European Individual: 2012
Individual European Championship: In the contenders - three Ukrainians
Preliminary lists of participants of the continental championship, which will be held in Helsinki on May 23-26, have been published. The names of thirty participants in the men's and twenty-two in the women's European championships have become known. The competition will take place at the end of May in Helsinki, Finland. The official website of the individual European Championship on the corresponding page presented those who are already ready to start the path to the championship medals.
Among them there are traditionally the names of the players of Petroholding Squash Club and the national team of Ukraine Ruslan Sorochinsky, Konstantin Rybalchenko and Denis Podvorny. At the moment, they are all in the list of players in the main draw, and Ruslan, due to his rating, has a rather convenient seed number. The first racket of the men's tournament is the six-time European champion and two-time silver medalist Frenchman Gregory Goltier (pictured) - the player of the top five of the PSA world ranking. It was he who, since the resumption of the European Championships in 2004, has been a constant participant in the finals of the competition. Together with him, the Spaniard Boria Golan, who in 2006 became the vice-champion of Europe, will join the fight. But Thierry Link, who over the past four years got used to climbing the podium, this year has not yet announced. However, even without him, the list of participants abounds with famous European squash players - Olli Tuominen, Nicholas Müller, Simon Rosner, Mathieu Castagnier - all the time participants and leaders of their national teams at the 2012 European Team Championship. Of those who will be seeded at the lower numbers, most have long been familiar to our players from their participation in many joint tournaments. This also applies to Russians, Poles, and Dutch. So the atmosphere in Helsinki will be not only competitive but also very friendly. If we talk about the performances of Ukrainians at the individual European championships, then first you should pay attention to their results after the appearance on the squash map of Europe "Petroholding Squash Club".
So, last year in Warsaw, all three dropped out of the fight for medals in the first round - Rybalchenko lost to Austrian Akvel Rehman, Sorochinsky lost to Englishman Nathan Lake, and Podvorny, who passed the qualification, was beaten by the third racket of the tournament by Golan. As a result, they took 23rd, 25th and 29th places, respectively. The result is quite good, considering that a year earlier in Saarbrücken Sorochinsky and Podvorny could not qualify, and Rybalchenko lost in the 1/16 finals to Simon Rosner and finished the tournament in 28th place.
We delve into history until the moment when the Petroholding Squash Club was organized.
2009: Rybalchenko and Sorochinsky are defeated in the first round by Rene Meis and Bori Golan, respectively, while Artem Beba is eliminated in the preliminary games after being beaten by Belgian Mats Ramen. According to the results of the consolation games, Beba loses all four meetings and takes the last, 37th place. Sorochinsky - 28th, Rybalchenko - 30th.
2008: Rybalchenko and Sorochinsky are eliminated in the 1/32 finals, Roman Dolinich and Dmitry Shcherbakov advanced a step further, immediately destroyed in the second round by the seed leaders Goltier and Linku.
2006, 2007: Ukrainians, including Pogrebnyak, Rybalchenko, Dolinich, Beba, Shandybin, Davidenko, are eliminated in qualification. Even earlier, our compatriots Shcherbakov, Molodukha and Dolinich managed to break into the main draw, but by the will of the lot they immediately hit the first seeded ones like Jan Kukal or John White, so one could forget about further prospects right away.
And now 2012 is in the yard and those who have recently brought Ukraine to the second division of the European Team Championship are entering the fight. Judging by the game played by Ukrainian squash players, one can count on their even higher final results. Moreover, for some reason, there are no representatives of England in the list of announced players, which means that there are even more reasons for optimism. For further predictions, it remains to wait for the draw.
Individual European Championship (Helsinki, Finland)
Gregory Goltier (France)
Simon Rosner (Germany)
3/4. Boria Golan (Spain)
3/4. Olli Tuominen (Finland)
5/8. Nicholas Müller (Switzerland)
5/8. Mathieu Castagnier (France)
5/8. Henrik Mustonen (Finland)
5/8. Gregua Marsh (France)
9/16. Julien Balbo (France)
9/16. Akvel Rehman (Austria)
9/16. Piedro Schweertman (Holland)
9/16. Matias Tuomi (Finland)
9/16. Sebastian Veenink (Holland)
9/16. Bart Ravelli (Holland)
9/16. Roman Shvets (Czech Republic)
9/16. Ruslan Sorochinsky (Ukraine)
17/30. Konstantin Rybalchenko (Ukraine)
17/30. Frank Hartkoren (Holland)
17/30. Wojciech Nowisz (Poland)
17/30. Marcin Karwowski (Poland)
17/30. Denis Podvorny (Ukraine)
17/30. Martin Shvets (Czech Republic)
17/30. Alexey Severinov (Russia)
17/30. Dmitry Ivanov (Russia)
17/30. Daniel Mekbib (Czech Republic)
17/30. Ondrej Uherka (Czech Republic)
17/30. Sergey Belyaev (Russia)
17/30. Janne Järvinen (Finland)
17/30. Tattoo Knuutila (Finland)
17/30. Jaakko Vähämaa (Finland)
Individual European Championship: After the Shvets brothers - for the first rackets of the tournament
The draw for the individual European Championship was not very favorable to the Ukrainian squash players. The official website of the euroforum, which will be held this week in Helsinki, Finland, has published the grid of the upcoming tournament. Our site has already announced how strong the squad of the current championship will be, but hardly anyone expected that the Ukrainian players would have to engage in a fierce struggle from the very first game.
