Salamina is capturing the attention of table tennis enthusiasts nationwide for the 2024 Men’s and Women’s National Championships. Over the course of three days from Friday March 22nd to Sunday March 24th this venue with a rich tradition in Olympic sports will not only attract the best athletes competing for medals but also create a festive ambiance elevating the prestige of this esteemed institution.
With cash prizes awarded for the first time in the history of the event along with innovative features numerous benefits and concurrent activities in the social and entertainment sectors 51 male athletes and 27 female athletes will compete under excellent conditions at the indoor gym “Olympian Nikos Grammatikos” for titles in the individual events of singles doubles and mixed doubles. Additionally this year’s competition spans three days a first-time occurrence aimed at avoiding scheduling congestion with all members of our national teams present except for Panagiotis GIONIS who will be participating in the WTT Feeder II in Beirut. Continuous live streaming will be available on the gre78 channel on YouTube.
As a strong co-organizer of the HTTF the Municipality of Salamina provides significant support for these major competitions with vital assistance from sponsors in preparing various elements that enhance and elevate the Greek Championships.
A total of 78 participants from 34 clubs nationwide have registered for the event. Twenty pairs will compete in the men’s doubles twelve in the women’s doubles and twenty-two in the mixed doubles. The action kicks off tomorrow Friday at 10 a.m. with the men’s singles group stage matches.
In all singles matches up to the quarterfinals the winner will be determined by the best of five games while the semifinals and finals will be played using the best of seven games system. The doubles events will feature knockout matches from start to finish with the winning score always being 3-2 games.
Eight athletes who have previously won the national singles title at least once will be competing in Salamina. These include the reigning champion from the past two years Giannis SGOUROPOULOS two-time winner Konstantinos KONSTANTINOPOULOS Giorgos STAMATOUROS Tasos RINIOTIS Katerina TOLIOU Ioanna GERASIMATOU and Konstantina PARIDI. Additionally twelve male athletes and seven female athletes from the Greek ranking tables will bypass the qualifying groups in the singles event and advance directly to the knockout stage.
The top six favorites in the men’s singles in order are Giannis SGOUROPOULOS Konstantinos KONSTANTINOPOULOS Giorgos STAMATOUROS Tasos RINIOTIS Giorgos KONSTANTINOPOULOS and Konstantinos ANGELAKIS. In the women’s singles the corresponding favorites are Katerina TOLIOU Malamatenia PAPADIMITRIOU Elisavet TERPOU Konstantina PARIDI Ioanna GERASIMATOU and Dimitra-THOMAIS TSEKOURA.
Groundbreaking Innovation: Trophies Crafted from Repurposed Ping Pong Balls
An ingenious idea has led to a groundbreaking innovation in the league. The trophies and medals for the winners have been entirely “printed” using 3D printers with material sourced from the damaged ping pong balls collected through the Mediterra Institute’s recycling program! Over the past two years approximately a thousand broken ping pong balls (made of ABS plastic) from numerous sports clubs in Greece and Cyprus have been locally collected with Mediterra overseeing their free collection. Working in collaboration with this company EFOEPA aims to address environmental pollution caused by discarded ping pong balls after training sessions and matches which are typically disposed of in common waste.
The opening ceremony will feature an archery demonstration by the Spartakos Salamina sports club along with awards presentations for athletes and coaches luncheons for officials and club representatives and a press conference at the Salamina Municipal Hall.
Prize money of 1 000 euros will be awarded to both the men’s and women’s singles champions generously provided by Heads. Additionally for the first time in a National Championship a physiotherapist will be available offering 20-minute massage therapy sessions by appointment during the competition.
