. He fought bravely for about 2.5 years, even in pain he asked and sometimes went to the club to train, but the evil fate had worse plans for him. On March 16, he passed away, spreading sadness in the field of sports. Ioannis also had a younger brother, who also played table tennis at the club. E.F.O.E.P.A. sends, through this text, his deepest condolences to his family and wishes for strength and courage.

* The DAK Georgiani Kavala will be available for training today Friday 31/03 from 18.30 to 21.00. The parquet gym has hosted development tournaments, regional matches, and playoffs for the A2 national men’s division in recent years.

* The championship has been shown in the region, in fact in the municipality of Pangaio where Georgiani belongs, the posters of the final have entered the street.

* Major sponsors of the event are the Traditional Wood Oven The Bank, as well as Kavala Fertilizers. Snack bags have also been prepared and will be distributed to all participants. The steady sponsors of the STIGA Table Tennis federation, “ZEUS” Prizes, Gerflor Group, HeaDS and Genesis pharma also help.

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