The German table tennis hope Annett Kaufmann secured her first medal at the European Championships in Linz. Together with Patrick Franziska (1. FC Saarbrücken), the 18-year-old reached the semi-finals of the mixed competition. Within four hours, the two first defeated the Romanian duo Bernadette Szoczs/Ovidiu Ionescu in 3-1 sets and then also defeated Liam Pitchford and Anna Hursey from Great Britain 3-0. The semi-final opponents on Friday are Sofia Polcanova and Robert Gardos from Austria.
Third place is not specifically contested at the World and European Table Tennis Championships. In the two semi-finals and the final, one gold, one silver and two bronze medal winners will be determined. For Franziska, twelfth in the world rankings, it is already the sixth World Cup or European Championship medal in doubles and mixed doubles. Kaufmann became known this year for her strong performances at the Olympic Games in Paris. The multiple European junior champion then moved to SV DJK Kolbermoor in the Bundesliga.
