Portugal’s women’s national table tennis team secured its fourth consecutive European team medal, clinching a bronze in Zadar, Croatia, despite a semifinal loss to top-ranked Germany.
The team, currently ranked fourth in Europe, was defeated 3-0 by the German squad on Saturday at the European Team Table Tennis Championship. This consistent performance builds on previous medals.
Portugal’s women’s team earned silver in Nantes in 2019, followed by bronze medals in Cluj-Napoca in 2021 and Malmö in 2023.
Earlier on Friday, the Portuguese team had already guaranteed a medal by advancing to the semifinals of the competition.
In the individual semifinal matches, Fu Yu lost to Germany’s Sabine Winter in five sets, 8-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4, 11-2. Jieni Shao was then defeated by Annett Kaufmann, with scores of 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, and 11-4. Matilde Pinto also fell to Nina Mittelham, 10-12, 11-6, 11-9, 11-8.
Both the Portuguese women’s and men’s national teams secured their qualification for the 2026 World Championship, which will be held in London, United Kingdom. This qualification was achieved on Thursday, though the men’s team exited the European tournament in the quarterfinals.