Czech champion HB Ostrov Havlíčkův Brod will play in the Champions League after six years. And in addition they host one for the groups of the 1st stage of the competition. Birell Arena will welcome the Spanish team ASISA Borges Vall the Italian Top Spin Messina Fontalba and the Portuguese GDCS Juncal. There will be a big fight for one promotion spot to the 2nd stage. Havlíčkův Brod played in the European Cup last season and finished in the quarterfinals. Before the new season however he strengthened his line-up and will also play in the Champions League with the Czech representative Pavel ŠIRUČEK. Another new player in the HB Ostrov jersey is Tomáš MARTINKO the trio of Tomáš TREGLER Michal OBEŠLO and Dmitrij PROKOPCOV remained from last season. “Since only the winner of the group will advance to the next stage of the tournament I am satisfied with the draw. The group does not have any big favorites and the chances of promotion are even ” said club manager Miroslav JINEK. The fans are especially looking forward to the match against the Spanish ASISA Borges Vall who the Czech club eliminated last season in the quarter-finals of the European Cup after the “golden match”. The two previous ones ended with a ratio of 3:2. Viktor BRODD will be the support of the Spanish club again this year other players on the roster are Marc DURAN Joan MASIP Alberto LILLO and Jose Louis ANDRADE. The Italian Top Spin Messina Fontalba will also be a tough opponent. Last season he won the second title in the club’s history. Portuguese Joao MONTEIRO and Ukrainian Jaroslav ŽMUDENKO left the team but two new reinforcements arrived. The Italian international Matteo MUTTI will have his older brother Leonardo by his side as well as the Polish Robert FLORAS. Other members of the team are Marco Rech DALDOSSO and Marcelo PUGLISI. Portugal’s vice-champion GDCS Juncal will be the fourth team in Group A. Last year in the European Cup in Havlíčkův Brod they lost 0:3 to the home team but this year everything may be different. The team consists of Kirill SCHVETS and the pair of Romanians Eduard IONESCU and Mihai SARGU. The fourth is Jose Miguel MAGALGAES.
Budaörsi Sport Club will start their 20th European cup season
The women’s table tennis team of the Budaörsi Sport Club will participate in the group stage of the European Table Tennis Champions League of the 2022/2023 season in Linares Spain on 7th and 8th September. During these two days the current Hungarian champion will face the Greek Panthinaikos the Austrian Bodensdorf and the host team the Spanish champion Linares. The goal of SH-ITB Budaörsi SC is to compete for the first spot in the group which would probably require two feats as the Greek and Spanish parties are extremely strong. The team of Budaörs celebrates regardless of the results of the upcoming Champions League matches. In the fall of 2003 Budaörs played its first European cup match and every season after that it participated in one of the European Table Tennis Union’s (ETTU) cup series. The 2022/2023 season is therefore the 20th international appearance in a row for Budaörs. In every country and in every sport it is rare for a sports association to set a goal for two decades and then be able to achieve that this way making its team represent the club the city the sport and the country by participating at the highest level of professional sports. Having performed in 17 countries over the past 19 years the team tried to achieve the best possible results the most exciting trips being the ones to the Azores Islands belonging to Portugal and the three Russian tours to Kazan Taganrog and Tyumen. Everyone who was part of these successes can rightly be proud of the silver and bronze medals of the Champions League the silver medal of the Europe Cup and the bronze medal of the ETTU Cup. Overall however the greatest pride is the constancy of the 20 cup seasons. The fundamental concept of the management of the Budaörsi Sport Club is that only players who are either part of the Hungarian national team or speak Hungarian at a native level can form part of the team. This direction was chosen by the club management for two reasons on the one hand with the aim of being able to professionally help Hungarian table tennis with its activities by enabling the players of the Hungarian national team to play high-level international matches in a domestic association and on the other hand to strengthen the community by being able to talk in Hungarian with each other before during and after the matches. With this attitude the Budaörsi Sport Club really feels that it represents Hungary at the forefront of European table tennis. There were several occasions that could have upset this creed however the club – as it did in the last 19 seasons – starts the current 20th season in accordance with the above-mentioned concept. For this success story to reach its 20th year the club had many partners; thanks to the presidency of the Budaörs Sport Club the Municipality of the City of Budaörs the Hungarian Table Tennis Federation the 2i Kft. the SH-ITB Kft. the Mikrohungária Kft. the Butterfly Magyarország Kft. the Decathlon the management of the sports hall of Budaörs and of course the sports managers coaches and the players who have been members of the team for the past two decades. The goal of the team at each match is to represent its partners at the highest possible level in Europe. The goal of the table tennis department of Budaörs for the next two years is to maintain its domestic and international success in a manner worthy of the previous years especially in the centenary year of the Budaörs Sport Club in 2024 and to relive the incomparable feeling of its athletes qualifying for the Olympics. The club will do everything to ensure that after Tokyo this can happen again in Paris in 2024. The women’s table tennis team of Budaörs has proven with its results professional concept and perseverance in the past nearly 20 years that it represents a value that is worth supporting. In order for the association to be able to achieve the its goals and maintain this high level it is essential for new partners to be involved in addition to the current sponsors. The Budaörsi Sport Club celebrates its 20th appearance on the European level as a real festivity.
