A partnership assembled just six weeks ago delivered one of the standout upsets of the doubles draw in Cluj-Napoca, as Italy's Danilo Faso and Türkiye's Görkem Öçal fought back from two games down to eliminate second-seeded Romanians Iulian Chirita and Andrei Istrate 3-2, with a scoreline of 8-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7. The victory books their place in the quarterfinal and announces a new combination as a genuine medal contender. For the home crowd, it was a painful early exit for a pair who had been among the favourites to go deep in the competition.
The improbable nature of the result is sharpened by the backstory behind it. Faso and Öçal had never played as a doubles team before this tournament - the partnership was agreed roughly a month and a half before they arrived in Romania, on Öçal's initiative. Table tennis doubles at the elite youth level demands chemistry built over time, which makes their immediate effectiveness all the more striking. Fans who follow the sport closely and track results through platforms such as a billiard betting site will appreciate just how difficult it is for a freshly formed pair to topple a seeded combination with home advantage on the line. "We decided to play together about a month and a half ago. Görkem asked me and I said yes, I would like to. Now we are very happy because we are doing very well," said Faso after the match.
The match itself followed a narrative arc that will be familiar to anyone who has watched sport at its most compelling. Chirita and Istrate were the better side in the opening exchanges, controlling the first two games with a commanding authority that must have felt like confirmation of their seeding. Faso and Öçal were off the pace, unable to impose their rhythm. But rather than retreat into caution, the pair found something in their communication. "We were 2-0 down and we were not playing at our level," Öçal said. "They were playing well, but we were not playing very well. Then we started to tell each other, 'Come on, we can do it, we have to fight for this match.' We started very well in each of the next games, leading 3-0, and that helped a lot." Three straight games followed, each won with composure, and the upset was complete.
Rivals Turned Partners: A Rivalry Rewritten
What gives this result a particular depth is the competitive history between the two men on the same side of the table. At the European Youth Championships the previous year, Faso and Öçal met not once but three times - in the Under 15 Singles final, the Doubles final, and the Team event final between Italy and Türkiye. Faso won all three. That kind of concentrated head-to-head record, across multiple formats at a major championship, typically defines athletes as rivals for a generation. Instead, the two chose to convert that competitive edge into a collaborative one, and the results in Cluj-Napoca suggest the bet has paid off immediately.
Eyes on a Medal: Focused Before the Draw Was Even Played
The pair were under no illusions about the draw. Being placed against the second seeds from the outset was not the gentle introduction any new partnership might have wished for, and Faso admitted as much. "When we saw the draw, we were not very happy, but before the match we were very focused. We wanted to beat them because after that we would have a chance to fight for medals," he said. That mindset - acknowledging difficulty without being paralysed by it - is evident in how they navigated the match when it was at its most precarious.
With a quarterfinal place secured, Faso and Öçal now have exactly the opportunity they targeted. Whether a partnership forged in under two months can sustain this level against opponents who will have studied the upset closely remains the central question. But the mental resilience they showed against Chirita and Istrate, and the fact that two players who know each other's game intimately from the other side of the net are now reading the game together, suggests they will not be a comfortable opponent for anyone left in the draw.