In their second match in the Stage 2 of the Champions League Men TTC Neu – Ulm overcame Sporting Clube de Portugal in Lisbon. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV needed four games to overcame Diogo CARVALHO to give Germany’s club good start (11:9 3:11 11:5 11:8). Truls MÖREGARDH stayed on the wining tracks and overcame Bode ABIODUM in straight games (11:5 11:6 11:8). Yaroslav ZMUDENKO had a very close game at the start of the match against CHEN Diogo but from second game it was one way street (12:10 11:2 11:6). MÖREGARDH was satisfied after the encounter:”It was very good match and we are very happy with the win. We will stay at the same level for future matches. Our aim is to win the title in Champions League.” In Group C KS Dekorglass Dzialdowo already overcame Sporting Clube de Portugal and TTC Neu – Ulm beat Polish club in previous Round .
Portugal beat Italy in Funchal
Portugal overcame Italy in their first match in the opening Stage of the European Championships Teams in Group A 2 in Women’s Event. In Funchal they needed four matches to win. The backbone of host team’s success was YU Fu with two wins. She overcame Debora VIVARELLI (13:11 7:11 9:11 11:5 11:6) and Giorgia PICCOLIN (11:7 12:10 11:6). SHAO Jieni added one point to Portugal’s victory after win over PICCOLIN (11:5 7:11 11:6 11:8). Gaia MONFARDINI beat Ines MATOS to score the only point for Italian side (11:5 6:11 9:11 11:4 11:7). In previous round Czech Republic beat Italy.
Victory for Slovakia in Bratislava
Slovakia recorded second victory in the opening Stage of the European Championships Teams in Group A 5 in Men’s Event. At home soil in Bratislava they overcame Czech Republic. The match went full distance tonight WANG Yang beat Tomas POLANSKY (8:11 15:13 11:8 11:13 11:2) and Davis REITSPIES (11:8 7:11 9:11 11:4 11:8). Lubomir PISTEJ lost his first clash against Lubomir JANCARIK (7:11 10:12 6:11) but he won the decisive match against POLANSKY (11:6 6:11 7:11 11:7 11:8). Jiri MARTINKO beat Alexander VALUCH (12:14 14:12 11:5 11:6) to add the second point to Czechs side. “Such a match has not been played in Slovakia for a long time. The fans must have been pleased. Of course we were very lucky but that’s part of the sport. WANG Yang was the key player but we expected that. Both of his wins were important. And the decisive fifth match between PIŠTEJ and POLANSKÝ? That was really a lot of luck ” commented Czilárd CSÖLLE coach of Slovakia. The coach of the Czech Republic Josef PLACHÝ said: “Although we lost I have to praise all the players. It was a nice fight everyone gave their best and often lacked a bit of luck. We knew WANG was a key player for the other side. But POLANSKÝ and then REITŠPIES could beat him. However he played great in those important moments. The fifth singles match was already a challenge the score kept changing and in the end the win stayed at home. But we certainly have nothing to be ashamed of.” Previously both Czech Republic and Slovakia beat Italy in their Group.
