Para table tennis has its own special atmosphere teammates cheer colleagues who are playing from the very first point on the very first day but when we speak about complete experience the Andalucia 2022 World Para Table Tennis Championships lifted the bar higher thanks to the technology of a new level. The tournament director Daniel VALERO who was the tournament director for the 2010 World Veteran Championships in Alicante/Elche conducts a well-coordinated team; the presentation is of the highest standards a 30-metre-long screen flashes the name of players with their photos as they enter the arena. Eight tables and each is individually lit so once a match finish the lights on that table turn off. The venue also benefitted from accessibility enhancement for wheelchair users with ten special toilets two ramps for the practice area and two ramps for the entrance being installed. “We’ve been watching the best ever World ParaTable Tennis Championships here in Granada! This competition always had a huge passionate environment around it but this year the level of organization is extremely high. As always the faces of the players and coaches do not lie and we can feel how all are impressed with the conditions they were presented in Granada. I wish to not only to thank the Royal Federacion Espanola de Tenis de Mesa for inviting me to be here but also to congratulate the level of organization we are all witnessing here. The challenge for the next organisers is really huge!” stated ETTU Acting President Pedro MOURA. Already 16 title holders are crowned. For a first time Mixed Doubles and Men’s and Women’s Doubles were played. In the Palacio Municipal de Deportes de Granada in mixed doubles class 20; in a final Poland’s Patryk CHOJNOWSKI and Natalia PARTYKA recovered from a two games to nil deficit to overcome Australia’s MA Lin and YANG Qian (5-11 9-11 11-6 11-7 11-3). “A very hard match today. We had to struggle so much to win this gold medal ” said Patryk CHOJNOWSKI “Yesterday when I lost in the women’s doubles final with Karolina (PEK) it was really painful I didn’t want to lose another final; to get the World Champion title with Patryk is incredible he is a fantastic person and a true friend” added Natalia Partyka In mixed doubles class 7 it was a full distance affair success for Germany. Thomas BRÜCHLE and Sandra MIKOLASCHEK (GER) secured the title at expense of Korea Republic’s KIM Juynggil and YOON Jiyu (11-6 7-11 5-11 12-10 11-8). “It was as really tough match it’s always tough playing against Koreans we knew we were not the favourites to win but that gave us great motivation” explained Thomas BRÜCHLE In the mixed doubles class 14 final. Jean-Paul MONTANUS and Kelly van ZON of Netherlands emerged successful by the very narrowest of margins against Ukraine’s Viktor DIDUKH and Maryna LYTOVCHENKO (4-11 11-7 6-11 13-11 12-10). “We can’t believe it! We are excited. A very long match we played point by point and at the end we’ve reached the title ” stated Jean-Paul MONTANUS. Great Britain’s Fliss PICKARD and Grace WILLIAMS in women’s doubles class 14 created a big upset. They commenced their journey as total outsiders. In fact Grace WILLIAMS who only started playing table tennis five years ago didn’t qualify for Andalucia she received a wild card. The win was on a par with their compatriot John HILTON who in 1981 won the men’s singles title at European Championships at odds of 1000-1! The duo overcame the top seeded German partnership of Stephanie GREBE and Juliane WOLF (11-9 11-7 12-10). Grace WILLIAMS said: “We are speechless totally shocked stunned with the victory I felt pressure before the match a bit overwhelmed as it was a World Championship final but I knew I had Fliss beside me and Shaun (MARPLES) in the corner. I knew whatever the outcome they’d be proud of me and I’d be proud of myself as well. As soon as we won the final point I thought ‘that’s it’ but it hasn’t really sunk in yet.” Andalucia 2022 World Para Championships Medallists: Men’s Doubles Women’s Doubles Mixed Doubles Men’s Doubles Class 4 SF: CHA Soo Yong/PARK Jingheol (KOR) v Martin LUDROVSKY/Jan RIAPOS (SVK) 11 7 12 SF: Iker SASTRE/Miguel Angel TOLEDO (ESP) v Rafal CZUPER/Tomasz JAKIMCZUK (POL) -6 7 8 9 F: CHA Soo Yong/PARK Jingheol (KOR) v Iker SASTRE/Miguel Angel TOLEDO (ESP) 6 -10-9 5 7 Men’s Doubles