Austria's women create World Cup semi-final-medal after 22 years!

Austria's women create World Cup semi-final-medal after 22 years!

Doha, Katar - On May 23, 2025, Sofia Polcanova and Bernadette Szöcs achieved a remarkable performance at the table tennis world championship in Doha. The Austrian women's duo has reached the semi-finals in the women's double competition and thus secured a medal. With this success they ended a 22-year dry spell for the Austrian table tennis association, which most recently won a title at a World Cup in 2003 by Werner Schlager. The joy of this triumph is great for both the players and the officials.

in the crucial semi -finals, Polcanova and Szöcs prevailed against German pairing Wan Yuan and Sabine Winter 3-1. The crucial point that secured the entry into the final fell at the fourth match ball at 12:10. ÖTTV delegation chief Jarek Kolodziejczyk noted that the nervousness of the inexperienced Wan Yuan was an advantage for the Austrian duo. He also mentioned an important time-out that team boss Zhang Jie took after a mistake from Polcanova to stabilize the game.

The way to the final

The final will be an exciting challenge for Polcanova and Szöcs who meet the strong South Koreans Shin Yubin and Ryu Hanna. After the semi -finals, the two Austrian players are full of confidence and willing to defend their medal against the formidable competition. ÖTTV Vice President Liu Jia was proud of the medal win and emphasized that the trip of the duo was not yet over.

For the table tennis association Austria (ÖTTV), this is not only a victory, but also a sign of the future of table tennis sports. The newly sparked optimism could be a wave of motivation for future athletes and athletes who strive for similar success. It remains to be seen how the final fight against the South Koreans goes out, but this result is already one of the most important in the history of the Austrian table tennis.