Finland’s new table tennis hope Maria Girlea, 19, drifted into the sport as if by accident.
Maria Girlea19, was in her hometown of Bucharest, Romania, on her way to a dance class when fate intervened.
– There were no longer dance classes at that place, but there was a ping-pong hall in the same building. My mother then took me there because she wanted me to do something when I was little. It started with that, Girlea recalls to Urheilu.
Six years ago, Maria’s whole family moved to Finland to follow her mother’s job in the IT field. Adapting to the new home country was not easy for a couple of years, because the language seemed difficult and there were not many friends.
– Then in the first class I met a Romanian girl, with whom we are now best friends. He helped a lot because he knew Finnish. I knew school subjects, but in Romanian. He, on the other hand, was not so good at school subjects. Together we learn. Then I moved from Jyväskylä to Helsinki, where it was much rockier, says Girlea.
At first, Girlea was coached by her own father, with whom she still talks on the phone a lot about the sport. However, one of the reasons for moving to Helsinki was the search for better coaching.
Oppia Girle has also started to be sought out from abroad. Currently, she plays in the third league level in France and in the main league in Sweden for Spårvägens BTK, Finland’s women’s number one player by Marina Donner with. The hard games in Sweden have taken my career forward.
– It has been quite difficult this term, when there has been everything else, for example graduation essays. But compared to last year and the year before that, there has been a lot of development.
Last February, Girlea received Finnish citizenship, and at the European Championships in Linz, Austria last October, she was already able to represent Finland.
– It was a dream. I wouldn’t have thought at the beginning of last year that I would get there. It was great to see the best players and train and play with them.
In Linz, Girlea narrowly qualified for the playoffs of 64 players. At the beginning of December, at the Finlandia Open in Kisakallio, he advanced all the way to the semifinals and was the best Finnish player in the tournament.
Girlea has clear plans for the future.
– First of all, I would like to help people, teach and coach. At some point, I would like table tennis to become my profession.
One day, Maria would also like to play in the Olympics, but according to her, there is still a long way to go.
– First of all, we should go to more competitions. I haven’t been able to go to hard tournaments abroad much. And second: it requires a lot of hard work.