Tomorrow will be the final day of the STAG European Veterans Championships. The singles Women’s semifinals of all the age categories wil be played at 11 30 am and the Men’s semifinals at 12 am. Here is the list of the matches WOMEN’S SINGLES OVER 40 11:30 AM DONNER Marina (Fin)-KRUMINA Laura (Nor) CADIOU Marielle (Fra)-JENSEN Janne (Den) WOMEN’S SINGLES OVER 45 11:30 AM GRAUHOLM Trine (Den)-SPENGLER Krisztina (Hun) NELDNER Sabine (Ger)-TELNA Halyna (Ukr) WOMEN’S SINGLES OVER 50 11:30 AM NEMES Olga (Ger)-SEMENZA Cristina (Ita) BORKOWSKA Dorota (Pol)-WANG Xuelan (Ita) WOMEN’S SINGLES OVER 55 11:30 AM YANG-XU Yan Hua (Ger)-DAUBNEROVA Marta (Svk) YENENKO Galyna (Ukr)-TOELHØJ Pia (Den) WOMEN’S SINGLES OVER 60 11:30 AM PALUCH Dorota (Pol)-IVÁSKÓ Gabriella (Hun) POPOVA Valentina (Svk)-BIENSTEDT Cornelia (Ger) WOMEN’S SINGLES OVER 65 11:30 AM ANTONYAN BRUNNER Elmira (Sui)-GUILLOTEAU Françoise (Fra) BRUZER Zoya (Isr)-THORNBECH Kai (Est) WOMEN’S SINGLES OVER 70 11:30 AM MAMLINA Nelia (Isr)-GEORGI Hildegard (Ger) DEVANEY Teresa (Irl)-POGOSOVA Rita (Ita) WOMEN’S SINGLES OVER 75 11:30 AM ZACHER Gizella (Hun)-LE CORVEC Colette (Fra) MARŠÍKOVÁ Jitka (Cze)-WELSMAN Margaret (Eng) WOMEN’S SINGLES OVER 80 11:30 AM BAX Sally (Eng)-SCHNEIDER Ruth (Ger) DE SANTA BARBARA Michele (Fra)-WUNNER Heidi (Ger) WOMEN’S SINGLES OVER 85 11:30 AM BIRD Betty (Eng)-POTŮČKOVÁ Anděla (Cze) ROBINSON Audrey (Eng)-BLASBERG Marianne (Ger) MEN’S SINGLES OVER 40 12:00 AM MERCHEZ Cédric (Bel)-FALCUCCI Giovanni-Maria (Ita) LAANE Lauri (Est)-DANIEL Artur (Pol) MEN’S SINGLES OVER 45 12:00 AM DOHNÁL Gábor András (Hun)-JUCHNA Gintautas (Ltu) SORBALO Vladislav (Ita)-TEBECIO Wojciech (Pol) MEN’S SINGLES OVER 50 12:00 AM VITSEK Iván (Hun)-VASILJEVS Sandijs (Lat) GOEDAER Grégory (Fra)-KÄLLBERG Mats (Swe) MEN’S SINGLES OVER 55 12:00 AM KUTIS Anton (Svk)-FEJER-KONNERT Andras (Rou) KRAUS-GÜNTNER Franz (Aut)-MILLER Thierry (Sui) MEN’S SINGLES OVER 60 12:00 AM HAUTH Lars (Den)-BÖHM Zsolt-Georg (Ger) CECAVA Miroslav (Cze)-ADEYEMO Fatal Akambi (Ita) MEN’S SINGLES OVER 65 12:00 AM NIESWAND Manfred (Ger)-ZAKARYAN Eduard (Arm) NOHA Miroslav (Cze)-GUTTORMSEN Paal Edmund (Nor) MEN’S SINGLES OVER 70 12:00 AM WERNER Gerd (Ger)-SUNDQVIST Roger (Swe) PEDERSEN Claus (Den)-JÜRGENS Dieter (Ger) MEN’S SINGLES OVER 75 12:00 AM RAMBERG Niels (Den)-GRETER Wendelin (Sui) VERSANG Jacques (Fra)-NIELSEN Erling Børge (Den) MEN’S SINGLES OVER 80 12:00 AM LEMKE Siegfried (Ger)-SCHMIDT Wolfgang (Ger) WITTHAUS Bernd Dr (Ger)-MADURELL RODRIGUEZ Josep (Esp) MEN’S SINGLES OVER 85 12:00 AM HEDRICH Horst (Ger)-FRITZINGER Rudi (Ger) YAHIEL Henri (Fra)-STOLZENBURG Peter Dr (Ger)
Great enthusiasm for Table Tennis Xt at the STAG EVC
In the afternoon of the rest day at STAG European Veteran Championships in Rimini a tournament of Table Tennis X a new discipline which was launched by the International Table Tennis Federation and is greatly supported by Italian Table Tennis Federation took place. More than 90 players battled using only wooden blades without rubbers or sponges and with balls bigger and heavier than the ones used in table tennis. Among the players there were some well-kown persons as the president of ITTF Petra SÖRLING the acting president of European Table Tennis Union Pedro MOURA the representative of the ITTF Foundation Stefano BOSI the co-president of STAG International Vivek KOHLI the director of STAG Global Private Limited Arjun KOHLI the member of the Executive Board of ETTU Miguel VICENS the president of the Paralympic Committee in the Balkan Tennis Table Union Aleksandar MATKOVIC the champion Pia TOELHØJ and the councilor of FITeT Davide SCAZZIERI. With the matches at best of 3 games and all the games lasting 2 minutes all the players faced each other in a preliminary group phase and after in the main draw. In the end the tournament was won by Belgium’s Alexandre ROSMARIN who prevailed 2-1 over Israel’s Dmitry ASKOTSKYY. Norway’s Magnus VIKSTROM classified third. The prizes were delivered by the director of the event Giuseppe MARINO.