Only yesterday Ruslan Sorochinsky, who won the third stage of the Ukrainian Squash Tour, his partner in the national team of Ukraine Konstantin Rybalchenko, said that he had gained optimal shape and that new victories should be expected from him. And here it is unnecessary to recall that this team, reinforced by Denis Podvorny, Valery Fedoruk and Alexei Kovalsky, was only recently flawless in the games of the European Team Championship in the III division. After all, even after that the game of squash players of the Petroholding Squash Club aroused only admiration - moreover, even recognized experts in the world squash spoke about it. Yes, what to talk about - only a couple of days ago, the audience enthusiastically applauded the squash that our leading squash players demonstrated. The level of their play has really long rightly allowed us to call the leaders of our professional rating truly international players.
But in Helsinki, where the three Ukrainians are leaving on Tuesday to better prepare for the scheduled games, it will not be easy for them. First, Rybalchenko and Sorochinsky need to defeat the Shvets brothers (and there, believe me, they will have to fight - 21-year-old Roman has already reached the 175th line of the world ranking, and 17-year-old Martin, despite his age, has already broken into the third hundred of the PSA rating) ...
If they are successful, each of our players will immediately go to the first seeded championship - Gregory Goltier and Simon Rosner. The Frenchman and the German will start the fight rested - due to their rating, they start from the second round. This is where the Ukrainians really need to show the team spirit they have cultivated in the ranks of the Petroholding Squash Club. Rybalchenko admires Goltier squash, and here there is an opportunity to play against him personally. Sorochinsky, on the other hand, may well avenge his friend Rosner for the defeat two years ago, which Konstantin suffered at the European Championship 2010 in Saarbrücken. True, for this you need to have time to beat the youngest of Shvets. Let's not forget Denis Podvorny yet. This player is not only the reigning champion of Ukraine, but also recently aroused the admiration of all squash lovers for his performance at the European Team Championship. After all, the final triumph in Malta also depended on his confident play in each of the matches. In Helsinki, he will first need to beat the strong Dutchman Sebastian Veenink, and then, most likely, Denis will again meet with the star Spaniard Borey Golan. And Podvorny has his own score with him - even last year our player, having passed qualification, immediately fell under the hot hand of the leader of the Spanish national team and dropped out of the race for the medals of the individual European championship. So there are also enough incentives to show everything that Denis is capable of. Therefore, you can be sure that the Ukrainian players who have gained shape have many reasons to give their all on Finnish courts. Here at stake is not only the image of Ukrainian squash or personal ambitions.
At this championship, Ukraine will be represented by a "team with a capital letter", even if the status of these competitions has the title of individual. And every point won from our rivals will be accompanied by rapturous applause not only from the stands of the Finnish Tallihalli, but even from Ukrainian observers who have the opportunity to follow these games only on the Internet news ...
Individual European Championship 2012 (Helsinki, Finland)
1/16 finals
Roman Shvets (Czech Republic, 9/16) - Konstantin Rybalchenko (Ukraine)
Akvel Rehman (Austria, 9/16) - Marcin Karwowski (Poland)
Henrik Mustonen (Finland, 5/8) - Dmitry Ivanov (Russia)
Mathieu Castagne (France, 5/8) - Janne Järvinnen (Finland)
Piedro Schweertmann (Holland, 9/16) - Daniel Mekbib (Czech Republic)
Sebastian Veenink (Holland, 9/16) - Denis Podvorny (Ukraine)
Borya Golan (Spain, 3/4) - Tatu Knuutila (Finland)
Olli Tuominen (Finland, 3/4) - Ondrej Uherka (Czech Republic)
Bart Ravelli (Holland, 9/16) - Alexey Severinov (Russia)
Julien Balbo (France, 9/16) - Franck Hartkoren (Holland)
Nicholas Müller (Switzerland, 5/8) - Sergey Belyaev (Russia)
Gregua Marsh (France, 5/8) - Jaako Vahyamaa (Finland)
Matthias Tuomi (Finland, 9/16) - Wojciech Novis (Poland)
Ruslan Sorochinsky (Ukraine, 9/16) - Martin Shvets (Czech Republic)
1/8 finals
Gregory Goltier (France, 1) - R. Shvets / Rybalchenko Rehman / Karvovski - Mustonen / Ivanov Kastanier / Järvinnen - Schweertmann / Mekbib Veenink / Podvorny - Golan / Knuutila Tuominen / Uherka - Raveli / Severinov Balbo / Hartkoren / Bewertkoren Vahyamaa - Tuomi / Novish Simon Rosner (Germany, 2) - Sorochinsky / M. Shvets.