Class 8 SF: KIM Younggun/KIM Junggil (KOR) v Abdullah OZTURK/Nesim TURAN (TUR) 7 5 8 SF: Yuttajak GLINBANCHUEN/Wanchai CHAIWUT (THA) v Valentin BAUS/Thomas SCHMIDBERGER (GER) 13 -8 – 10 9 11 F: KIM Younggun/KIM Junggil (KOR) v Yuttajak GLINBANCHUEN/Wanchai CHAIWUT (THA) 9 7 4 Men’s Doubles Class 14 SF: Rungroj THAINIYOM/Phisit WANGPHONPHATHANASIRI (THA) v Clément BERTHIER/Esteban HERRAULT (FRA) 6 -5 7 8 SF: Paul KARABARDAK/Billy SHILTON (GBR) v Jordi MORALES/Alvaro VALERA (ESP) -8 7 9 10 F: Paul KARABARDAK/Billy SHILTON (GBR) v Rungroj THAINIYOM/Phisit WANGPHONPHATHANASIRI (THA) 11-8 11-8 1-11 11-8 Men’s Doubles Class 18 SF: Lev KATS/Ivan MAI (UKR) v Ben DESPINEUX/Laurens DEVOS (BEL) -7 -3 8 11 8 SF: Josh STACEY/Ross WILSON (GBR) v Mateo BOHEAS/Thomas BOUVAIS (FRA) 6 8 -8 6 F: Lev KATS/Ivan MAI (UKR) v Josh STACEY/Ross WILSON (GBR) 11-9 11-4 13-11 Men’s Doubles Class 22 Group: 1. KIM Gitae/JEOUNG Kyuyoung (KOR) 2. Takeshi TAKAMORI/Koya KATO (JPN) 3. Timothe IVALDI/Antoine ZHAO (FRA) 4. Rory CARROLL/Samuel von EINEM (GBR) Women’s Doubles Class 5 SF: Dararat ASAYUT/Chilchitraryak BOOTWANSIRINA (THA) v LEE Migyu/SEO Suyeon (KOR) 9 -7 8 -4 5 SF: Michela BRUNELLI/Giada ROSSI (ITA) v Catia OLIVEIRA/Marliane SANTOS (BRA) 6 11 7 F: Michela BRUNELLI/Giada ROSSI (ITA) v Dararat ASAYUT/Chilchitraryak BOOTWANSIRINA (THA) -12 10 12 4 Women’s Doubles Class 10 SF: Borislava PERIC-RANKOVIC/Nada MATIC (SRB) v Wijittra JAION/Wassana SRINGAM (THA) 8 7 -9 -8.3 SF: JUNG Younga/YOON Jiyu (KOR) v Alexandra SAINT-PIERRE/Flora VAUTIER (FRA) -10 5 8 6 F: Borislava PERIC-RANKOVIC/Nada MATIC (SRB) v JUNG Younga/YOON Jiyu (KOR) 7 -8 7 -4 8 Women’s Doubles Class
Reigning champions are not in the mood for charity
Paranang ORAWAN lost to YANG Xiaoxin in the opening match (11:6 2:11 5:11 5:11) Roxana ISTRATE had no answer for FU Yu’s game (4:11 8:11 10:12) and Claudia CARAGEA also could not stop Elizabeta SAMARA. „It was a good match. We were motivated to play good and to win. Our adversaries did their best and fought very hard. Overall was a good match with good rallies too “ said Elizabeta SAMARA. This week in Group B French Etival Clairefontaine ASRTT also beat Spanish club. „ It is very dangerous team. They have top European players and I expect much closer match and bigger fight. However we will be ready for the challenge “ stated SAMARA. Match between TTC Novi Sad and Metz was completely opposite to duel in Spain looking by duration but the outcome was the same -the guests took home the points . It lasted almost four hours and at the end French side recorded victory. Adina DIACONU was the main force behind the victory. She beat Lam YEE LOK (11:7 11:9 11:6) and Aneta MAKSZUTI (11:9 11:8 4:11 11:3). Pauline CHASSELIN sufferde at he begining against MAKSZUTI (13:15 11:9 7:11 11:8 3:6) but she beat Novi Sad’s latest reinforcement YEE LOK in the decisive match(11:5 11:9 9:11 11:8). Annamaria ERDELYI beat WY Jiaduo to score second point for Serbia’s club (5:11 11:9 11:6 11:1). „We expected it will be a hard match …In the first match MAKSZUTI played a reay good and CHASSELIN was little bit stressed .. but with all of this she manage to go thru 2-2 “ said Adina.“My first match of course was very important because they were leading 1-0 and i knew the Hong Kong‘s player can play very good but i managed to be stable during all the match and to play my best game.“Speaking about the match between ERDELYI and WU DIACONU said: „Annamaria had a very special style of defensive play. WU managed to win the opening game but then ERDELYI found a good tactics for her. My second match against MAKSZUTI was very important because we were 1-2 down. As I said Aneta played very good today but I knew I have to win and to pushed team to 2-2. I played very good ana stayed calm in tough moments.“Overall Adina was very satisfied:“We showed we can win even if our game is not at the top. Now we will have some time to relax. With three wins we secured the top of the Group and the pass to to the quarters.“
UCAM Cartagena TM and Etival Clairefontaine ASRTT won their away matches
