At the European Table Tennis Championships two years ago, Källberg and Karlsson reached the quarterfinals and missed out on a medal by the narrowest of margins. This time, there was no such disappointment.
The Portuguese pair João Geraldo and Mariana Santa were beaten in the quarterfinals in straight sets, 13–11, 11–7, 11–2. For Stina Källberg, the victory in Ljubljana meant even more.
So much fun, especially when we were so close to winning a medal at the last European Championships. So I’ve really been yearning for this medal. It feels so damn good, she tells SVT.
“Fantastically good”
Since there is no bronze medal match, at least one bronze medal is already secured ahead of the semifinal, which will be played at lunchtime on Thursday. But it could be even better if the Swedish pair continue to play equally great table tennis.
These last two matches have been fantastic, Kristian Karlsson tells SVT.
The French pair Alexis Lebrun and Charlotte Lutz await in the semifinals.
“We met at China Smash a week or so ago and lost a very tough match. We have a game that can carry us all the way,” Källberg tells TT.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kristian Karlsson, paired with Stina Källberg’s brother Anton, had to work harder in the men’s doubles round of 16. But the Swedish pair eventually won 11–9, 9–11, 11–8, 15–13 against Marcos Freitas and Tiago Apolonia.
The Portuguese had four set points in the fourth set to force a decider, but Karlsson and Källberg saved all of them and then won on their second match point.
Second seeds Dang Qiu and Benedikt Duda of Germany await in the quarterfinals.
Ranefur/Möregårdh knocked out
The newly formed pair of Elias Ranefur and Truls Möregårdh were knocked out by Esteban Dorr and Florian Bourrassaud. The Swedes won the first set, but the French then took three straight sets for a 3–1 victory.
We are doing the best we can with the few conditions we have been given, Möregårdh tells SVT.
Stina Källberg and Filippa Bergand are also out of the women’s doubles, after losing 1–3 to Germany’s Nina Mittelham and Annett Kaufmann.
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