compass-supported Görkem Öcal won six matches and Siri Benjegård won four at the Europe Youth Top 10, which took place in Tours, France from 3rd to 5th October. This placed Görkem second among the U15 boys, while Siri finished fourth among the U15 girls. Both players have one more year left in the U15 category.

The Europe Youth Top 10 is a historic and prestigious tournament that started in 1985. Europe’s ten best U15 and U19 players gather to play each other in a round-robin tournament consisting of nine best of seven matches. After this setup, the winner can truly claim to be the best in Europe.

Two compass-supported players participated in the U15 category: Görkem Öcal from Türkiye and Siri Benjegard from Sweden. Josi Neumann from Germany and Danilo Faso from Italy were also qualified, but Josi is currently recovering from health issues, while Danilo, last year’s winner of the Europe Youth Top 10 in the U15 category and the current European U15 Champion, is preparing for the upcoming European Championships for seniors, in which he will represent Italy.

During the first of the three competition days, Görkem won all three of his matches: 4:2 against his compatriot Kenan Kahraman; 4:0 against Quentin Sandona of France; and 4:2 against Lenard Szabo of Hungary. Very good so far!

However, Görkem lost to Abraham Sellado of England in the decider of the first match on day two, with a score of 5:11. He then won against two Germans, beating Lukas Wang 4:0 and Jonas Rinderer 4:2. With five wins and one loss after two days, Görkem was one of the players who could win the tournament.

The final day also started well for Görkem as he defeated Poland’s Jan Mrugala in straight games. Then the problems started: He lost 2:4 to Mark Gergely of Hungary and 2:4 to the eventual winner, Francesco Trevisan of Italy.

“Görkem spent a few days in Ochsenhausen before the Europe Youth Top 10, and I could see how much he wanted to win the tournament,” said Bogdan Pugna, the compass expert coach based in Ochsenhausen. “He is only 14 years old and ended second, and I think this should give important and positive reflection for the future.”

Siri Benjegård of Sweden started with two wins. She defeated Europe’s number five, Renata Shypsha from Spain, 4:2, and then Europe’s number four, Patricia Stoica, in straight games. Very good so far. In the third round, Siri played a close five-game match, losing 1:4 to the third seed, Hanka Kodet.

Day two was tough for Siri, who faced both the eventual winner, Koharu Itagaki, and the runner-up, Alexia Nodin. Against Lana Benko of Croatia, Siri won two games and lost two, and was 8:5 up in the fifth, but ultimately lost 2:4.

Day three started well with a strong win over Wanessa Kulczycka of Poland (4:2). In her second match, Siri was 3:2 up against Nil Basaran of Türkye, but lost the sixth and seventh games 10:12. Siri won the final match against Mariia Lytvyn 4:2.

With four wins and five losses, Siri ended up in fourth place. This was a good result, given that she was ranked seventh going into the tournament and is the only player in the category born in 2011; all the others were one year older.

“I am very happy to have helped Siri get back into good form throughout the tournament,” said Li Fen, Siri’s coach. “She fought well in all the matches and managed to change pace and place the ball well. She also won a lot through good tactics in the matches.”

In addition to winning the gold medal in the singles event, the young Ladimir Mayorov also won a bronze medal in the mixed doubles event, partnering Enya Wu. In the round of 16, the Spanish/Swiss pair won 3:0 against Olaf Glanert and Nicol Bartoszko of Poland. They impressed in the quarterfinals by swiftly overcoming the strong French pairing of Simon Clin and Lisa Zhao. However, Ladimir and Enya’s mixed doubles campaign ended in the semifinals with a 1:3 loss to Simon Zsigmond and Zsofia Fegyver from Hungary.