Novi Sad kick off the season in Champions Legue with the win
The fights in Europe Champions League Women commenced tonight in Novi Sad. Host club recorded straight matches victory over Spanish Reus Ganxets MIRÓ. “ It was far from easy despite what the results predicts. I was very nervous and you can see it from the two very close opening games. I am sure we can perform even on the higher level and I hope it will happen tomorrow ” said Annamaria ERDELYI. Not only in the opening suel but also in the match between Sara RAMÍREZ and Aneta MAKSUTI host nation representative was in difficult situation. MAKSUTI saved three game balls but managed to win in straight games. Group D Reus Ganxets MIRÓ – TTC Novi Sad 0:3 Paulina VEGA – Annamaria ERDELYI 0:3 (12:14 12:14 3:11) Sara RAMÍREZ – Aneta MAKSUTI 0:3 (8:11 10:12 7:11) Elvira RAD – Tijana JOKIC 0:3 (6:11 9:11 9:11) Matches from Wednesday September 07 11h CET CLM TTC Ostrava 2016 / TTC Neu-Ulm Leka Enea Marpex – SF SKK El Nino Praha PTE PEAC Kalo-Meh – Pontoise Cergy TTPONT WCL TTC “NanoTech” Villach – Reus Ganxets MIRÓREUS 14 h CET CLM CSS-SZAK ODORHEIU SECUIESC – USD Apuania Carrara Tennistavolo 18 h CET CLM AS Pontoise Cergy TT – Leka Enea Marpex SF SKK El Nino Praha – PTE PEAC Kalo-Meh 18.30 h CET WCL TTC Novi Sad – TTC “NanoTech” Villach 19 h CET WCL TT Joué les Tours – A.S.D. Tennistavolo Norbello TT Malonne – Stolnotenisove Centrum SKST Bratislava SCO Ossiachersee Bodensdorf – Tecnigen Linares Panathinaikos A.C. – SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club
Leka Enea reinforced with MAK Tze Wing and Angela GARCIA
In the Group Stage of the Champions League Women Spanish host Leka Enea Irun GEWO will host Group B with Italy’s ASD Quattro Mori Cagliari and French Saint-Denis US 93 Tennis de Table. Hosts reinforced their line with two new players for this season. “This year Leka Enea has two new players MAK Tze Wing and Angela GARCIA. MAK is very strong player from Hong Kong whilst GARCIA is less experienced young Spanish player ” explained coach and player Ioana TECLA. Angela GARCIA has a very busy summer so she does not need any extra preparations. “Angela is in a good shape because she didn’t stop playing this summer she played the European Youth Championships as junior and in August she also played the European Champions Munich 2022. The other players didn’t have competition this summer so it will be a little difficult. However I hope they will ready for the Champions League.” French and Italian sides are very strong with lot of European experience. “We are in a hard group with strong teams with players that have great results in Europe. We are not the favorites in this group for sure but we will fight and we will see what will happen at the end of the stage. Our goal in this competition is to try to pass at the next round but we know that is a difficult job. Our goal in the national league is to reach the top four places at the end of the season but we will see how things will be at the end.” In Group A will play Czech host TT Moravsky Krumlov French ALCL TT Grand-Quevilly and Spain’s Girbau-Vic TT. In Group C are Spanish host Tecnigen Linares Austria’s SCO Ossiachersee Bodensdorf Greek Panathinaikos A.C. and Hungarian SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club. In group D play host in Serbia Novi Sad Reus Ganxets MIRÓ from Spain and Austria’s TTC NanoTech Villach.