Victories for UCAM Cartagena TM and Metz TT
In Group A of the Champions League Women Spanish UCAM Cartagena TM beat TTC Berlin eastside in Germany. In Group B French Metz TT overcame SKST Plus Hodonin in Czech Republic. Metz concluded the Second phase with all four wins in the Group. Favorites from Germany suffered second defeat in Group A after they already lost to ASD Quattro Mori Cagliari. Against Italian club they lost in five matches whilst tonight Spanish side was in fast lane. They beat Berlin’s club in straight matches. The closest match was at the opening one when Dora MADARASZ went full distance to beat SHAN Xiaona (8:11 8:11 11:9 11:6 6:1) Maria XIAO beat Ching LEE HO in four games (11:8 7:11 11:9 11:6). In the last match experienced Silvia ERDELYI beat Josephina NEUMANN (11:6 11:7 11:9). „Two years ago I beat SHAN when Linz organized Championships League after covid pandemic. I knew what I needed to play but I needed two games to feel the rhytm . After 3rd game I could control the match and i am very happy it pumped my team even more “ said MADARASZ. „Every match was very difficult in its own way and we are very happy with this result we still can’t believe it.“ Previously UCAM Cartagena TM also succeeded against ASD Quattro Mori Cagliari. TTC Berlin eastside commenced their campaign in this year’s Champions League Women with the victory against ASD Quattro Mori Cagliari. In Group B French Metz TT needed four matches to overcame SKST Plus Hodonin. Natalia PARTYKA gave hosts good start with the victory over Pauline CHASSELIN (11:7 11:5 11:5) but Adina DIACONU was at the top of her game and brought the team to the winning path. She beat Karin GROFOVA in second match (11:4 11:5 11:5). In the fourth match Romania’s star beat PARTYKA (11:3 11:7 7:11 8:11 6:3). WU Jiaduo overcame Marketa SEVCIKOVA (11:5 7:11 11:7 11:13 6:1). “It was a close match. Hodonin is very strong. At the beginning we knew we are already qualified for the quarterfinal but nevertheless we took each game seriously and we fought “said DIACONU. Personally I made one of the best matches this season. I am very happy with my performance. At 1:1 WU went full distance and that was very good match also. It was very long November for us with so many matches and I am happy that we have been successful both in Champions Legue and in France.” Beside two wins over Hodonin Metz overcame Serbia’s Novi Sad in both occasions. On December 1st Hodonin and Novi Sad will play the last match in the Group. In their first clash Novi Sad won.
Europe Trophy Grand Final positions decided last weekend
After the Group Stage of the Europe Trophy 2022-2023 7 clubs qualified for the Men’s and 10 for the Women’s Grand Final. In region A four clubs fought for their place in the Final. Belgium’s Logis Auderghem TT recorded all three wins and concluded the first phase at the top of the standings. England’s Fusion TT lost only to the winners of the Group. Luxembourg’s D.T. Hostert/Folschette is third whilst Netherlands’ TTV Red Stars Venray is fourth. Top two will progress further but in this Group we have pending protest and we are waiting for the official note. In region B Poland’s KS Global Pharma ORICs 1924 Suchedniow beat all four adversaries. Portugal’s ADC Ponta Do Pargo – Calheta is second with only one defeat. Those two progressed to Grand Final. Estonia’s Tal Tech Sports Club is third followed by Latvia’s TTC Hercogs and Island’s HK. Region C was divided in two Groups both played in Serbia. Greek Olympiacos S.F.P. and Serbia’s Radnicki Beocin finished first Stage undefeated at the top of their respective Groups. Croatia’s STK Libertas Marinkolor and UTTC Raiffeisen Kennelbach concluded first stage at the position no. two. In the match for the top position Olympiacos S.F.P. beat Radnicki Beocin 3:1 whilst STK Libertas Marinkolor prevailed in the match against UTTC Raiffeisen Kennelbach by same margin. Top three clubs booked their place in the next Stage. At the remaining three positions in the first stage in Group A were Slovakia’s SK Vydrany STK Banja Luka from Bosnia and Herzegovina and ASD Marcozzi Cagliari of Italy. The order in Group B from third to fifth position is: TJ Geolog Roznava from Slovakia STK Strarr Croatia Cyprus’ APOEL. In Women’s Europe Trophy in Region A Norway’s B-72 is at the top of the standings. England’s Ormesby TTC is second followed by Latvia’s TTC Hercogs and England’s Fusion TTC. In Region B French TT Joué les Tours in unbeaten. With one defeat Entente Saint Pierraise TT is second whilst French Club Pongiste Lyssois Lille Metropole – Pro B is third and Belgium’s RCTT Astrid Herstal is fourth. Top two clubs in Region’s A and B moved to next Stage. In Region C eight clubs fought for their place in the Top 8. The winner of the tournament is Croatia’s STK Aquaestil Duga Resa. In the match for the first position they overcame Greek ASEA Florinas. In the match for the third position between two clubs which finished at the second position in their respective groups Czech Republic’s HB Ostrov overcame Slovakia’s SKST Bratislava. On the positions three and four in the Group A are Austria’s SU Sparkasse Kufstein II and Belgium’s TT Dinez. In Group B at the same positions are: Autria’s ASVÖ Olympic Wien and SU Sparkasse Kufstein. In Region D Portugal’s CTM Mirandela is at the top with six wins followed by Italy’s AD Muravera TT “A” Portugal’s Uniao Sebastianense F.C ADC Ponta do Pargo – Calheta ASD Quattro Mori Cagliari “B” AD Muravera TT “B” and ASD Tennistavolo Norbello “Guilcer”. Top three clubs booked Grand Final.