The winners of the Europe Cup last season Spanish UCAM Cartagena TM underlined their status and beat ASD Quattro Mori Cagliari in Italy in the opening match of the Group A of the Second Stage Champions League Women. In Group C French Etival Clairefontaine ASRTT also recorded away win and beat Spanish Tecnigen Linares 3:1. Club from Spain prevailed in straight matches against ASD Quattro Mori Cagliari. Romania’s player Andreea DRAGOMAN lost to Maria XIAO opening match in four games (11:8 6:11 12:14 9:11). Tania PLAIAN could not stop Lily Ann ZHANG (10:12 6:11 7:11) and Edem OFFIONG stretched Dora MADARASZ to full five games but lost the last duel (11:9 8:11 8:11 11:6 3:6). “We are very happy for this 3-0 victory but it wasn’t easy like scoreboard shows it. My game was the hardest and for me it was even more important to win this not only for the team but I took revenge for Tokyo Olympics. It is a good start in Champions League and we are very happy about it ” said MADARASZ. In Spain in the opening match of the Group C Etival Clairefontaine ASRTT needed four matches to overcame Tecnigen Linares. Jieni SHAO was the back bone of the team’s success. Portugal’s player overcame Roxana ISTRATE (12:10 8:11 11:1 12:10) and Paranang ORAWAN (15:17 11:7 11:8 15:13). Marie MIGOT beat Claudia KARAGEA (11:5 11:7 11:4) and in the opening match host team scored only point. Paranang ORAWAN beat Hana MATELOVA (15:13 11:8 5:11 11:5). “It was a close match Tecnigen Linares is a really good team with a solid number 1 Parawan. And ISTRATE is fighting on every point they made it very hard for us. Jieni managed two great points and I won the 3rd one. We are looking forward for the next matches to come and give our best as a team ” said MIGOT.
ETTU Acting president Pedro MOURA continued with this visits to Suppliers Pool companies
Arriving in Germany ETTU Acting president Pedro MOURA continued with his visits to the ETTU Suppliers Pool companies. This week he returned to Germany to visit TIBHAR and DONIC offices in Saarbrücken. ETTU Acting President Pedro MOURA ETTU Deputy Secretary General Pierre KASS and Projects and Development Manager Galia DVORAK were welcomed by owner of the TIBHAR Company Roland BERG. TIBHAR is ETTU Premier Partner in this turn after they previously had agreement as ETTU Development Partner. At DONIC ETTU delegation held talks with President Frank SCHREINER and members of the DONIC Management team Peter BECKER and Steffen FETZNER. DONIC/NITTAKU is since 2016 the European Championships Official Balls Supplier with the NITTAKU ball. “We’ve just finished second round of visits to our Supplier Pool members having again excellent and productive meetings with our partners from TIBHAR DONIC and NITTAKU. I have to thank the kind and effective way our delegation has been received and we are really excited with the will of all brands to develop existing partnerships. We are all looking forward to the new opportunities arising from these meetings as we will continue to visit all our Supplier Pool members “said ETTU Acting president Pedro MOURA. The two main goals remained the same for ETTU: the development of the sport and improvement of tournament structure. It also implies the development of coaches and encouraging participation of women and help Para Table Tennis athletes to make progress. It is not only equipment that may be needed equally education and training is vital. For all those actions the support of the partners and sponsors is mandatory.
Borussia Düsseldorf started their new quest with the win
Reigning champions commenced their season in Champions League Men in victorious way. In opening match in Group A Borussia Düsseldorf beat HB Ostrov Havlíčkův Brod in Germany. Guests had a better start. Tomas MARTINKO overcame Anton KALLBERG (13:11 7:11 11:5 11:8) but then Timo BOLL leveled with the victory over Pavel SIRUCEK (8:11 11:7 11:6 11:5). Kay STUMPER beat Tomas TREGLER (11:2 11:5 11:7 12:10) and KALLBERG concluded the duel with the victory over SIRUCEK (11:4 11:7 11:7). “In the opening match MARTINKO played fantastically. I was not that bad but he was really great. However at the end it is important that the team won despite my poor start. I thought what I could do better and at the end I won the second duel. I had to thank to great support from the crowd we have here ” said KALLBERG. Team Captain Dimitrij PROKOPCOV spoke about missed chances on Ostrov’s side. “Borussia is one of the best clubs with very strong players but we expected something more. I hoped TREGLER could make a point and make the match longer.”