ETTU creates Network of European Training Centres
The European Table Tennis Union is pleased to announce the Network of European Training Centres. The Network will consist of various Training Centres endorsed by their respective National Associations and open for international players and coaches. The goal of this project is to strengthen the collaboration between the European Table Tennis Union and their members by firstly having an updated database of high performance centres and then promoting the exchange of knowledge and implementing development projects such as training camps seminars or individual training arrangements. Each Centre as part of this network will continue operating on its own financial merit under the laws and regulations of that country and with their own set of priorities. The Network for its functioning doesn’t require any affiliation fees nor is a membership fee envisaged to be charged by ETTU. It is understood by all the parties that the ETTU financial support is completely tied to activities events and individual support of players and coaches towards their long term or short term training stays in a particular Centre. In exchange the centres willing to be part of the Network are expected to be able to provide operational technical and scientific support services to high performance athletes and coaches and be willing to exchange knowledge with the other high performance sport centres to interact and share ideas and work methods. The minimum standards required to be part of the Network are: Venue 10 ITTF approved tables a non-slippery sports floor and light intensity at the table surface of at least 800 Lux a ceiling height of at least 3.5 m. Coaches 2 coaches (one with international level experience). Players and Capacity A regular group of 12 players + capacity to host at least 6 more players (total capacity to host at least 18 players). Accommodation Accommodation restaurant and gym at walking distance. Training Centres interested in becoming members of the Network are requested to fill in the form and enclose an endorsement letter from their National Association. You can find the form here We look forward to receiving your applications. if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Project manager Galia DVORAK at projects@ettu.org
Novi Sad will face Reus Ganxets MIRÓ again
Serbia’s Novi Sad will host group D in Champions League Women tomorrow. In Serbia will play Reus Ganxets MIRÓ from Spain and Austria’s TTC NanoTech Villach. This is second year in the row that Novi Sad commences the season in the elite club competition but so far best results they achieved in the Europe Cup where they reached the semi final twice. “Last year we failed to reach the second stage of the Champions League but this time we are hosts and I hope it will give us some advantage. We already have the information that the venue will be full ” said coach Slobodan STOJANOV. Despite the home soil advantage there will be no easy matches for the hosts. “We are aware of it. Spanish Reus is well known to us. We played last year against them and beat Spanish club in the quarterfinal of the Europe Cup but that was not the same team as it is now. This year they are strengthen with Britt EERLAND who played for Berlin on their way to the title in past two years. TTC NanoTech Villach is also worthy adversary with also well known players. On their side is our former captain FENJVESI former national player from Serbia VIGNJEVIC and very difficult to beat Croatia’s MALOBABIC ” stated STOJANOV. For Novi Sad will play Anamarija EREDLJI Aneta MAKSUTI Tijana JOKIC Reka BEZEG and Sara RADAK.
SKST TESLA BATTERIES Havířov returned after 17 years
The team from northern Moravia SKST TESLA BATTERIES Havířov qualified for the Champions League thanks to the victory in the first year of the Europe Trophy Cup. They got enough points and after seventeen long years he will play again in the best club competition in Europe. Only Petr DAVID left the team but the club management managed to secure quality reinforcement. The representative of Uzbekistan Zokhid KENJAJEV helped the team already in the final of the Europe Trophy Cup and will be the team’s number one player this time as well. Together with him Jan VALENTA Šimon BĚLÍK and Ondřej BAJGER will fight for advancement to the 2nd stage. The adversaries are of very high quality. German Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. Austrian Solex-Consult Wiener Neustadt and Spanish Arteal Arteal – SD Compostela. According to the coach of the Havířov club Kamil KOUTNÝ the favorite is clear. “I think that the German Mühlhausen has the best chance to advance. It is a strong club from the German Bundesliga and has a very good squad. Then the chances for the next three places are even. But it’s a sport so of course we’ll want to take advantage of the home environment and try to win the group.” The best player of the German Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. is the Austrian representative Daniel HEBESOHN but the Romanian Ovidiu IONESCU the German Steffen MENGEL and the French Irvin BERTRAND are also of high quality. Also on the roster is KIM Taehyun from the Public Republic of Korea. Austrian champion Solex-Consult Wiener Neustadt will start without Tomáš KONEČNÝ. The former Czech international returned to Prague in the summer and will play for El Niňo. Even so Neustadt has a quality team. Croatians Frane KOJIČ and Ivor BAN Japanese Kenji MATSUDAIRA or young Austrian talent Julian RZIHAUSCHEK. The last team in the group is Arteal – SD Compostela which Havířov players know very well. In June they fought with this opponent in the final of the Europe Trophy Cup. Then they won 3:1. Even this year the Spanish club has a trio of Andre SILVA Enio MENDES and Humberto MANHANI on its roster. This year too this club will want to advance to the next stage of the Champions League.
