He won three gold medals at the European Youth Championships (EYC) in Ostrava in July. compass now supports Danilo Faso’s move to Palermo, where he will establish a new base for further development.

“I am eager to continue my learning process as a table tennis player, and Palermo feels like home to me.”

At last year’s EYC in Malmö, Danilo performed exceptionally well in the team competition and was in a strong position in the singles quarter-finals, but suddenly lost his energy and the opportunity to win gold.

Not so this year, though. In Ostrava, he maintained his performance throughout, winning the team event again and subsequently the singles and doubles events in the U15 category.

“In Malmö, I was a year younger than many of my opponents. In Ostrava, it was my last year in the U15 category,” Danilo explains over the phone. “That made my way to the final rounds much easier. I didn’t expend much energy, and I won the matches quite comfortably.”

Danilo did not lose a single game in the singles event until the finals, where he defeated Piotr Lacki of Poland in the quarter-finals and Jonas Rinderer of Germany in the semi-finals. However, the final against Görkem Öcal, who is one year younger and also supported by compass, was tough:

“I lost the first game 9:11, which upset me a bit. During the break, I didn’t feel very good. But then I won 11:8 and 11:1 very easily and felt I had a good opportunity to win. The important thing was that I started to play more with my forehand.”

The fourth game was crucial. Görkem was 5:1 up, but Danilo managed to turn the tables by winning 11:9.

“Then I got temporarily tired and lost the fifth 5:11, but I recovered well in the next, which I won 11:4. Becoming the U15 European singles champion felt very nice indeed!”

Italy were the defending champions and favourites in the team event. They never seemed likely to miss out on a second consecutive title, even though Turkey put up quite a strong fight in the final. Kenan Kahraman put up a good fight against Italy’s Francesco Trevisan in the first match, and both he and Görkem won the doubles. Görkem was leading against Danilo 8:4 in the fourth game of the final singles match when Italy was up 2:1. However, Danilo won the fourth game against Görkem, securing the title for Italy with a final score of 3:1.

The doubles with Francesco went more smoothly.

“We have played together so often and know each other very well, both on and off the table. We only lost two games in the whole tournament and played well.”

In the final, they played against a very young team – compass-supported Ladimir Mayorov (born 2013) and Louis Fegerl from Austria – winning 11:9, 11:9, 11:7.

Back in Italy, Danilo’s three gold medals caused quite a stir, even outside table tennis circles. The local papers and the Italian federation wrote about it, of course, but so did the well-known, nationwide Tutto Sport. So, the performance in Ostrava attracted attention in Italy.

“I have also received many kind messages on my phone.”

Occasionally, the WhatsApp call breaks during our conversation. The reason for this is that the Faso family have been moving into a new home for the past week, and the internet has not yet been installed there. The house is in Palermo, where the family will establish a new base mainly to improve Danilo’s environment and support his development in table tennis. After two years at the centre in Terni, he is happy to be back in Palermo, which he regards as ‘his’ city since the family lived there for three years when he was between eight and eleven years old.

“First of all, we want to create a stable home for Danilo, since we moved around a lot before,” says Marco Faso, Danilo’s father. Marco coaches Danilo at international tournaments and takes care of the organisation around his son.

Danilo’s mother, Yuliya Markova, will coach at the local club while Marco focuses on Danilo. The international airport is 20 minutes away and will be used frequently:

“Danilo is away at international tournaments and training camps for around 120 days a year. The rest of the time, we will try to organise things as well as possible here in Palermo. The French coach, Fatah Ourahmoune, will work with Danilo, and he will bring sparring partners too. We will also bring in sparring partners from Italy and elsewhere, so the setup is more tailored to Danilo’s individual needs than before. This would not have been possible without the support of compass, Tibhar and the Italian Federation.”

So, what will the main focus of the training be this autumn?

‘I’m trying to stay close to the table and play more aggressively,’ Danilo answers.

Danilo uses the Spinsight app to develop his serving game. The app uses software to trace the speed and spin of the ball via any mobile camera.

“It’s a great tool. I set myself goals, such as achieving maximum downspin in my serves. Then I try out different techniques and the app tells me how much downspin I’m getting.”

And what does your day look like when you’re not playing table tennis?

“I study at an online school. My favourite subjects are English, Italian and geography. I play with my sister, meet friends, listen to music and watch TV.”

Do you watch table tennis as well?

“Yes, I do. My favourite player is Harimoto. I like his attitude, with all the screams, but most of all I like the way he plays – staying close to the table and playing very fast.”