Yiannis Sgouropoulos is enjoying another great distinction abroad. Tonight 06/09, in Rouen, he was crowned French table tennis champion for the 2022-2023 season with GV Enebon.
In the decisive second Pro A play-off final the Normandy team prevailed 3-0 away to SPO Rouen, easily overturning a 3-2 first-leg defeat to claim their 5th French league in their history!
She waited 14 years for this great moment and celebrated her first title in the country after 4 in the 2000s with the inimitable Kalliniko Kreanga as her guide! Now with the contribution of another Greek, the four-time European youth champion, he is back at the top of the country.
For the first time in history, two Greek “legionaries” with the same club have won an inter-club championship. Sgouropoulos collaborated this year for the first time with Enebon and at the team level he achieved the best. Some time ago the club lifted the trophy in the Europe Cup (the 2nd tier of the European Club Cup) and now they enjoyed a double by also winning the French championship.
In 2019, Sgouropoulos also won the Swedish championship with Eslov. The 23-year-old ace may have been a substitute in the Pro A finals, but he had a good number of appearances in the regular season, played very strong matches scoring his own wins and gained experiences, which will surely help him in his further development.
The top 4 participated in the playoffs. Enebon came from 1st place in both rounds and were favorites against Rouen, who had taken 3rd place. The “blues” had two wins against the same opponent in the regular season, but in the first final, on Tuesday 06/06, they had a bad day and suffered an unexpected defeat with 3-2.
Rouen’s slight lead proved completely fragile in the replay. With the same trio and Sgouropoulos on the bench, Enebon achieved an excellent overall performance and with an emphatic 3-0 victory, she celebrated the title with dozens of her friends, who traveled to Rouen and were particularly demonstrative throughout the match.
The Romanian coach Adrian Krizan changed the set-up of the trio and from position 2 this time the in-form Dane Anders Lind, who last Tuesday was the 3rd player, started the race. The left-handed Scandinavian presented himself completely ready against Rouen’s number 1, the Austrian Robert Gardos, and with a 3-0 set win, he also gave Enebon a psychological advantage.
Then Sweden’s Christian Carlsson was clear favorite against France’s Alexandre Robineau and sent the team even closer to the trophy. And in the third game in a row, the great Chuan Chi Yuan from Taipei, who had suffered two defeats in the first final, got… revenge from the Hungarian Adam Zudi and with a 3-0 victory gave the trigger for the explosion of joy after the many years expectation. Sgouropoulos entered the field with his teammates and his coach, they all hugged and… danced to the cheers of their fans and the applause of recognition from the friends of Rouen.
The evolution of the final Rouen-Enebonne 0-3:
Robert Gardos-Anders Lind 0-3
Alexandre Robineau-Christian Karlsson 1-3
Adam Zudy-Chuan Chi Yuan 0-3
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
