Olympiacos clinched the title in the A1 Men national League in Greece for the 2021-2022 season. In the exciting final of the playoffs against Panathinaikos on the afternoon of Thursday 26/05 at the Peace and Friendship Stadium Olympiacos prevailed 3-1 took the trophy again after 2018 and made the double after the Greek Cup. In the fantastic performance in the finish of the season which was enjoyed by 150 fans up close and thousands from the computers Olympiacos recorded the victory and won the 15th men’s championship in its history. Olympiacos had a key player Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS who prevailed in both of his individual games and got another victory from the Croatian Tomislav PUCAR. In the big “battle” of the two leading Greek clubs in the match with the highest level of competition which has ever appeared in the Greek A1 Panathinaikos was a great opponent and worthy adversary led the Croatian Andrei GACINA. The match was broadcast live from the HTTF channel on youtube at the link https://youtu.be/uqbKrHSCn1s. The 3rd place was won by AS Pera Athinon which with an overall good performance defeated 3-1 OEA Rethymno which lined up without foreign athletes in the playoffs. The match was broadcast live on the link https://youtu.be/NUM_4VZNVYY. Olympiakos and Panathinaikos “clashed” again in a decisive title match after many years while after 2011 it was the second time that the championship was judged in the playoffs! The match was eagerly awaited by all the Greek fans and the top European athletes of the two teams together with 4 times European champion of the youth categories SGOUROPOULOS completely justified the huge interest. It was not only the top names of the two teams and the great importance of the match but also the fact that they appeared a roster… Champions League with athletes who have medals in European championships. Think that the Portuguese Joao MONTEIRO three times European champion in men was on the bench of Olympiacos! There were fluctuations and agony from beginning to end and the title was judged in detail after 2.5 hours. SGOUROPOULOS was used to the playoffs (after the completion of his games in the Bundesliga he had the right to play in the Greek Cup) and was placed 1st player by his coach George Christoforakis. He defeated two world-class athletes the Polish DYJAS and the Croatian GACINA the second one with a reversal of 1-2 making the final 3-1 for Piraeus. In another crucial point of the match the Cuban Kampos took the 1st set against PUCAR but the Croatian increased his performance and prevailing with 3-1 gave his team the lead again after the draw of Gacina (3-1 set by Shibaev). It should be noted that GACINA and DYJAS played in the playoffs for the only time this year in the championship. The final Olympiacos-Panathinaikos 3-1: Ioannis Sgouropoulos-Jakob Dyjas 3-0 (11-9 11-8 11-8) Aleksandr Shibaev-Andrej Gacina 1-3 (11-4 7-11 5-11 8-11) Tomislav Pucar-Jorge Campos 3-1 (8-11 11-6 11-6 11-8) Sgouropoulos-Gacina 3-2 (9-11 13-11 10-12 11-8 11-9) In the group stage Olympiacos also relied on Tassos RINIOTIS the Portuguese Enio MENDES Socrates GIANNOUTSOS and Alkiviadis STAMATOUROS. Similarly Panathinaikos which had Lefteris MAKRAS in the technical guidance used in the first phase of the championship in addition to KAMPOS Konstantinos KONSTANTINOPOULOS Jason KORDOUTIS the Bulgarian Petio KRASTEV and the French Lorent COVA. Today on the bench was also George KONSTANTINOPOULOS who was available having completed his games in the Polish league. The 3rd place was won by AS Pera Athinon. In the match for the bronze medal Rethymno prevailed with 3-1 after two victories of Pantasak Tanviriyavetsakul from Thailand and one of Stratos Damianis. Pera had Michalis Vakrakos as the 4th player Rethymno as Spyros Kioufis but there was no change in the three. The match AS Pera Athens-OEA Rethymno 3-1 : Pantasak Tanvirigiavetsakoul-Pantelis Vogiatzidakis 3-0 (11-2 11-2 11-4) Dimitris Kordoutis-Nikos Antoniadis 1-3 (8-11 11-9 7-11 5-11) Stratos Damianis-Fanis Tsachakis 3-0 (11-5 11-1 11-2) Pantasak-Antoniadis 3-0 (14-12 13-11 11-9) Olympiacos became the champion of Greece in women this year as well as men’s team. The championship was completed without playoffs at the end of January and the team of Piraeus won without defeat the 20th title in its history. After two rounds he collected 24 points. The 2nd place was taken by Panathinaikos with 22 and the 3rd by Sarises Florinas with 19. Olympiacos included Sweden’s Li Fen Christina Kallberg Ukraine’s Margarita Pesotska Spain’s Galia Dvorak Aliki Kioufi and Hungary’s Christina Ambrose. Giorgos Christoforakis is the coach of Olympiacos for another year.