France beat Slovakia in St Denis
France recorded victory over Slovakia in Group A3 in Stage one of the European Temas Championships. Slovakia beat Netherlands in previous duel. In St Denis on home soil France needed only three matches for victory. In the opening duel World’s no. 17 YUAN Jia Nan beat Barbora BALAZOVA ranked at the position no. 50. However victory did not come easy BALAZOVA stretched YUAN to full distance and last game concluded by narrow margin (11:6 11:8 8:11 3:11 12:10). World’s no. 111 Prithika PAVADE showed no mercy against player no. 96 Tatiana KUKOLKOVA (11:5 11:3 15:13). Charlotte LUTZ beat Ema LABOSOVA (8:11 11:7 11:8 11:9).
Saint-Quentin TT won in Czech Repuiblic Novi Sad at home
In Group B Novi Sad recorded first win in Stage 2. At home soil Serbia’s champion beat SKST Plus Hodonin in straight matches. Annamaria ERDELYI overcame Marketa SEVCIKOVA in straight games (11:9 11:8 11:4) Aneta MAKSZUTI needed one more against Karin GROFOVA (11:8 9:11 11:6 11:9). On her premiere in Serbia Hong Kong’s Lam YEE LOK beat Anna KLEMPEREROVA (11:6 15;13 11:6). “ I was under pressure at the beginning of the match but our spectators were fantastic and they pushed me forward. I cannot recall when I played in front so many people like tonight. Aneta was also at the top of the game. I am happy that Lam managed to win. Certainly it was not easy for her. It was her first match for Novi Sad ” said Anamaria ERDELYI. In previous rounds both Novi Sad and SKST Plus Hodonin suffered by the hands of Metz. On Thursday Novi Sad will host Metz. “ They are favorites but we will play without the pressure. With new player on our side and on home soil with such wonderful support I hope we could win ” stated ERDELYI. French Saint-Quentin TT and Serbia’s Novi Sad recorded wins tonight in the Stage 2 of the Champions League Women. Saint-Quentin TT beat TT Moravski Krumlov in Czech Republic after five thrilling matches. Valeriia SHCHERBATYKH gave host dream start with the win over Sarah DE NUTTE (11:7 11:8 11:9) and Ekaterina CHERNYAVSKAYA WIDENER THE GAP WITH THE VICTORY OVER Camille LUTZ (11:3 11:6 11:9). Olga MIKHAYLOVA then changed the course of the match. She beat Mitsuki YOSHIDA in straight games (11:8 11:9 12:10) to put first point to the scoreboard for French club. “It was a really crazy match. We needed a lot of time to get into the match. In my opening match I did not feel the play. When Cami also lost we thought “Ai ai what a bad start! “However than our coach Olga created the opportunity for us to come back and to completely change the course. She played very good against Mitsuki ” explained DE NUTTE. In five games LUTZ overcame SHCHERBATYKH (14:16 3:11 11:5 11:7 6:4) before DE NUTTE overcame CHERNYAVSKAYA to close the duel (11:4 11:8 12:10). “Camille was 0:2 down but she recovered to push into fifth game where she was down 0:2 again and 2:4. Amazingly she recovered again to win 6:4. We returned from the edge in the match. When I exited to the table for a second time I knew I had to give my best and to fight hard. There were upside downs in the second game but I made it. I am also happy that all three of us scored and proved our value as a team.” Coach Olga MIKHAYLOVA explained: “Our two best players did not come so I had to improvise in the lineup. I thought about it for a long time and finally I made a winning one. The 0:2 score caught me by surprise but I believed I could beat Mitsuki YOSHIDA. And then I also believed in my players. We are very happy with the win.” Jindřich BÍLA coach TT Moravský Krumlov said: “The start of the match was like a dream. I didn’t expect that we could be one step away from a 3-0 win against such a quality adversary. But maybe Mitsuki got scared and then the other players too. As if they were waiting to see who would make the third point. It’s a huge shame a 3-0 win would be a ticket to the quarter-finals.”