Individual European Championship: Sorochinsky - in 1/8 finals
In the second round, one of the best Ukrainian squash players will play against one of the favorites of the continental championship. Since one of the best squash players in the world ranking, Gregory Goltier, did not make it to the tournament in Helsinki, the tournament grid has undergone some changes (compare with the one that our site gave a few days ago). For example, Konstantin Rybalchenko fell into the category of seeded players, but his desire to play against one of the best squash players in the world did not manage to come true. According to the old schedule, the captain of Petroholding Squash Club had to first win against Czech Roman Shvets, and, in case of victory, then go to court against Goltier. Due to an unforeseen leapfrog with the redistribution of starting places, Rybalchenko had to play against the strong Dutchman Frank Hartkoren in the first round. Initially tune in to one opponent, and, as a result, get another - this may well unsettle. Of course, Konstantin fought, especially since in the future there was a meeting with Julien Balbo, who was well known to him from other tournaments. This is evidenced by the final score of each of the games - Hartkoren literally gnawed out every rally. Still, our player failed to take even a game from this player. In parallel, Denis Podvorny also lost to another Dutchman. Moreover, despite the difference in the level of skill, he managed to get together during the game and impose his own game. Yes, in the first game, seeded Sebastian Veenink gave the Ukrainian only one point. But then, hungry for victories, Podvorny gave his opponent a real exam - it almost came to overtime. However, here the defeat turned out to be “dry”.
Now we turn to the triumphant of the first day of the European Individual Championship. The winner of the third stage of the "Ukrainian Squash Tour", the first racket of the national team of Ukraine, was initially set up to fight against Martin Shvets - and did not present any unpleasant surprises to him in the championship bracket. He was not distracted by all these moments. I tuned in, went out - and defeated the Czech in all respects, giving him one won game for a respite. Next in line is one of the seed leaders, German Simon Rosner, but Sorochinsky knew that he would have to play against him too. So we have no doubt that he was also ready for this game for a long time.
Individual European Championship 2012 (Helsinki, Finland)
1/16 finals
Roman Shvets (Czech Republic, 9/16) - Tatu Knuutila (Finland) - 3: 0 (11: 4, 11: 2, 11: 8)
Akvel Rehman (Austria, 9/16) - Marcin Karwowski (Poland) - 3: 0 (11: 3, 11: 2, 11: 7)
Henrik Mustonen (Finland, 5/8) - Dmitry Ivanov (Russia) - 3: 0 (11: 3, 11: 2, 11: 1)
Mathieu Castagne (France, 5/8) - Janne Järvinnen (Finland) - 3: 0 (11: 8, 11: 6, 11: 9)
Daniel Mekbib (Czech Republic) - Piedro Schweertmann (Holland, 9/16) - 3: 2 (8:11, 11: 6, 11: 8, 6:11, 12:10)
Sebastian Veenink (Holland, 9/16) - Denis Podvorny (Ukraine) - 3: 0 (11: 1, 11: 7, 11: 9)
Olli Tuominen (Finland, 3/4) - Ondrej Uherka (Czech Republic) - 3: 0 (11: 6, 11: 7, 11: 4)
Bart Ravelli (Holland, 9/16) - Alexey Severinov (Russia) - 3: 0 (11: 0, 11: 4, 11: 8)
Frank Hartkoren (Holland) - Konstantin Rybalchenko (Ukraine, 9/16) - 3: 0 (11: 7, 11: 7, 11: 5)
Julien Balbo (France, 9/16) - Sergey Belyaev (Russia) - 3: 0 (11: 4, 11: 1, 11: 4)
Gregua Marsh (France, 5/8) - Jaako Vahyamaa (Finland) - 3: 0 (11: 4, 11: 3, 11: 3)
Mathias Tuomi (Finland, 9/16) - Wojciech Nowisz (Poland) - 3: 1 (11: 8, 11: 8, 7:11, 11: 6)
Ruslan Sorochinsky (Ukraine, 9/16) - Martin Shvets (Czech Republic) - 3: 1 (11: 3, 11: 3, 5:11, 11: 3)
1/8 finals
Boria Golan (Spain, 2) - Roman Shvets (Czech Republic, 9/16)
Henrik Mustonen (Finland, 5/8) - Akvel Rehman (Austria, 9/16)
Mathieu Castagnier (France, 5/8) - Daniel Mekbib (Czech Republic)
Nicholas Müller (Switzerland, 3/4) - Sebastian Veenink (9/16)
Olli Tuominen (Finland, 3/4) - Bart Ravelli (Holland, 9/16)
Julien Balbo (France, 5/8) - Frank Hartkoren (Holland)
Gregua Marsh (France, 5/8) - Matthias Tuomi (Finland, 9/16)
Simon Rosner (Germany, 2) - Ruslan Sorochinsky (Ukraine, 9/16)
Individual European Championship: Deja-vu! We play against old acquaintances