Impressive start for Petra Sörling and Pia Toelhøj in Rimini
Gold at the 2018 World Veteran Championships in Las Vegas for Petra Sörling partnering her long-time friend Denmark’s Pia Toelhøj; on Tuesday 28th June at the Stag 2022 European Veteran Championships in Rimini the duo made the perfect start in the quest for further honours. Competing in group two in the women’s doubles 50-54 years category the pair emulated the form of some four years earlier. They beat Turkey’s Ozlem Ozer and Saadet Tekeş (11-6 11-6 11-6) and Germany’s Angela Matiske and Inga Pulver-Schuback (11-4 11-5 11-5) prior to overcoming Italy’s Dana-Mihaela Iliescu and Germany’s Janina Schwitalla (11-4 11-4 11-3). “We are a very good doubles team because we have known each other since we were very young at a training camp. Then we had an 18 years’ long break during which we did not play table tennis we came back in 2016. We did not do well so we practised a lot and in 2018 we won at the World Veteran Championships. I think we win because we are friends and enjoy playing together.” For Petra Sörling table tennis is a family passion. “The sport entered my life through my father he was a player and also through my bigger sister nine years older who played too. I could not follow because I was too young finally I went with them I could not catch the ball. When I was eight I came back and it things went well. My best ranking was no.3 junior in Sweden. Now ITTF President in Rimini she is the focus of attention. “A lot of people want to make interviews and to take photos and I need much more mental practice. I enjoy challenging myself to stay in my bubble. I like to stay among the other players and this opinion is not only mine. Let me say that here as player we have super important persons such as the President of Norway and Denmark Table Tennis Federations the General Secretary of Denmark and also another member of the Board of Norway. They prefer to stay on the front line instead of hiding in the corner. I love to be a player. Actually I only play doubles so I can also deal with my work of President.” Petra Sörling is delighted to be in Rimini. “It’s really great to be here and everything is working well. The atmosphere is fantastic it’s wonderful to meet again after three years of pandemic and to challenge.” Moreover the goal is clear. “Pia and myself are here to win the title. It will not be easy because there are a lot of strong pairs if we do our best we are happy and if we enjoy what we do everything goes that much better.”
In the paralympic events At the STAG EVC HEAPS and BECK clinched titles
The first two events ended at the STAG European Veterans Championships in Rimini and the medals of the Paralympic tournaments were awarded for the first time in the history of the event. In the men’s singles in Over 40 paraclass 1-5 (wheelchair) England’s Simon HEAPS in the finals accounted for Italy’s Davide SCAZZIERI 3-1 (11-7 10-12 11-6 11-7). The bronze medals went to Italy thanks to Francesco BAGGIO who in the semifinals lost 3-1 (11-9 6-11 4-11 5-11) to HEAPS and Andrea GALLI who was defeated 3-0 (9-11 5-11 2-11) by SCAZZIERI. In the singles Over 40 paraclass 6-10 (standing) the final match was really exciting. Germany’s Jens BECK was leading 2-0 (11-9 13-11) and Spain’s David ALONSO LOPEZ made a great comeback winning the third and fourth games (11-9 11-9) and rounding the table in the fifth game at 5-2. BECK kept on fighting and recovered prevailing in the last emotional points (11-9). Italy’s Andrea FURLAN who was beaten in the semifinals 3-0 (10-12 6-11 7-11) by BECK and Manfredi Paolo BARONCELLI who lost 3-2 (6-11 12-10 11-7 3-11 5-11) to ALONSO classified third. The medals were presented respectively by the vicepresident of the European Table Tennis Union Ina JOZEPSONE and by the deputy president of the Italian Table Tennis Federation Carlo BORELLA.
