Lucas Alexandre Crowned Mini European Champion
At just 12 years old, New Zealand's Lucas Alexandre has achieved something extraordinary, winning the Boys U13 title at the prestigious Euro Mini Championships in Schiltigheim, France.
Widely regarded as one of Europe's premier junior table tennis events, the tournament has previously been won by players who later became Olympic medallists and international stars, including Truls Möregårdh, Alexis Lebrun and Félix Lebrun.. Their names are proudly displayed in the tournament's Hall of Fame, alongside past champions who have progressed to the highest levels of international table tennis.
Lucas delivered an outstanding performance throughout the knockout stages, defeating:
• Telio Mendes (France) 3-0
• Florian Cambier (Belgium) 3-0
• Filip Arosell (Sweden) 3-2
• Johan Tran Van Der Ohe (France) 3-1
• Reah Krol Shahar (Israel) 3-1 in a thrilling final.
Hall of Fame
For Lucas, the tournament's Hall of Fame provided extra inspiration throughout the event.
"What motivated me was seeing the Hall of Fame at the venue. Previous champions included Truls Möregårdh, Alexis Lebrun and Félix Lebrun. It gave me special motivation to put my name on that board too."
The title continues an incredible year for the 12 year old, who earlier won the ITTF-Oceania Hopes title unbeaten and climbed to a career high World No. 8 in the ITTF U13 Boys' World Rankings, the highest ranking ever achieved by a New Zealand player in the category.
Fresh from his success in Europe, Lucas now turns his attention to the ITTF-Oceania Youth Championships in Australia.
Catch the final match from 3:54:00 and watch Lucas claim the title.