On Friday, Sorochinsky will play against Finn Matias Tuomi, while Rybalchenko and Podvorny are waiting for the Polish players, whose game they have known for a long time. The second day of the individual European championship, even if it brought domestic fans a couple of disappointments, but at the same time, and more reasons for joy. First, about Ruslan Sorochinsky, who won the right to speak in the second round of the European Forum. He passed the strong junior Martin Shvets, initially knowing that then the strongest German Simon Rosner would stand in his way. Ruslan prepared for this game with his usual tactics: while the Ukrainian "steam locomotive" was accelerating, one of the favorites of the tournament managed to take a couple of games and thought that now the job was done. It was not so - in the third game Sorochinsky gave such a fight to Rosner, from which the German was simply taken aback.
Yes, the level of Ukrainian skovshists does not quite match the skill of the leaders of the world ranking. But even the fact that the star German, being the second racket of the European Championship, was able to win one game against our player, almost reaching "over-under" is a real indicator of the level of our player. Now Ruslan will fight for the 9th place (remember, earlier Ukraine could only dream of this). His first rival in these games will be the owner of the courts Mathias Tuomi. Not only do both players have the same seed numbers, but we also do not forget that Ruslan has known Matthias for many years - the Finn is considered a regular at tournaments in Russia, where our professionals often play. But, as they say, friendship is friendship, and on the court there are enemies! If you wish, you can watch the Friday game Sorochinsky-Tuomi for 9-16 places live thanks to the Internet broadcast. Preliminarily, the start of the match is on May 25, at 10:45 am ET (thanks to Natalia Afanasyeva for the timely information)
Then we turn to the guys who lost their games in the first round - fortunately, the format of the tournament provides for a fight for each separate place. Remember, we already mentioned that just a year ago the best result was the result called "23rd place". It was then taken by Konstantin Rybalchenko. So, losing in the first round to Dutchman Frank Hartkoren, the captain of the Ukrainian national team out of anger defeated Russian Sergey Belyaev the next day - 3: 0 (11: 6, 11: 6, 11: 3), having achieved the right to fight for 17-24 places ... True, then Konstantin lost to the Czech Ondrej Uherke - 0: 3 (5:11, 9:11, 8:11), but just look at the detailed score of this game and imagine what kind of fight it was!
Now Rybalchenko will be cut for 21-24 places. Denis Podvorny will also play here - and there is already a chance that the grid will bring our players together in full-time play. Podvorny was a little more fortunate - he rested in the morning. But this rest, as it turned out, came out sideways, because in the evening one of the seeded players was waiting for him, and if Denis had a morning charge in the form of a meeting with someone weaker, there would be more chances of winning. Without such a tonic charge, the game against the extremely strong Piedro Schweertman (remember, the Dutchman came to Kiev and was a finalist of the 1st Ukrainian Squash Open challenger organized by the Petroholding Squash Club?) Could initially have been considered unsuccessful. Nevertheless, Denis was able to provide high-quality resistance to the opponent, even though the outcome of the battle turned out to be disappointing for our player - 0: 3 (1:11, 7:11, 9:11).
Let us ask you to pay attention to the game score again - especially the last two of them. It makes sense to talk about the character of the player - the reigning champion of Ukraine did not give up in front of a more eminent opponent, he managed to pull himself together and put out pressure. It's just that here and there the difference in the class made itself felt. Well, we can also note the absolute similarity in the score of the games against Veenink and Schweertman (both there and there: -1, -7, -9). Now Rybalchenko and Podvorny have regular meetings with old acquaintances on schedule. Only recently, twice in a couple of days, they once again tasted the taste and look of their friends from Poland. And now Marcin Karwowski and Wojciech Novis will be their direct rivals on the courts of the Finnish Tallihalli. Our players have experience of victories over the best squash players in Poland - especially since another strengthening of the image of domestic squash is at stake.