Zoran PRIMORAC elected President of Croatian TTA
Silver medalist at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games twice winner of the Men’s World Cup twice champion at the European Championships Zoran PRIMORAC became the President of the Croatian Table Tennis Association. In the presence of the 75 out of 101 delegates with the right to vote PRIMORAC was elected by the majority. Second candidate was Goran MUNIVRANA. PRIMORAC follows Zlatko POSPIS head of the organization for 12 years. At the beginning of the Congress POSPIS delivered the emotional speech. The members of the Executive Board are: Dragan KNEŽEVIĆ Igor MALEŠEVIĆ Robert MIKAC Zlatko ČORDAŠ Mario DOKMANIĆ Daniel ROJNIĆ Ivo ĆUKOVIĆ Mirela Šikoronja IVANČIN Bojana POLJAK Frane Tomislav KOJIĆ Ivan JUZBAŠIĆ Damir BELAJ Čedomir MILLER Goran PETROVIĆ. Zoran PRIMORAC has won 14 medals at the European Championships; he won 6 medals at the World Championships; 6 at the World Cup; 4 at the Mediterranean Games. Zoran played at 7 Olympic Games and he was also the flag bearer of the team of Croatia at the Olympics in Sydney. PRIMORAC also concludes his term as a head of the Athletes Commission in the ITTF. Earlier in September this year Zoran gained the accolade “Executive Master” a degree in the management of sports organization. “I was born in Zadar the city of basketball but I dedicated my life to table tennis. This sport gave me so much and now it is my duty and obligation to give something in return. It is my duty to take responsibility to guide my sport to a better future. Our sport has a glorious past and my aim is to return table tennis to the high level ” said PRIMORAC. PRIMORAC said that in his leadership he will follow the main principals he follows in his life. “We spoke with the club representatives players and coaches and we came to conclusion that we have a place to move forward in three dimensions. We must take care of sporting aspects as equally as we are focused on financial and organizing aspects. My method of work will have the same basics I have in my private life – transparency inclusivity and responsibility . Those foundations are coming from my core my game from my life…” Running the National Association is a big challenge now. “We have to find the way to be more visible. Not only to gather new sponsors but to find our way to new generations. We have to keep the main sports principles; the game has to remain untouched but the presentation itself has to improve. In addition we want to widener our cooperation with the ITTF ETTU and Croatian Olympic Committee.”
Reigning champions from KTS Enea Siarkopol Tarnobrzeg first in Group C
In the Group C of the Champions League Women Poland’s KTS Enea Siarkopol Tarnobrzeg recorded fourth straight matches victory in the Group and concluded Second stage at the top. In the last match in this phase they overcame French Etival Clairefontaine ASRTT. YANG Xiaoxin beat SHAO Jieni (11:5 11:9 9:11 12:10) HAN Ying beat Marie MIGOT (11:5 9:11 11:7 11:6) and Elizabeta SAMARA prevailed against Camelia IACOB (11:3 11:9 12:10). “It was a fantastic match. We wanted to win and we were motivated. Even we need just one game to be at the top of the the group we fouhght hard. Team did a great job ” said Elizabeta SAMARA. French club is second with two wins and two defeats whilst Spanish Tecnigen Linares failed to record the victory.
