The MEVZA U18 Championship officially got underway on Wednesday in Portorož, with teams from across Central Europe opening their European Championship qualification campaigns in both the men’s and women’s tournaments. The first day of competition featured group stage matches across four pools, with several exciting encounters and strong performances setting the tone for the days ahead.
In the men’s tournament, Czech pair Novotny/Votava opened Pool D with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Slovenia’s Zohar/Storman before later securing first place in the pool with a straight-sets win against Slovakia’s Kalma/Skripen.
Pool A saw convincing performances from Slovakia’s Hunady/Kalma and Czech duo Jerabek/Brodsky, while Israeli top seeds Gozlan/Khlopontov suffered a surprising opening-day defeat.
Croatia’s Lozancic/Vidovic and Israel’s Yasilyev/Samilevich advanced from Pool B, while Austria’s Blok/Reischl and Slovenia’s Zrnko/Hrast secured qualification spots from Pool C.
The women’s tournament also delivered several closely contested matches. Croatian pair Sos/Biuk topped Pool B after victories against Czech duo Rosi/Cervinkova and Israel’s Nahshoni/AMOSI.
In Pool D, Slovenia’s Strle/Kucler opened the tournament with a hard-fought three-set win over Hungarian pair Kis/Muranyi, before the Hungarians bounced back later in the day to defeat Slovakia’s Graffingerova/Mackovich.
Hungarian favourites Honti-Majoros/Padar started strongly in Pool A with a pair of dominant wins, while Czech duo Sebova/Mifkova impressed in Pool C by winning both of their opening matches in straight sets.
The tournament continues on Thursday with the remaining pool matches and quarterfinal action scheduled in Portorož, as teams continue battling for spots at the European Championship.