Individual European Championship 2012 (Helsinki, Finland)
1/8 finals
Boria Golan (Spain, 2) - Roman Shvets (Czech Republic, 9/16) - 3: 0 (11: 4, 11: 6, 11: 8)
Henrik Mustonen (Finland, 5/8) - Akvel Rehman (Austria, 9/16) - 3: 1 (11: 6, 9:11, 11: 2, 11: 7)
Mathieu Castagna (France, 5/8) - Daniel Mekbib (Czech Republic) - 3: 0 (11: 2, 11: 2, 12:10)
Nicholas Müller (Switzerland, 3/4) - Sebastian Veenink (9/16) - 3: 0 (11: 7, 11: 6, 11: 3)
Olli Tuominen (Finland, 3/4) - Bart Ravelli (Holland, 9/16) - 3: 1 (14:12, 5:11, 11: 3, 11: 9)
Julien Balbo (France, 5/8) - Frank Hartkoren (Holland) - 3: 1 (5:11, 11: 6, 11: 3, 11: 4)
Gregua Marsh (France, 5/8) - Mathias Tuomi (Finland, 9/16) - 3: 0 (11: 3, 11: 4, 11: 9)
Simon Rosner (Germany, 2) - Ruslan Sorochinsky (Ukraine, 9/16) - 3: 0 (11: 4, 11: 3, 11: 9)
Quarter finals
Boria Golan (Spain, 2) - Henrik Mustonen (Finland, 5/8) - 3: 0 (11: 1, 11: 5, 11: 7)
Mathieu Castagnier (France, 5/8) - Nicholas Muller (Switzerland, 3/4) - 3: 1 (11: 3, 7:11, 11: 6, 11: 4)
Olli Tuominen (Finland, 3/4) - Julien Balbo (France, 5/8) - 3: 0 (11: 7, 11: 9, 11: 8)
Simon Rosner (Germany, 2) - Gregua Marsh (France, 5/8) - 3: 2 (8:11, 8:11, 11: 4, 11: 5, 11: 4)
1/2 finals
Boria Golan (Spain, 2) - Mathieu Castagnier (France, 5/8)
Simon Rosner (Germany, 2) - Olli Tuominen (Finland, 3/4)
Individual European Championship: Day three - just as interesting and eventful
After today's morning successes Rybalchenko and Podvorny had a chance to play against each other in the framework of the continental level competitions. Friday became a day in which almost every match had its own flavor. Those squash lovers who closely followed the ups and downs of the individual European championship, and also watched its matches live, thanks to the Internet broadcasts introduced by the organizers, could have been convinced of this for a long time.
Let's start the review of this game day with the championship leaders, gradually going down the ladder.
So, the first racket of the Finnish national team Olli Tuominen (on the main photo) became the hero of the day for the native stands. One of the best Finnish squash players, with the support of his fans, managed to cope with the first seeded tournament by the German Simon Rosner. For the first time in the European Championships, the Finns can count on a player representing their country to be named the best squashist on the continent. To do this, Tuominen needs to take only one step - to cope with Borei Golan on Saturday, so far easily passing his rivals, not allowing them even a hint of winning at least one game. On the other hand, Rosner, who has recently gained good shape, looked confident enough. The only hitch was in the quarterfinals, where the German had five games to tinker with Gregua Marsh. But here it is worth considering that Marsh himself is not a bastard, and now it is not easy to beat him even to the leaders of the world rating. Moreover, I would like to note in what style Tuominena was mined over Rosner. In the first game, both opponents played very carefully, keeping the ball along the walls, using mainly the back one. Therefore, points were obtained in turn. The starting game was left to the Finn, which provoked the leader of the German national team - he began to put pressure, to attack more. But Tuominen, even if he lost the second game, kept the situation under control, realizing that the opponent would spend quite a lot of energy on this throw. The tactics paid off - for the third and fourth games, Rosner came out emotionally exhausted, having managed to take in them a total of only seven points. Does Tuominen have a chance to beat the Golan in the final and bring Finland the first ever gold in the individual European championships? Observers count. What is. In the parallel semifinals, the Spaniard coped with Mathieu Castagnier in three games, but the victory in each of them was very difficult for him. Previously, he easily overshadowed rivals - now, twice, the matter almost turned into tie-breaks. It can be seen that Golan has already started to get tired of the busy schedule of the tournament. Tuominen just needs to be able to keep as cool a head on the last day of the championship as it was on Friday.