Pablo ÁLVAREZ from table tennis to space
Pablo ÁLVAREZ from Leon will become the third Spanish astronaut to fly in space after Michael LÓPEZ-ALEGRÍA (NASA) and Pedro DUQUE (ESA). He will be the second Spanish astronaut to work on expeditions outside planet Earth after Pedro DUQUE with the European Space Agency (ESA). Pablo ÁLVAREZ the man from Leon in May 2007 climbed to the first step of the podium in the individual Class 9 competition in the Spanish Championship for players with Disabilities held in Suances.He is still conected to the table tennis having a national license with AD Coyanza. ÁLVAREZ who was born in León in 1988 studied aeronautical engineering at the University of León to fulfill his space dreams and at just 22 years old the astronaut left his hometown to study for a master’s degree in aerospace engineering at the Polytechnic University of Warsaw (Poland). After clinched the title in Spain ÁLVAREZ joined the Airbus company in 2011 working on very prominent aviation projects which served as a springboard to enter the exploration project ‘Rosalind Franklin of the ExoMars mission’ of the European Space Agency in 2017. In addition in 2013 ÁLVAREZ once again got on the top step of the podium in the Spanish Team Championship. Now Pablo will be part of the ESA astronaut team that could travel to space in the future.
Hungarian SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club moved to quarters
Hungarian SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club beat A.S.D. Tennistavolo Norbello in both legs of the Stage 3 of the Europe Cup Women. In opening leg they prevailed in four matches but tonight they needed one more. In the opening duel Helga DARI lost to Veronica MOSCONI (11:7 12:14 4:11 6:11) but Georgina POTA leveled the score with the victory over Yana NOSKOVA (11:6 11:6 8:11 9:11 6:4). POTA also played full distance decisive match against MOSCONI to seal the encounter (11:5 11:8 11:3). In third match Maria FAZEKAS beat Alina ZAHARIA (11:4 12:10 7:11 11:8). DARI lost to NOSKOVA fourth match (7:11 10:12 5:11). “We expected close matches and we had to fight hard to win this evening. I was surprised of NOSKOVA’s serves and I needed a some time to adjust to it. I had to focus on the final game because it put much pressure on me and I knew my match could be a keypoint. I am very glad to be in the quarrerfinal and I am proud of the team ” said POTA. Beside SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club to the quaterfinal also progressed: Italian ASV TT Südtirol Greek Panathinaikos A.C. and French ALCL TT Grand-Quevilly.
Hungarian SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club moved to quarters
Hungarian SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club beat A.S.D. Tennistavolo Norbello in both legs of the Stage 3 of the Europe Cup Women. In opening leg they prevailed in four matches but tonight they needed one more. In the opening duel Helga DARI lost to Veronica MOSCONI (11:7 12:14 4:11 6:11) but Georgina POTA leveled the score with the victory over Yana NOSKOVA (11:6 11:6 8:11 9:11 6:4). POTA also played full distance decisive match against MOSCONI to seal the encounter (11:5 11:8 11:3). In third match Maria FAZEKAS beat Alina ZAHARIA (11:4 12:10 7:11 11:8). DARI lost to NOSKOVA fourth match (7:11 10:12 5:11). “We expected close matches and we had to fight hard to win this evening. I was surprised of NOSKOVA’s serves and I needed a some time to adjust to it. I had to focus on the final game because it put much pressure on me and I knew my match could be a keypoint. I am very glad to be in the quarrerfinal and I am proud of the team ” said POTA. Beside SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club to the quaterfinal also progressed: Italian ASV TT Südtirol Greek Panathinaikos A.C. and French ALCL TT Grand-Quevilly.
