Athletes of the Week: Bernadette Szőcs and Eduard Ionescu
A Romanian pair dominated the mixed doubles at the international table tennis tournament in Chennai, India
Florin Orban, 17.02.2026, 13:45
The Romanian table tennis started off on the right foot this year. In early February Bernadette Szőcs became finalist at Europa Top 16 in Montreux. Then last week this valuable athlete together with Eduard Ionescu won the mixed doubles contest of the international tournament in Chennai, India. For their latest performance, Radio Romania International has designated Bernadette and Eduard Athletes of the Week.
The contest in Chennai brought together the world’s best table tennis players. In the singles contests dominated by the Asian players both in terms of participation and in value, the Romanians didn’t stand a chance to make it to the finals. Andreea Dragoman obtained the best Romanian result in the women’s contest as she made it to the quarter finals while Bernadette Szőcs stopped in the round of 32. Eduard Ionescu got the best Romanian result in the men’s contest, but was eliminated in the eighth finals. Bernadette and Eduard got their revenge in the mixed doubles where the Romanian pair was seeded second.
The match in the first round proved to be the most difficult for the two Romanians as they had to defeat Koreans Cho Daeseong and Joo Cheonhui. Then in the quarter finals they outperformed the Indian pair Anirban Ghosh / Anusha Kutumbale 3-0. In the semis the Romanians secured a 3-1 win against Oh Jonsung of South Korea and Miyu Nagasaki of Japan. In the finals, the Romanians clinched a 3-0 win against the Indian pair Harmeet Desai / Yashaswini Ghorpade.
Bernadette Szőcs was born on March 5, 1995, in Târgu Mureș, central Transylvania and took up table tennis at the age of 8. She obtained her first major result in 2016, a third position at the European Championships in Budapest in the mixed doubles together with Ovidiu Ionescu. She was European champion twice with the Romanian side and in the women’s doubles together with Sofia Polcanova of Austria. At the Paris Olympics two years ago she ranked fifth in the mixed doubles together with Ovidiu Ionescu.
Eduard Ionescu is from Buzău, eastern Romania, and he was born on November 9, 2004. In 2022 and 2023 he was European champion in junior competitions. He is playing for Saarbrücken Tischtennis in the German championships, with which in 2024 he won the Champions League. In his first Olympic Games in Paris 2024, he was eliminated in the competition’s second round.
In the end we remind you that you can revisit this report on the Internet at rri.ro, as well as on Radio Romania International’s Facebook profile.
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