Camp and Czech Open in Olomouc
Table Tennis International Camp (25th – 27th July 2022) and Czech U11&U13&U15 Open (28th – 30th July 2022) will be played this summer in Olomouc. ELIGIBILITY U15 Events: Born on or after January 1st 2007 U13 Events: Born on or after January 1st 2009 U11 Events: Born on or after January 1st 2011 PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE 28th July Team Events 29st July Individual Events (singles) 30th July Individual Events (final rounds of singles + doubles) SYSTEM OF PLAY Singles events will be played in two stages all matches best of 5 games. Team events will be played in two stages all matches best of 5 games. They will be played on Corbillon Cup System till the 2nd winning point. Doubles will be played in KO basis all matches best of 5 games. If schedule permits consolation will be played. The organizer may make changes in the system of play and (or) cancel some events in connection with the epidemiological situation or the number of participants. DEADLINES Final entry form: 11th July 2022 Payment deadline: 13th July 2021 ENTRIES Entry forms you can find at the web page www.kstolomouc.cz Fill it in and send to kstolomouc@tabletennis.cz
Acting ETTU President Pedro MOURA visited Malta
Last week acting ETTU President Pedro MOURA visited Malta and representatives of the Malta Table Tennis Association. ITTF President Petra SORLING FiTET International relations delegate Stefano BOSI were also present at the meeting. Representing SportMalta institution was Assistant to CEO Ms. Rose Marie MERCIECA representing the Malta Olympic Committee was President Julian Pace BONELLO General Secretary Kevin AZZOPARDI Directors of sport Charline ATTARD and Johanna GRECH. Talks were focused on Malta to acquire its own state of the art Table Tennis facility. “I wish to thank Malta Table Tennis Association for the invitation and preparation of this visit. It gave me as well as ITTF president Mrs. Petra SORLING the opportunity to review old table tennis friends and to understand challenges this historical European table tennis association faces on their daily activities. I really hope meetings we held with both Sports Malta and Malta Olympic Committee are fruitful and will provide the necessary boost needed by the passionate leaders of Malta Table Tennis Association in order to achieve their goals ” said ETTU President Pedro MOURA. Malta is one of the oldest ETTU members. “This was a historic visit we were pleased to give some insight to how our sporting institutions work and support sport in Malta. Needless to say we are also pleased to have reinforced our relationship with the highest ranked Global and European delegates ” said Vice President David PACE said.
Priping won the Kosovo Cup 2022
The Kosovo Cup 2022 took place last weekend. Priping club clinched the title. Priping initially defeated the youth of the KPP club Ahmet Hoxha MK with a result of 3: 0 to advance to the quarterfinals. In the 1/8 of the final Priping met with KVPP Prizren who defeated them with a result of 3: 1 to advance to the semifinals. The semifinal was in a confrontation between the two clubs of the capital of Kosovo KPP Priping and KPP Prishtina; it was a balanced match but in the end Priping scored a 3 to 1 victory to secure the ticket to the final. As expected the final was a strong game where Priping met the multiple champion of Kosovo from Prizren “Lidhja e Prizrenit”. Coach Kastriot Orana after the match said that they are very happy with this very important trophy and that the commitment and hard work is finally being rewarded. “We have been preparing for this match for a long time we had the camp with the coach Eli Baraty from London especially for this duel and with this trophy the commitment and tireless work of the players in the last weeks is being paid off. We are very happy for the Kosovo Cup and as a team this cup has motivated us even more for trophies in the future “said Orana. He further added that the next goal is to win the title of Kosovo Super League where they are currently in second place with one point away from the top of the table.