Romania recorded third win in the European Teams Championships Stage 1
Romania beat Slovenia in Crnomelj to record third win in Group 6 in the Stage 1 of the European Teams Championships. Previously Romania overcame Ukraine in both matches played in Bucharest earlier in October. Tonight Cristian PLETEA paved the road to success with the victory over Darko JORGIC. Currently ranked at the position no. 10 in the World Rankings JORGIC suffered in five games against World’s no. 137 – 3:2 (11:8 8:11 8:11 11:7 11:8). “It seemed like “deja-vu” for me. It was unreal feeling playing against Darko. I cannot remember how many matches we played against each other back in cadet and juniors days. We also were together in the training center in Saarbrucken ” explained PLETEA.”When I reached the last point for the victory it was fantastic. To beat Top 10 player in the World is amazing.” In next duel Julian CHIRITA beat Deni KOZUL (8:11 11:9 11:9 5:11 11:5). Slovenia was 0:2 down in matches and Peter HRIBAR was losing 0:2 against Darius MOVILEANU before he managed to recover to level his match. He gave Slovenia the hope but in the decisive game Darius withstood HRIBAR’s spirited comeback to seal the match 3:2 (11:5 11.9 6:11 9:11 11:9). “Youngsters are just fantastic. Junior’s coach did a great job with them. CHIRITA is only 17 and Darius in 18…Playing against KOZUL is not an easy task. Those victories are very important ” stated PLETEA. Overall score for Romania in group of three is 9:0. Cristian could not hide the pride with current standings. “We have good young team ” said PLETEA.”Personally I feel very well. Finally I find some stability in my trainings in Germany. I am most of the time in Bremen. In addition I am injury-free for a while and after I stabilized my game at club I hope it will be the same at the international level.”
Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Tennis de Table
ETTU Acting President Pedro MOURA accompanied by ETTU Deputy Secretary General Pierre KASS and ETTU Special Project and Development Manager Galia DVORAK visited Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Tennis de Table today. President André HARTMANN senior Advisor FLTT – CTTC-E Heinz THEWS and FLTT Administrative Director Patrick MASSEN welcomed guests in the FLTT offices. FLTT was always ETTU’s valuable member Association. Recently Luxembourg as the official seat of ETTU hosted European Championships in 2017 after the Federation had already successfully staged the Olympic Qualification tournament in April 2012. At the list of successful events organised by FLTT are also European Youth Championships in 1989; European Youth Top 12 in 1998 and European Olympic Qualifying Tournament in 2003 and 2012. During the visit both sides representatives exchanged the ideas that could benefit the sport and they look at ways in which ETTU and FLTT can work more closely together for the future development of table tennis. FLTT also presented the will to revive the China Table Tennis Colleague CTTC-E Europe Project. “I am honored to visit FLTT an ETTU important Member Association. Our headquarters are here in Luxembourg. We had the chance to talk about FLTT future projects and also to discuss general ideas for European Table Tennis. I plan to continue visit our Member Associations to understand their needs and their future ” said ETTU Acting President Pedro MOURA. “As CTTC-E and as FLTT we were very pleased to welcome ETTU Acting President Pedro MOURA Deputy Secretary General Pierre Kass and Special Projects Operations Manager Galia Dvorak to our offices in Luxembourg to give a general overview of CTTC-E and to discuss further collaborations of ETTU with CTTC-E especially in the area of development by hosting ETTU development training camps in Luxembourg as well as in the area of academic activities. Moreover as FLTT we discussed the possibilities to host ETTU competitions in the future in our country ” said President HARTMANN.
TT Moravský Krumlov faces two hard challenges
The opening match of the Group D in Women’s Champions League will be played on Tuesday in Czech Republic. TT Moravský Krumlov will host French Saint-Quentin TT whilst the clash with no. one seed in the Group Austria’s Linz AG Froschberg is scheduled for Friday. TT Moravský Krumlov’s coach Jindřich BILA talked about the forthcoming matches. “The game against Saint-Quentin at the beginning of this Stage is the most important for us in this Group. Austrian Linz is the clear favorite Saint-Quentin is also very strong but if we want to get a good result in the Champions League I think that the home match against the French club is the best chance. “ In the first stage of the Champions Legue TT Moravský Krumlov beat both clubs in their Group: ALCL TT Grand-Quevilly and Girbau – Vic TT. In two full distance matches Czech club’s line up consist of Ekaterina CHERNYAVSKAYA Valeriia SHCHERBATYKH and Mitsuki YOSHIDA. “Now we will play again in a complete lineup with the team that won promotion in the 1st Stage ” said BILA