Now to matters more mundane. On the third day, comfortable courts in Helsinki became a real arena for battles between compatriots. They fought here so that the chips flew - as if they hadn't played enough in the domestic championships. The fans did not have time to follow - here there is an overtime between the Czechs Uherka and Shvets, then there until 10:10 comes the case for the Dutchmen Raveli and Hartkoren. The five-game duel between the Frenchmen Marsh and Balbo is something in general. In general, the level of motivation went off scale for each of the participants, even if it was an ordinary fight for 27th place between the Russians Severinov and Ivanov ...
Are there not enough "highlights" for you? Keep one more - the match for 9-16 places between our Ruslan Sorochinsky and Finn Matias Tuomi. Needless to say, the difference in rating between these squash players, as well as the psychological advantage of Tuomi, who performed in front of his native tribunes. Moreover, the game, despite its not particularly high status, was held on the main glass court with video broadcast and other accompanying moments. Even after the European Team Championship, where the Ukrainian national team confidently achieved an increase in the class to the second division, Sorochinsky said that he had almost reached his optimal sports form. Before his trip to Helsinki, in a conversation with us, he confidently said that he was ready both tactically and technically for victories over players who were higher than him in the PSA rating. This was confirmed by his victory over the winner of the first two stages of the "Ukrainian Squash Tour" Konstantin Rybalchenko last weekend, which brought Ruslan the first domestic medals of this season. The only thing that worried the Ukrainian was his back, which he managed to pull in the third stage of the UST. That is why the path to the podium was so difficult then, but the final victory was all the more valuable. In general, Sorochinsky feared that at the most inopportune moment an unhealed injury could make itself felt - most likely, this is how it happened during the European Championship. In the first round, he passed Martin Shvets in one breath - but this player was not a Ukrainian rival in terms of skill level. In the 1/8 finals, he gave a fight to the seed leader Simon Rosner, to whom he is still inferior in his game. Let him lose, but he showed himself extremely well. Against Tuomi Sorochinsky also came out charged for the fight. Competently bred the Finn and the ball in the corners, constantly making him make mistakes. Those who watched the game on the Internet could have noted this themselves. Tuomi, despite the support of the public, pulled out the games with great difficulty (the first and third with a score of 11: 9, and the second he lost altogether). But then, apparently, the physiology of the Ukrainian squashist, who had been in such a tense playing rhythm for the third day already, failed. Since the fourth, final game for the final result, he simply surrendered without a fight. Often after the first or second hit on the ball Ruslan hit down, which he had never seen before, and, as a result, he was able to take only two points from the opponent ... For a snack - about the performance of Konstantin Rybalchenko and Denis Podvorny.
The victories of Ukrainian squash players over Polish players have long been a talk of the town, and recently they have completely set the teeth on edge. Poland, which has several times more good squash courts than the whole of Ukraine taken together, holding many times more domestic tournaments, is constantly inferior to us as soon as it comes to sorting things out directly on the court. Only a month ago, we bombed the Poles twice at the European Team Championship, and a couple of weeks before that we dealt with them at a "get-together" in Warsaw. Yes, and in past meetings with Polish players at tournaments of any level, Ukrainians proved the superiority of our squash school. As a result, the representatives of this country are almost shaking under the skin as soon as they imagine that they will again go to the same court with our players. In matches for 21-24 places, Podvorny and Rybalchenko in three sets dealt with Karvovski and Novish, respectively. Moreover, we recall that Novish is a multiple champion of Poland, the leader of its national team, but he was also able to fight the captain of the Petroholding Squash Club in only one game party. And here we again return to the battles of compatriots on foreign courts in the framework of the strongest in the status of the world championships. The current winner of the Ukrainian Cup against the current champion of our country.
The 21st and 22nd places of the European Championship are exactly behind our country. And in the match, the Poles played for slightly less high places. Can't you find some analogies with the team championship in Malta?