The draw for the Europe Trophy Grand Final
The draw for the Europe Trophy Grand Final was held today in Luxembourg. SKST Tesla Batteries Havirov (Czech Republic) will host women and men Europe Trophy Grand Final on June 17th to 19th . There will be 2 groups of 4 teams in each competition (men and women). In men’s Event in Group A are: Arteal Tenis De Mesa (ESP) Metz TT (FRA) Grantham Academy (ENG) and TJ Geolog Roznava (SVK). In Group B are: TalTech Sports Club (EST) SKST Tesla Batteries Havirov (CZE) CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc (ROU) and Draycott & Long Eaton TTC (ENG). In women’s event in Group A are: Panathinaikos A.C. (GRE) SKST Bratislava (SVK) Draycott & Long Eaton TTC (ENG) SCO Ossiachersee Bodensdorf (AUT). In GroupB: Fusion TTC (ENG) TT Moravský Krumlov (CZE) KTTC AFP Antwerpen (BEL) SU Sparkasse Kufstein (AUT).
Watch the draw for the Europe Trophy Grand Final live on ETTU Facebook
The draw for the Europe Trophy Grand Final will be held tomorrow Wednesday 1st June starting 1315 CET and will be live streamed on ETTU Facebook. There will be 2 groups of 4 teams in each competition (men and women). Men regional winners: Grantham Academy (ENG) TalTech Sports Club (EST) Arteal Tenis De Mesa (ESP) Metz TT (FRA) SKST Tesla Batteries Havirov (CZE) CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc (ROU) Men regional runners up: Draycott & Long Eaton TTC (ENG) TJ Geolog Roznava (SVK) Women regional winners: Fusion TTC (ENG) Panathinaikos A.C. (GRE) TT Moravský Krumlov (CZE) SKST Bratislava (SVK) Women regional runners up: Draycott & Long Eaton TTC (ENG) KTTC AFP Antwerpen (BEL) SCO Ossiachersee Bodensdorf (AUT) SU Sparkasse Kufstein (AUT)
Brunetti Castel Goffredo clinches the 19th title in Italy
Brunetti Castel Goffredo keeps on winning. The team trained by coach Alfonso LAGHEZZA clinched the 19th Italian title of their history the sixth in a row beating 4-1 in both the legs of the finals Polisportiva Bagnolese Panino LAB. In the first away match the defending champions started in the best way. Spain’s Maria XIAO defeated 3-0 Veronica MOSCONI and Romania’s Bernadette SZOCS prevailed 3-0 over defender and compatriot Alina ZAHARIA. Tian JING narrowed the gap leaving only one game to Nicole ARLIA but this was the only point of the local players. In the last two singles SZOCS and XIAO comeback against MOSCONI and JING allowing to Castel Goffredo to get over the line. In the second leg played at home SZOCS accounted for JING struggling a lot especially in the second game and ZAHARIA put Bagnolese back on track against MONFARDINI. Also the following three singles ended in straight games and all went in favor of the local team thanks to the double victory of XIAO over MOSCONI and JING and to the one of SZOCS forced by ZAHARIA to fight above all in the first game. “It was not easy” explains coach LAGHEZZA “as it was not in the first leg even if Bagnolese did not have the Russian Olga VOROBEVA. Our girls played very well and confirmed their status. We are very satisfied. We could count on two very competitive athletes as Bernadette SZOCS and Maria XIAO. They are also good friends and this aspect helped to create a good atmosphere within the group and to allow us to face difficult moments in the right way. It has been a long journey and we improved match after match. For young talents Gaia MONFARDINI and Nicole ARLIA this season was meant to be an opportunity to gain experience. On some occasions they played better on others worse. Time is on their side and from next season we will expect something more from them. Both had to learn so as not to repeat the same mistakes in the future’. Second leg: Brunetti Castel Goffredo – Polisportiva Bagnolese Panino LAB 4-1 Bernadette SZOCS – Tian JING 3-0 (11-7 15-13 11-6) Gaia MONFARDINI – Alina ZAHARIA 0-3 (3-11 7-11 3-11) Maria XIAO – Veronica MOSCONI 3-0 (11-6 11-4 11-6) Bernadette SZOCS – Alina ZAHARIA 3-0 (19-17 11-7 11-5) Maria XIAO – Tian JING 3-0 (11-4 11-7 11-9) First leg: Polisportiva Bagnolese Panino LAB – Brunetti Castel Goffredo 1-4 Veronica MOSCONI – Maria XIAO 0-3 (3-11 7-11 8-11) Alina ZAHARIA – Bernadette SZOCS 0-3 (9-11 7-11 8-11) Tian JING – Nicole ARLIA 3-1 (11-5 11-6 9-11 11-6) Veronica MOSCONI – Bernadette SZOCS 2-3 (11-5 10-12 13-11 3-11 7-11) Tian JING – Maria XIAO 1-3 (11-4 7-11 7-11 6-11)
CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc undefeated at home soil