Premiere for QIU and WINTER as German Individual Champions
One week after his jump into the top 10 of the world ranking list Dang QIU also won the German championships in singles for the first time. The 25-year-old from Borussia Düsseldorf won 4-1 games against his doubles partner Benedikt DUDA in the final in Saarbrücken. The two together had defended their doubles championship title just a few hours earlier. With their fifth title in a row the duo replaced the previous record series winners Jörg ROSSKOPF/Steffen FETZNER at position one in the German statistics. “I am very proud because the championship title is very difficult to win in Germany ” said QIU after his success. The new German champion in women’s singles is Sabine WINTER who won her final against the world number seven HAN Ying with 4-2 games. With the victory over the best defensive player in the world winning the German Championships a dream came true for Sabine WINTER: “I really wanted to become the German Champion in singles after I had already done it six times in doubles. My first defeat in the final was exactly ten years ago. They always say that you need a bit of stamina until it finally works out. I had that and now I am super happy to finally be German champion. I’m already looking forward to the next national championships because I always enjoy playing at the German nationals.” In women’s doubles YUAN Wan/Chantal MANTZ won the title beating Annett KAUFMANN/Franziska SCHREINER in the final 3-0. In Mixed doubles it was again WAN side by side with Cedric MEISSNER with a 3-0 over Chantal MANTZ/FAN Bo Meng. “Dang Qiu is the man of the moment ” commented DTTB Sports Director Richard PRAUSE. “That he would take such a development within two years was not foreseeable. He has used the momentum for himself but also earned the title deservedly.“ A week ago QIU won his first WTT event in Lima advanced to the top ten in the world. QIU defeated Olympic bronze medallist Dimitrij OVTCHAROV in the Lima final. The former world number one Ovtcharov returned from the Peruvian capital with a severe cold and therefore had to retire from the German Championships already on Saturday after his first round victory due to illness. The 41-year-old record-holder Timo Boll does no longer participate in German championships since winning his 13th title in 2019.
Ukraine’s Viktor VASYLEVSKYI dedicated the victory to his family
On the second day of the play at the STAG European Veterans Championships the remaining two age categories in singles entered the field- Over 40 and Over 45 started playing followed by all the doubles. In Group 1 in Over 40 Event Belgium’s Cedric MERCHEZ beat 3-0 (11-3 11-4 11-1) Sweden’s Anders LINDSTROM 3-0 (11-3 11-3 11-5) Germany’s Thorsten JONS-ERICHSEN and 3-0 (13-11 11-6 11-3) Italy’s Marco RIGO and emerged at the top of the standings. “I feel very well and I am in a very good shape. I practiced a lot and my body is in excellent shape for the moment. I will try to play at my best level in this tournament. I am the defending champion but in table tennis you can never tell I will play match by match. Three years ago in Budapest it was amazing Greece’s Ioannis VLOTINOS was leading 2-1 and 6-2 in the fourth game. I took timeout and then I won 11-7 11-7 the last two games. It was unbelievable and the title was a surprise for me because I was a challenger. Here in Rimini there are many strong players starting form Italy’s Valentino PIACENTINI. It will be tough but I am optimistic. I came here to play well and to win ” said MERCHEZ PIACENTINI won Group 3 defeating by walkover Ukraine’s Oleksii KAULIK and 3-0 (11-8 11-5 11-4) Finland’s Elmo RÄSÄNEN. “Last September I started playing again after ten years of inactivity and it’s very difficult to get back in shape. I came here to Rimini above all to have fun meet friends and be in company. I enjoy to play but I do not have a competitive goal even if I do not like to lose and when I play I do all the possible to win. At these European Veterans Championships I see many athletes who are well trained and in great shape. According to me MERCHEZ is the favorite for the title. This is a very