HURSEY wins Junior Girls Bronze at European Youth Championships
I’n Gliwice, Poland, Anna Hursey becomes the first Welsh athlete to win a singles medal at the European Youth Championships for 25 years following in the footsteps of Adam Robertson who won silver back in the late 90’s.
Hursey, one of the seeds for the event, stormed her way into the last 16 with two 4-0 victories over Nomin Baasan (SWE) in the last 64 and Sara Tokic (SLO) in the last 32.
Credit – ETTU Photography
The last 16 encounter saw Hursey fall behind 1-0 against Ines Matos (POR) before rallying back to a 3-1 lead. Matos fought hard to take the 5th set but Hursey was too strong and moved into the quarter final with a 4-2 victory.
The quarter final saw Hursey up against the home crowd as she played Anna Bryzska of Poland. The early stages of the match swung back and forth with Bryzska winning the 1st set before Hursey turned it around to go 2-1 up. The Polish athlete didn’t go down with out a fight pulling the match back to 2-2 but a strong performance from Hursey saw her take the 5th and 6th sets to win 4-2 and move into the semi final.
Credit – ETTU Photography
The semi final consisted of 3 Romanians, Elena Zaharia, Bianca Mei Rosu and Ioana Singeorzan, and 1 Welsh athlete in Hursey. It was Singeorzan who Hursey played in the final 4.
A nail biting semi final saw Hursey take the first set 17-15 and the second set 14-12 to take a 2-0 lead. Singeorzan took the third 12-10 before Hursey retained her two set lead winning the fourth 11-8. The 5th set saw the start of a fight back from the Romanian winning 11-8 and then 11-5 in the 6th set leaving the match poised at 3-3. The marathon match has the crowd on the edge of their seats but this time it was Singeorzan who came out on top taking the set 11-9 and the match 4-3.
Credit – ETTU Photography
Anna Hursey
“I’m extremely proud to win a medal for Wales in this Europeans championships. I am a little bit disappointed to lose out on two medals in doubles but glad to have bounced back and won a medal in singles. I want to say thank you so much to everyone who supported me”
National Coach Stephen Jenkins
“This achievement is very special and I am so proud of Anna for her fight and determination throughout the competition. She is the first Welsh female to win a singles medal at these championships and that shows just how hard this competition is. I know this is only the beginning and a stepping stone in her career”