The last club to secured the place in the Europe Trophy Grand final Men on 17th-19th June 2022 was CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc. At home soil in Romania they overcame North Macedonia’s TTC Mladost96 and Serbia’s Stk Temerin-Ferocoop. In both matches CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc recorded straight matches victories. Sebastian LOSO Szilard GYRGY and Lucian MUNTEAU led the club to the final phase. REGION G CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc (ROU) – TTC Mladost96 (MKD) 3:0 Stk Temerin-Ferocoop (SRB) – TTC Mladost96 (MKD) 3:0 CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc (ROU) -Stk Temerin-Ferocoop (SRB) 3:0 MEN -QUALIFIERS Region A: group A Grantham Academy (ENG) Region A: group B Draycott & Long Eaton TTC (ENG) Region B: TalTech Sports Club (EST) Region C: Arteal Tenis de Mesa (ESP) Region D: Metz TT (FRA) Region EF: SKST Tesla Batteries Havirov (CZE) Region EF: TJ Geolog Roznava (SVK) Region G:CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc (ROU) In Region BDGH Women Greek Panathinaikos beat Belgium’s KTTC AFP Antwerpen and Latvia’s Salaspils GTK to secure the place in the Final. KTTC AFP Antwerpen beat Salaspils GTK to finish second. Panathinaikos A.C. (GRE) – Salaspils GTK (LAT) 3:0 Panathinaikos A.C. (GRE) – KTTC AFP Antwerpen (BEL) 3:0 KTTC AFP Antwerpen (BEL) – Salaspils GTK (LAT) 3:1 Women 1. Region A: Fusion TTC (ENG) 2. Region A: Draycott & Long Eaton TTC (ENG) 1. Region B D G H: Panathinaikos A.C. (GRE) 2. Region B D G H: KTTC AFP Antwerpen (BEL) 1. Region EF: group A TT Moravský Krumlov (CZE) 2. Region EF: group A SCO Ossiachersee Bodensdorf (AUT) 1. Region EF: group B Stolnotenisove Centrum SKST Bratislava (SVK) 2. Region EF: group B SU Sparkasse Kufstein (AUT)
European Veteran Championships parade of authorities: “This is how sport starts again”
4000 people including 3000 athletes 800 accompanying persons and over 200 volunteers referees and organization staff – these important numbers are just the prologue of the STAG European Veterans Championships which will take place in Rimini from 25 June to 2 July. In the press conference held yesterday in Rome at the CONI Italian Olympic Committee headquarters an illustrious configuration of international sports and political authorities provided to reveal the reasons for the interest of the event. ETTU acting President Pedro MOURA was also present alongside “ETTU is sure that the EVC in the hands of the FITeT will not fail to provide great satisfaction. It will be unforgettable European Championships for various reasons: it is the first European Championships after the pandemic Paralympic athlete are also included an element that will further extend the horizons of inclusiveness which have always characterized the European Veterans Championships” ” said ETTU acting President Pedro MOURA. “What you are organizing in Rimini is very important – commented Petra SÖRLING ITTF President. These 3 000 athletes do not go to Rimini just to play but also to reunite after the pandemic. I have been playing since I was 8 I love my sport. As a child I used to play it everywhere on every surface to the disappointment of my older sister! What you showed today is exciting (referring to a video on the activities organized by FITeT) it reminds me how wonderful this sport is”. FITeT President Renato DI NAPOLI added: “Placing the Paralympic athletes in an event was a dream of mine and I finally succeeded. The purpose of FITeT is not just the organization of major sporting events but many other things. It is the promotion of a healthy lifestyle inclusiveness and aggregation”. Words of affection and gratitude were also expressed by Luca PANCALLI President of the Italian Paralympic Committee: “I am particularly proud of FITeT. The Federation is demonstrating great capabilities with great men women and means. For the first time FITeT let Paralympic athletes entering such a large event: it is an important sign. Not only the present is built on these events but also the future. Only in this way will we be able to intercept the desire for sport of many disabled children who do not know it yet but will be the Paralympic athletes of tomorrow. For this I want to say thank you!”