beautiful event and the atmosphere is great. It’s fantastic that there are so many persons who have a real passion for table tennis. I like to share these moments with athletes I played against during my career”. In Group 1 of Over 45 Ukraine’s Viktor VASYLEVSKYI prevailed 3-0 (11-6 11-4 11-8) over France’s Nicolas VITEL and 3-0 (11-2 11-4 11-4) over Italy’s Valentino MAURO. “I dedicate these victories to my family that is in Germany because they had to flee the war. My goal for this Championships is only to play and enjoy. I am really happy to be here and to represent my country”. Finland’s Marina DONNER was first in Group 1 of Over 40 accounting for Denmark’s Janne Jensen 3-0 (11-9 11-9 11-8) and Germany’s Zeng Le 3-0 (11-3 11-4 11-5). “I am satisfied with my game. I played very well because I knew that my first opponent is a very good player so I had to play at the top of my game and I did it. I am taking part in European Veterans Championships for the first time. So far 2022 was very positive for me since I won three gold medals at Finnish Championships. My goals for this tournament? Of course to win. There are several good players I just have to focus on my game in every match”. In Group 4 of Over 45 Germany’s Sabine NELDNER gave no chance to Finland’s Katrin LOOKE (11-4 11-6 11-9) France’s Corinne CAVICCHI (11-7 11-2 11-1) and Wales’ Muralitharan BHANUREKA (11-8 11-5 17-15). “I am very happy to be here and to play against so many champions from all over Europe. My objectives in these Championships is to have fun and to find many champions to compare myself with. Right now I am very satisfied with my game I feel very fit”.
Cédric Nuytinck has won his 5th title in a row in Belgium
The Belgian Championships took place in Libramont on 25th and 26th June. In Men’s Singles Cédric Nuytinck has won his 5th title in a row beating in the Final Florent Lambiet 4/1 ( 3 8 -9 6 4). Previously he has to battle in the Semi Final against Robin Devos 4/3. Florent Lambiet accounted for Martin Allegro 4/1 Quarter Final: Cédric Nuytinck vs Adrien Rassenfosse 4/0 Robin Devos vs Louis Laffineur 4/0 Martin Allegro vs Tom Closset 4/0 Florent Lambiet vs Laurens Devos 4/2 Semi Final: Cédric Nuytinck vs Robin Devos 4/3 Florent Lambiet vs Martin Allegro 4/1 Final: Cédric Nuytinck vs Florent Lambiet 4/1 ( 3 8 -9 6 4) In Women’s Singles Nathalie Marchetti clinched her 4th title after 2013 2014 and 2015. She beats in Final the young Julie Van Hauwaert who created a surprise beating Margo Degraef in the Quarter Final Quarter Final: Nathalie Marchetti vs Sara Devos 4/2 Daria Mityukova vs Natacha Koszulap 4/2 Florence Van Acker vs Lauranne Hackemack 4/3 Julie Van Hauwaert vs Margo Degraef 4/2 Semi Final: Nathalie Marchetti vs Daria Mityukova 4/3 Julie Van Hauwaert vs Florence Van Acker 4/1 Final: Nathalie Marchetti vs Julie Van Hauwaert 4/2 ( -7 6 5 -10 5 8) In Men’s Doubles first title for the U19 Players Adrien Rassenfosse and Louis Laffineur beating the experimented Martin Allegro and Florent Lambiet 3/2. In Women’s Doubles first title also for Margo Degraef and Nathalie Marchetti against Natacha Koszulap and Eloïse Duvivier 3/0 In Mixed Doubles title for Alessi Massart and Cécile Ozer against Louis Laffineur and Lauranne Hackemack 3/0 There was also a Masters for Wheelchairs and Stands with wins for Bart Brandts and Ben Despineux.
Slovenia and Egypt clinched gold in Teams Event in Oran
Men’s team of Slovenia and women’s team of Egypt are the crowned champions of the Team’s Event at the Oran 2022 Mediterranean Games. In both Event’s Portugal won silver and bronze. Greek men are bronze medal winners and Italy won silver in Women’s event. In men’s Event Slovenia’s Darko JORGIC and Dani KOZUL beat Portugal’s Joao PEDRO Joao ANDRADE SELGAS and Diogo CHEN in the final. In the match for the bronze Grece overcame Spain. Greece was represented by Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS and Konstantinos KONSTANTINOPOULOS. In Women’s Team Event Egypt’s Dina MESHREF and Hana GODA overcame Italy’s Nikoleta STEFANOVA and Giorgia PICCOLIN. Bronze medalists are Portugal’s SHAO Jieni Matilde PINTO and Inês RODRIGUES DE MATOS.
