Helsingborg. It couldn’t be any closer: Josi Neumann has the upper hand in a 4-3 win against the Portuguese Julia Leal and is in the round of 16 in the U15 girls’ singles. Teammate Koharu Itagaki was also successful in the morning.
Everything was set for an exciting match in the Helsingborg Arena. In the race: Josephina Neumann and Julia Leal. The Bundesliga player from ttc berlin eastside had already met the Portuguese twice on the international stage. At the Europe Youth Top 10 in Bucharest last year, Neumann won quite clearly with 4:1 and ended up in fifth place. Just a few weeks later, both met again at the WTT Youth Star Contender in Leal’s home country. This time the clear result: 3-0 for the Portuguese. The previous 1:1 score already gave an initial indication of what to expect in Helsingborg in the morning – Neumann and Leal ensured one of the most exciting matches of the tournament so far. Leal took the lead in the first set and secured an 11:9 victory after an interim 8:8. Then Neumann equalized, and in the third set it was already an absolute neck-and-neck race: from the score of 5:5, neither of the two took the lead by more than one point, and Leal only won well into the extra set 15:13. The 14-year-old German’s answer followed promptly with two victorious sentences. Only after the 3:3 equalizer – the individual competition is played according to the best-of-7 format – did Neumann gain a lead at the end of the final set, ultimately winning 11:6. The team bronze medalist is already one round further than at last year’s Youth World Championships in Nova Gorica. At that time she was defeated by the Korean Yoo Yerin in the round of 32. “Josis’ game was a dramatic marathon,” commented national coach Jie Schöpp. Leal was an unpleasant opponent and the victory took energy.
Opening victory for Itagaki too
The second game for the U15 girls with German participation also ended on a positive note in the morning. Koharu Itagaki met the Uzbek Asel Erkebaeva, it was a new edition of a game that had only taken place last Friday. At the start of the team competition, the TSV Dachau player had already met Erkebaeva and won 3-1. The result was clearer on Tuesday: 14-year-old Itagaki won confidently in four sets against her opponent and is now also in the round of 16. “Koharu didn’t give her opponent many chances,” commented the national coach. She achieved a confident victory.
Now we look forward. “We have to look from round to round,” says Schöpp. Josi Neumann will face Poland’s Katarzyna Rajkowska in the round of 16, while Itagaki will have to play against the winner of the game between Sweden’s Siri Benjegard and Loy Ming Ying from Singapore.
The voices about the game:
Schopp: “Josi’s game was a dramatic marathon. The tension lasted until the last point. Julia Leal is a very unpleasant opponent for Josi and it took a lot of strength to achieve victory. Koharu didn’t give her opponent many chances and won confidently. “
The games on Tuesday:
U15, girls singles, 1st round (32)
Josephina Neumann – Julia Leal BY 4:3 (-9.7,-13,9,7,-8.6)
Koharu Itagaki – Asel Erkebaeva UZB 4:0 (7,9,4,4)
U19, girls singles, 1st round (32)
Annett Kaufmann – Anna Hursey WAL 3 p.m., table 1
Mia Griesel – Giulia Takahashi BRA 8.15 p.m., table 2
U19, boys singles, 1st round (23)
Andre Bertelsmeier – Simeon Martin CAN 6 p.m., table 2
Links
To the WTT live stream on YouTube
Draws and results on the WTT homepage
The DTTB squad at the Youth World Championships in Helsingborg (November 22nd to 29th)
U19, girls
Team: Mia Griesel (ttc berlin eastside), Eireen Kalaitzidou (TuS Uentrop), Annett Kaufmann (SV DJK Kolbermoor), Lorena Morsch (TSV Langstadt)
Singles: Annett Kaufmann, Mia Griesel
Doubles: Annett Kaufmann/Anna Hursey WAL, Mia Griesel/Mariam Younes ONE
U19, boys
Individual: Andre Bertelsmeier (1. FC Köln)
Doubles: Andre Bertelsmeier/Amirmahdi Keshavarzi IRI
U19, Mixed
Andre Bertelsmeier/Mia Griesel
U15, girls
Team: Koharu Itagaki (individual game: TSV Bad Königshofen/team game: TSV Dachau), Josephina Neumann (TV Okarben/ttc berlin eastside), Elisa Nguyen (TTV Ettlingen/DJK Sportbund Stuttgart), Lisa Wang (1. FC Saarbrücken-TT/TTK Anröchte)
Einzel: Koharu Itagaki, Josephina Neumann
Doppel: Koharu Itagaki/Josephina Neumann
U15, Mixed
Josephina Neumann/Steven Moreno PUR, Koharu Itagaki/Samuel Michna POL
Supervisor
Lara Broich (national coach, junior squad 1, U19), Jie Schöpp (national coach, junior squad 2, U15), Dustin Gesinghaus (national coach, junior squad 1, U19), Tamara Boros (women’s national coach)
Physiotherapists
Birgit Schmidt (OSP Hesse)
Sports management
Richard Prause (Board of Sports)
Representative of the Presidium
Ralf Tresselt (DTTB Vice President Youth)
Organizational management
Carina Beck (young competitive sports representative)
**How does Jie Schöpp’s coaching approach contribute to the success of young German table tennis players like Josephina Neumann and Koharu Itagaki?**
## Interview: Young German Table Tennis Stars Shine at Youth World Championships
**Interviewer:** Welcome to World Today News! Today we have the pleasure of discussing the exciting performances of young German table tennis players at the Youth World Championships in Helsingborg. Joining us are **Jie Schöpp**, National Coach for the Junior Squad 2 (U15), and **[Insert name of qualified journalist/expert]** to provide further expert analysis.
**Part 1: Thrilling Victories and Dramatic Matches**
**Interviewer:** Coach Schöpp, Josephina Neumann’s match against Julia Leal was described as a ”dramatic marathon.” Can you elaborate on what made this match so intense and what strategies Neumann employed to secure the victory?
**Jie Schöpp:**
**Interviewer:** [Qualified Journalist/Expert], from a technical perspective, what stood out to you about Neumann’s performance? Did Leal’s strategy pose any particular challenges, and how did Neumann overcome them?
**[Qualified Journalist/Expert]:**
**Interviewer:** Koharu Itagaki also had a convincing win against Asel Erkebaeva. What aspects of Itagaki’s game contributed to her confident performance, and how important is this victory for her progression in the tournament?
**Jie Schöpp:**
**Part 2: Looking Ahead: Challenges and Aspirations**
**Interviewer:** Coach Schöpp, both Neumann and Itagaki are now in the Round of 16. What are your expectations for their upcoming matches, and what kind of opponents are they likely to face?
**Jie Schöpp:**
**Interviewer:** [Qualified Journalist/Expert], how do these early victories in singles play impact the German team’s overall performance and morale?
**[Qualified Journalist/Expert]:**
**Interviewer:** what advice would you give to these young athletes as they continue their journey at the Youth World Championships?
**Jie Schöpp:**
**Part 3: Inspiring the Next Generation**
**Interviewer:** This tournament is not only a showcase of young talent but also an opportunity to inspire the next generation of table tennis players.
**[Qualified Journalist/Expert],** What message do these performances send to aspiring young athletes in Germany?
**[Qualified Journalist/Expert]:**
**Interviewer:** Thank you both for sharing your insights and analysis. The performances of Josephina Neumann and Koharu Itagaki are truly inspiring, and we wish them the best of luck in the remainder of the tournament.
**[End Interview]**