. Michele SCISCIOLI Head of the Sport Department for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers brought the greetings of Undersecretary Valentina Vezzali and reiterated how the promotion of grassroots sport is among the government’s priority objectives. “Events of this kind show to our interlocutors that through the organization of these events we can generate a lot of positive energy. And so let’s go on like this ». After that he wanted to thank the Local Authorities Municipalities and Regions which always an important driving force for such initiatives. Vito COZZOLI president and CEO of Sport and Health the public company promoting sports practice announced: “This is a great opportunity to restart Italian Sport FITeT has well interpreted the line that the Government has drawn for sport as a means of promotion and social aggregation. Sport is a multiplier of emotions it improves our life transmits authentic values it is an economic driver. Thanks to the availability of the Federation many children have approached this beautiful discipline appreciating it as have their teachers”. Giammaria MANGHI the Head of the Political Secretariat of the Presidency of the Emilia Romagna Region:”Sport is a central element in the policies of Emilia Romagna for the values it carries with it. But also for the promotion of the region. We increasingly want our Region to become a Sport Valley and for this purpose the city of Rimini boasts a great tradition. I am happy to know that these EVCs are a forerunner for values such as inclusiveness and equal opportunities which I believe are a fundamental dimension of sport. They make this event an added value a badge that convinces us even more to support this initiative and this Federation which we will not miss our support even in the future”. Giovanni MALAGÒ President of CONI: “Thanks Renato Di Napoli for this event with such important numbers. It will be an event of connection of links between sport and promotion. I think the future goes in the direction of table tennis: it is a sport that is easy to organize and easy to practice at all ages and with all abilities as evidenced by your choice to include the Paralympic sector in the scheduled competitions”. The city councillor of the city of Rimini Francesco BRAGAGNI expressed the enthusiasm of the city in being able to host such a prestigious event. Giuseppe MARINO Secretary General of FITeT and Executive Director of the EVCs concluded the conference dismissing journalists and speakers: “We believe in the sport and tourism model. Emilia Romagna has always been a hospitable region it has understood this model well and is applying it. Thousands of people are anticipating a sporting holiday seasoned with tourism experiences. I’m sure we will give an example of how Italy knows how to welcome and how to organize leaving a good memory in the participants and their companions”.
Two more places open for the Europe Trophy Grand Final
SKST Tesla Batteries Havirov (Czech Republic) will host of the women and men Europe Trophy Grand Final 17th-19th June 2022. In Men’s event seven clubs booked their places whilst in Women’s the list is one club shorter. This week remaining place in Men’s and two places in women’s event will be allocated. The last place in men’s Europe Trophy will be known after the clashes in Region G. Romania’s CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc is the host of the Group. They will play against North Macedonia’s TTC Mladost96 on Saturday. On the same day Stk Temerin-Ferocoop from Serbia will also face TTC Mladost 96 and in the last match of the day Temerin will meet CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc. “We want to win this group. Ukrainian and Russia’s clubs are not here but the Serbian and Noth macedonian clubs are very strong and motivated as well. We are looking forward some good matches. We are proud to have possibilities to organise another tournament. After Champions League and Europe Cup we feel very good in the European club competitions. It is important for us that we gain more points to secure higher positions and leagues in Europe. And of course to make happy our fantastic spectators with good results and high level table tennis play ” said CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc Team Manager Istvan György. In women’s Region BDGH Latvia will host the Group. Salaspils GTK will meet Panathinaikos A.C. from Greece in the opening match. Panathinaikos A.C. will also play against Belgium’s KTTC AFP Antwerpen. On Sunday KTTC AFP Antwerpen will meet Salaspils GTK. MEN -QUALIFIERS Region A: group A Grantham Academy (ENG) Region A: group B Draycott & Long Eaton TTC (ENG) Region B: TalTech Sports Club (EST) Region C: Arteal Tenis de Mesa (ESP) Region D: Metz TT (FRA) Region EF: SKST Tesla Batteries Havirov (CZE) Region EF: TJ Geolog Roznava (SVK) Region G: WOMEN – QUALIFIERS Region A: Fusion TTC (ENG) Region A: Draycott & Long Eaton TTC (ENG) Region B D G H: Region B D G H: Region EF: group A TT Moravský Krumlov (CZE) Region EF: group A SCO Ossiachersee Bodensdorf (AUT) Region EF: group B Stolnotenisove Centrum SKST Bratislava (SVK) Region EF: group B SU Sparkasse Kufstein (AUT)