Individual European Championship 2012 (Helsinki, Finland)
Games of the third game day (May 25)
Matches for 25-28 places
Janne Järvinen (Finland) - Dmitry Ivanov (Russia) - 3: 0 (11: 1, 11: 2, 11: 3)
Jaakko Vahyamaa (Finland) - Alexey Severinov (Russia) - 3: 0 (11: 9, 11: 1, 11: 9)
Matches for 21-24 places
Denis Podvorny (Ukraine) - Marcin Karwowski (Poland) - 3: 0 (11: 6, 11: 5. 12:10)
Konstantin Rybalchenko (Ukraine, 9/16) - Wojciech Nowish (Poland) - 3: 0 (11: 2, 12:10, 11: 6)
Matches for 17-20 places
Piedro Schweertman (Holland, 9/16) - Tatu Knuutila (Finland) - 3: 0 (11: 3, 11: 3, 11: 3)
Ondrej Uherka (Czech Republic) - Martin Shvets (Czech Republic) - 3: 0 (11: 6, 11: 8, 12:10)
Matches for 9-16 places
Akvel Rehman (Austria, 9/16) - Roman Shvets (Czech Republic, 9/16) - 3: 0 (11: 7, 11: 6, 11: 8)
Sebastian Veenink (Holland, 9/16) - Daniel Mekbib (Czech Republic) - 3: 1 (6:11, 11: 3, 11: 5, 11: 3)
Bart Ravelli (Holland, 9/16) - Frank Hartkoren (Holland) - 3: 0 (11: 5, 11: 4, 12:10)
Matias Tuomi (Finland, 9/16) - Ruslan Sorochinsky (Ukraine, 9/16) - 3: 1 (11: 9, 8:11, 11: 9, 11: 2)
Matches for 13-16 places
Roman Shvets (Czech Republic, 9/16) - Daniel Mekbib (Czech Republic) - 3: 0 (refusal)
Frank Hartkoren (Holland) - Ruslan Sorochinsky (Ukraine, 9/16) - 3: 0 (11: 4, 11: 4, 11: 2)
Matches for 9-12 places
Sebastian Veenink (Holland, 9/16) - Aquel Rehman (Austria, 9/16) - 3: 0 (11: 6, 11: 8, 11: 9)
Bart Ravelli (Holland, 9/16) - Mathias Tuomi (Finland, 9/16) - 3: 0 (11: 4, 11: 3, 11: 4)
Matches for 5-8 places
Nicholas Müller (Switzerland, 3/4) - Henrik Mustonen (Finland, 5/8) - 3: 1 (9:11, 11: 3, 11: 5, 11: 8)
Gregua Marsh (France, 5/8) - Julien Balbo (France, 5/8) - 3: 2 (11: 6, 11: 5, 9:11, 1:11, 11: 5)
1/2 finals
Boria Golan (Spain, 2) - Mathieu Castagier (France, 5/8) - 3: 0 (11: 8, 11: 9, 11: 4)
Olli Tuominen (Finland, 3/4) - Simon Rosner (Germany, 1) - 3: 1 (11: 9, 6:11, 11: 3, 11: 4)
Final matches for places
Match for 27th place
Alexey Severinov (Russia) - Dmitry Ivanov (Russia) - 3: 0 (11: 4, 11: 7, 12:10)
Match for 25th place
Jaakko Vahyamaa (Finland) - Janne Järvinen (Finland) - 3: 1 (11: 6, 10:12, 11: 8, 11: 3)
Match for 23rd place
Wojciech Nowisz (Poland) - Marcin Karwowski (Poland) - 3: 0 (11: 8, 12:10, 11: 9)
Match for 21st place
Konstantin Rybalchenko (Ukraine, 9/16) - Denis Podvorny (Ukraine) - 3: 1 (8:11, 11: 7, 11: 3, 11: 6)
Individual European Championship: Europe has new champions, Ukrainians are making history
Tuominen and Serme are winners of the 2012 European Individual Championship. And Ukrainian players occupy the highest places in the history of domestic squash. On the last day of squash madness in Helsinki, the final table of the current continental championship was fully formed. With the support of his native tribunes, Finn Olli Tuominen brought the first title of such a major competition for his country, having managed to knock out another favorite, Boria Golan, in the final after the first racket of the Simon Rosner tournament.
Just in case, let us remind you that in the preview for this tournament there was a list of the best players of the past championships. Then you might have noticed that in 2006 Golan was the finalist of the European Forum, losing only to Gregory Goltier in the decisive match. With the fact that the Frenchman had just withdrawn from the championship a couple of days before the start of the 2012 championship, only Rosner, who was eliminated in the semifinals, was higher than the Spaniard in the current PSA rating. Given the ambitions of Golan, who still wants to achieve the title, from which he was only one step away six years ago, it is clear that he could oppose Bore Tuominen not only with a selfless game, but also here a charge of energy that his family should have asked him tribunes. They helped the Finn to get together so much that at the decisive moments the rival from Spain was nervous and did not have time to deliver the decisive blow. Tuominen probably showed his best game that he was capable of. Already in the first game, he pulled ahead with a score of 8: 5, allowed himself to rest, allowing Golan to catch up with him, and then won the game with three clear draws. This took a lot of strength from the leader of the Finnish national team, because in the second game he played slightly worse than the Spaniard. But, yielding in the course of the meeting with a score of 5: 9, he, urged on by his fans, got back together and, having won six points in a row, did not allow his opponent to realize the game ball. Well, in the third game Tuominen continued his tactics of playing strikes a centimeter above the danua line, exhausting Golan in full. This play of nerves, balancing on the brink of a foul, as well as the fact that he had already lost two games, led to the fact that the Spaniard simply lost his confidence. As a result, he simply passed the third batch, and with it presented Finland with the first gold medals in its history. “To be honest, I didn't even believe that I would ever be able to win the individual European championship. And this year too, ”said happy Olli Tuominen after the match. By the way, for him this triumph was the first in 15 years, since he celebrated the victory at the continental championship among juniors (by the way, also held in Finland).