DURAN and MASIP favorites at the 37th International Open VIC
This Sunday September 4 the finals of the 37th edition of the VIC International Open (Spain) will be played. Among the favorites in the Absolute men’s event are Marc DURAN and Joan MASIP both from Asisa Borges Vall beside Swedish Simon BERGLUND as well as Portuguese Diogo PINHO. In the women’s category among the candidates for victory are the Turkye’s Simay KULAKCEKEN and the player from TT Moravský Krumlov Ekaterina CHERNYAVSKAVA and the Spanish Eugenia SASTRE (Son Cladera). Girbau Vic TT the organizing club will be reperesented by Polish Aneta OLENDZKA and the young player born in Vic Sílvia Coll SOLÀ.
Moravsky Krumlov is at full strength
Czech club TT Moravsky Krumlov will host Group A of the Champions League Women next week. French ALCL TT Grand-Quevilly and Spain’s Girbau-Vic TT will also play in that Group. “For the opening stage we should be ready in full strength. It means next to our last year key players Mitsuki YOSHIDA and Ekaterina CHERNYAVSKAYA is going to play newcomer Valeriia SHCHERBATYKH. The start of another new addition to our team Moana NAKAMICHI from Japan who is still based in Asia is still in question but we will know soon ” said Coach Jindřich BÍLA. Are the players in good shape have you already started with the play in the national League? “Unfortunately we had no chance to prove our form. The Czech League starts on 23rd September. This Champions league tournament is going to be our first competitive clash in the new season.” Did they record some good results this summer? “This summer we concentrated on physical and mental recovery after last year’s hard challenges. We lost in finals in Czech Extraliga as well as in Europe Trophy. Season was long and very demanding. Our players deserved to take a rest.” What can you say about the competition in your group? “We are already looking forward to the tournament. All three teams should be very competitive; the players on the rosters are balanced on paper. Better current form and small details in the game will probably decide who advances.” What is your goal in Champions League and in national League for this season? “We always try to win every match defeat every opponent that comes our way. It will be the same this year. Promoting to the second stage of the competition would be a fantastic achievement for our club. We will defend the silver medals in the Czech league our goal will be to stand on the podium again ” said BILA.
Euro Mini Champ’s 2022: gold for Siri BENJEGÅRD
After 2 years of break due to the health situation the 16th edition of the Euro Mini Champ’s took place last week in Schiltigheim in the splendid Nelson Mandela sports complex. In the category born in 2009 and after top three girls are Yuan ITO of Japan followed by her teammate Sakurako KAGAWA whilst the third player is Alexia NODIN from AUVERGNE-RHONE ALPES. In the same age Boy’s category Japan also has the representative on the top position at the medal rostrum Soma ONO Pavol KOKAVEC of Slovakia and Axel BOSSIS from PAYS DE LA LOIRE are second and third. In the category of players born on 2011 and after highest position at the medal rostrum was occupied by Swede Siri BENJEGÅRD. Second and third are Eva LAM of HAUTS DE FRANCE and Orinta RAMONAITE of Lithuania. In Boys category gold medal winner is Lukas WANG of Germany silver medalists is Noah TESSIER from Pays De La Loire and PHONG Tien Nghia of Germany is third.