Fierce fights from the beginning of the European Veterans Championships
The first day of competition of the STAG European Veterans Championships was very intense. The Singles Event qualifying rounds of almost all age categories were played. Only the Over 40 and Over 45 men and women will take the field today together with the doubles and for the first time the paralympic singles. In Group 2 of the Over 75 Germany’s Jutta BARON beat 3-0 (11-4 11-3 11-0) her compatriot Sonja CHEVALLIER 3-1 (11-8 9-11 11-4 11-4) England’s Jacqueline CHANNEL and 3-0 (11-5 11-8 11-2) Croatia’s Vera MENLA ALI. “The most difficult match of the group was that against CHANNEL. She played very well and I had to be focused in all the points. Here in Rimini I am the no. two seed and n. 1 is Hungary’s Gizella ZACHER she is a strong adversary. I am the defending champion and I hope to win again. I am satisfied of my game. Three years ago in Budapest I prevailed 3-0 in the finals over my compatriot Edda Christa WASSERMEYER-DELEKAT. It was the last of many medals I won ” said BARON. In Over 60 Denmark’s Lars HAUTH classified first in Group 1 defeating 3-0 (11-5 11-6 11-3) Italy’s Gabriele VIVIANI 3-1 (11-7 11-5 9-11 11-1) Germany’s Ulrich REINELT and 3-0 (11-2 11-4 11-3) Germany’s Klaus HINZ. “It was difficult to play at table 1 because of the wind. I had to slowdown the ball and not to play so fast to avoid making too many mistakes. I am not happy of my game. I have not enough rhythm and I will have to practice myself during the afternoon to get my game a little better. I am in Group 1 but I do not know whether I am top seed. I do not feel to be the favorite. There are other strong player as Germany’s Zsolt-Georg BÖHM Czech Republic’s Miroslav CECAVA or Italy’s Giovanni BISI. I am among the favorites. So far I took part in two European Championships and two World Championship. In 2016 in Alicante I reached the finals and lost to Spain’s He Cheng Zhiwen. I hope to win one more medal here”. In Group 1 in Over 85 England’s Betty BIRD who won the title in Budapest in 2019 accounted for Czech Republic’s Eliska KREJCOVA 3-0 (11-4 11-4 11-1) England’s Audrey ROBINSON 3-0 (11-5 11-9 11-3) and Germany’s Christl RUPPRECHT 3-1 (11-5 9-11 11-4 11-5). “I came to Rimini with the hope to participate in this great competition. I would love to be able to reach the finals even though I do not feel myself in the best conditions. My flight from England was very long because of a delay and I arrived here very tired. Before coming to Italy I competed in the British Summer League which is going to end in autumn. My participation is something I really care about very much”. In Group 3 of Over 65 Estonia’s Rein LINDMÄE won all the matches 3-0 (11-4 11-1 11-2) over Germany’s Rainer GÜNTHER 3-0 (12-10 11-3 11-1) over Austria’s Hubert MICHELUZZI and 3-0 (11-3 11-9 11-5) over Spain’s Pere PORTA. “I was silver medalist in Helsingborg in 2017 and Budapest in 2019 and I would like to get on the podium another time. I always play for the medals hopefully a gold one this time. I will try hard but the task is very difficult. I stopped playing for two years because of Coronavirus which means no competitions and no trainings but I dream of the podium anyway. Here in Rimini there are many great players worth playing against”.
Romania continued to dominate in Singles at the Balkan Championships
The ultimate test before the start of the European Youth Championships – Balkan Youth Championships showed that Romania will come to Belgrade ready. After all 4 titles in Team’s Event they clinched three out of four in singles event. In the Junior Boys Singles Event Hakan ISIK of Turkiye clinched gold. In the final he overcame Andrei TOMICA of Romania. Matei DUMITRESCU Romania and Alexandros MADESIS of Greece lost in semifinal. Elena ZAHARIA of Romania won another gold in her successful youth career. At the ultimate stage she beat her compatriot Camelia MITROFAN. Those two players halted progress of Moldova’s Alexandra CHIRIACOVA and Bulgaria’s Tsvetelina GEORGIEVA. In Cadet Boys Singles Event Robert PODAR of Romania overcame Luca OPREA of Romania. Stefan DIMITROV and Yoan VELICHKOV of Bulgaria lost in semis. The dominance of Romania’s team continued in Cadet Girls Singles. Bianca MEI ROSU overcame Alesia SFERLEA also from Romania. In semifinal they halted the progress of Busra DEMIR of Turkiye and her compatriot Banu SIMSEK AYBUKE.