- “The last victory gave a good emotional boost to play stronger and stronger this season. I will have a good training period in the summer and I hope I will be able to confirm my title of champion. " Bronze was won by the first seeded Simon Rosner - sensational Frenchman Mathieu Castagnier was only enough to get to the semifinals, but, to be honest, he was happy with this achievement too. The name of the new European champion sounded, by the way, in the women's category - for the first time in her career, the Frenchwoman Camille Serme became him. However, if we take into account the last minute withdrawal of the three-time European champion Jenny Duncalf from the tournament, as well as the fact that Serme played in the final of the previous championship with Natalie Greenham, whom she finally beat now, the success of the Frenchwoman fades somewhat before the achievement of her colleague in men's squash workshop from Finland. Unless, for the Ukrainian fans, its success may be interesting because the brother of Camille Luca Serme played for the Petroholding Squash Club team at the European Club Championship last year.
And now about the Ukrainians: our players had a day off on Saturday, so they could fully concentrate on watching the games of the continent's strongest players, gaining experience visually. As you know, the match for 21 places between Konstantin Rybalchenko and Denis Podvorny took place the night before. Ruslan Sorochinsky also got time to rest - his rival in the game for 15th place, Czech Daniel Mekbib, withdrew from the tournament immediately after losing the matches for 9-16th places.
So the Ukrainian won the 15th position in the standings ahead of schedule. We would like to remind you once again that our players had never climbed higher than 23rd place before. Now Sorochinsky is 15th (instead of last year's 25th place), Rybalchenko - 21st (Euro 2011 - 23rd), Podvorny - 22nd (previously he was on the 29th line of the standings). This already speaks of the progress that our squashists have achieved in just a year of intensive training. As well as about raising domestic squash in general - after all, without this such a result, the best players of the Petroholding Squash Club could hardly have achieved.
And such a successful trip to Helsinki will only become a new incentive to celebrate an increasing number of victories at high-level tournaments and thereby set an example of the growing change of Ukrainian squash.
Individual European Championship 2012 (Helsinki, Finland)
Games of the fourth game day (May 26)
Match for 19th place
Martin Shvets (Czech Republic) - Tatu Knuutila (Finland) - 3: 2 (7:11, 11: 8, 6:11, 11: 6, 11: 6)
Match for 17th place
Piedro Schweertman (Holland, 9/16) - Ondrej Uherka (Czech Republic) - 3: 0 (11: 3, 11: 6, 11: 7)
Match for 13th place
Frank Hartkoren (Holland) - Roman Shvets (Czech Republic, 9/16) - 3: 0 (11: 3, 11: 9, 11: 7)
11th place match
Akvel Rehman (Austria, 9/16) - Mathias Tuomi (Finland, 9/16) - 3: 0 (11: 7, 16:14, 12:10)
Match for 9th place
Sebastian Veenink (Holland, 9/16) - Bart Ravelli (Holland, 9/16) - 3: 0 (11: 9, 11: 6, 11: 9)
7th place match
Henrik Mustonen (Finland, 5/8) - Julien Balbo (France, 5/8) - 3: 0 (11: 8, 11: 7, 11: 9)
5th place match
Nicholas Müller (Switzerland, 3/4) - Gregua Marsh (France, 5/8) - 3: 2 (17:19, 11: 9, 11: 6, 3:11, 11: 4)
Match for 3rd place
Simon Rosner (Germany, 1) - Mathieu Castagne (France, 5/8) - 3: 1 (6:11, 11: 7, 13:11, 11: 7)
The final
Olli Tuominen (Finland, 3/4) - Boria Golan (Spain, 2) - 3: 0 (11: 8, 11: 9, 11: 3)
Final position
Olli Tuominen (Finland)
Boria Golan (Spain)
Simon Rosner (Germany)
….
Ruslan Sorochinsky (Ukraine)
….
Konstantin Rybalchenko (Ukraine)
Denis Podvorny (Ukraine)
..
Sergey Belyaev (Russia).