At this week's WTT Youth Contender in Vila Real, Portugal, young players are rebuilding competitive muscle after a year lost to the pandemic. In the boys' events, one nation in particular is hitting the ground running. 15-year-old Romanian Darius Movileanu (pictured) turned heads today when he won the Under 19 Boys’ Singles event. Seeded 12th, Movileanu knocked off top seed Csaba Andras of Hungary in the round of 16. After notching two more upset wins, Movileanu found himself in an all-Romanian final against Andrei Teodor Istrate, the #13 seed. While both double-digit seeds were happily surprised to be in the final, it was Movileanu who made the most of the opportunity, claiming the title in four games. "It was a very difficult tournament as we didn’t play any international competitions for more than a year," explained Movileanu. "I managed to beat one of my teammates in the final and to win against some very talented players in the previous rounds." Despite his success against the bigger kids in the Under 19 event, Movileanu could not find his way past the quarterfinals of the Under 17 Boys’ Singles. There, it was another young compatriot, one Iulian Chirita who upset the prescribed order. The sixth-seeded Chirita won the Under 17 in yet another all-Romanian final, in this event at the expense of Dragos Alexandru Bujor in straight sets. Chirita's championship came on the heels of winning the Under 15 title, an event in which he, perhaps less dramatically but no less impressively, entered as the top seed. "I’m very happy after this tournament because I have reached both finals and I’ve won not one, but the two events," marveled Chirita. "It’s an amazing feeling! I want to play in more tournaments from this series, hopefully reach the finals and win. I want to continue to surprise everyone in table tennis." With rising stars like Darius Movileanu and Iulian Chirita, Romania is poised to surprise everyone in table tennis.

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