Still junior Hana ARAPOVIC clinched all three titles at the senior National Championships in Croatia. Top prize in Men’s Singles went to Tomislav PUCAR. At Sveti Martin at Mura 17-years old Hana won gold in singles doubles and mixed doubles. In quarterfinal ARAPOVIC overcame last year’s champion Mateja JEGER in the final. “I did not think I could win all three titles especially not the singles. The competition was very strong ” said Hana. The breaking point was when Hana managed to recover from 0:1 in reverse and won the point after 9:9. Her father and coach Darko called for time out in right moment. First time after 2010 there are no Andrej GACINA nor Frane KOJIC at the top of the medal rostrum. Andrej won 10 titles in last 12 years but this time it was PUCAR who succeeded to the highest step of the medal rostrum. It was PUCAR’s six final in career and first title.
Who will show his lion’s claws for the first time in the town on the banks of river Rába
This year between 21-26 June Győr will host the fifth Youth Table Tennis World Festival. The tournament is a Hungarian initiative the first four editions were also held in Hungary. The deadline for the final entry is 20 May 2022. The first youth world festival for table tennis took place in 1989 in the Budapest Sportcsarnok as well as the second edition in 1990. After a ten-year break the third world festival was held in Tiszaújváros and in 2002 the latest edition the fourth tournament was launched there also. After two decades the event comes to life again which from the very beginning was characterized by a friendly almost familiar atmosphere which could have been best experienced in Hungary at the János MOLNÁR Memorial Competition which was also linked to Iván HERENDI. One of the main goals of the Youth World Festival has always been to bring young people from all over the world closer together to get to know each other and each other’s cultures better. The various leisure programmes help children to have a getaway from the rather monotonous everyday life as a top athlete – even at this age – and finally yet importantly they can have an insight into other table tennis cultures. “Every country has a unique table tennis playing style. In today’s globalized world it cannot be seen so clearly anymore but it is basic for example that Russian players have good backhands or we know about the Japanese players that they do not work with such big spins but they hit the ball a thousand times over the net and are very agile. The Germans on the other hand work with distinctly large spins. We got a little taste of what the Indian style is like or what the Chinese soft rubber is like on these occasions” recalled János JAKAB the competiton of 2000 where he won a gold medal in the team competition together with Dániel ZWICKL and Krisztián MOLNÁR defeating the Chinese team. The world festival also provides an opportunity for those young Hungarians to compete in a large international tournament. And from abroad later world classics such as Vladimir SAMSONOV the Belarusian legend and the Chinese Olympic and world champion ZHANG Jike have also participated in this tournament. Every day on different parts of the city there will be some kind of leisure programme or diverse entertainment opportunities where the participants can release a bit of steam between their matches. One of the hits in the fan zone will certainly be the so-called FastPong Training System. It is a development tool invented in South Korea that encourages players to play faster and more precisely. FastPong will also be available for the public. In terms of its facilities Győr will be a perfect venue for the Fifth World Festival especially that the entire sports life of the city and the Hungarian Olympic Committee are also supporting the initiative. “It is our job it is our duty moreover it is an Olympic sport in which we have been very successful in the past. The entire Olympic movement relies on the associations and federations so our partners are very important in this process” said Zsolt GYULAY President of the Hungarian Olympic Committee. The city on the banks of river Rába also has significant experience in organizing competitions of this scale. “Győr is an experienced competition organizer as it also hosted the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2017 with the participation of thousands of athletes and sports managers” said Ákos RADNÓTI Deputy Mayor of Győr. The Table Tennis World Festival will be held at the Olympic Sports Park one of the most modern multifunctional sports complexes in Central Europe. At the 2022 World Festival the very young can also participate the clashes will go down in five age groups from U11 to U19. In all five age groups in addition to the national team players representatives of regional teams or clubs may also take part in the competition. Based on the sum of the overall points in the competition the table tennis federations of the three most successful countries will receive a total cash prize of $ 10 000. In addition to the glory and the cash prize the youngsters will also fight for world ranking points in their respective age category which can give them a special motivation and further enhance the prestige and significance of the festival. Those who are among the most important stakeholders in the youth category of this sport in the world will all be present in Győr at the competition. So the old slogan remains: be there or be square! The deadline for the final entry is 20 May 2022. You can register your team via this link or via the following email: worldfestival2022@gmail.com As part of the Youth World Festival players will have the opportunity to attend an optional preparatory training camp on 21 June while an international coaching seminar for professionals will also take place. The competition itself will start on Wednesday 22 June with the group matches in the singles competitions and the first round of doubles and team competitions. On the closing day – 26 June – after the medal ceremonies the festival will end with a raffle and a farewell party. For more information please visit the event website. You can also download the Prospectus from ITTF events section.
Vydrany Champions Again in Slovakia
The Championships title in Slovakia goes to SK Vydrany. On Friday night the favorites defended their title and benefited from the home venue. They confirmed its dominance by winning 5:0 over TJ STO Nizna in the second match of the final playoff round played by best of three matches system. The championships match ball was secured already on Tuesday by beating the team coming from Orava the northernmost region of Slovakia in the opening match. Vydrany defeated Nizna by 5:2. With the support of the local crowd they have left nothing to chance and took the first opportunity to seal the victory. In both team matches Peter SEREDA and Samuel NOVOTA have won both of their individual matches and Zoltan LELKES has added one point in both. For the team from Nizna Adam BRAT and Dalibor DIKO have won one match each time. For SK Vydrany it has been the eighth consecutive Extraleague Finals only in 2018 the team managed by Dr. Jozef KMET has been left with the silver medal and had to accept the position of vice-champions. However in the other seven participations in the Finals the team from a village near Dunajska Streda has successfully clinched gold. Despite the defeat in the finals it has been the greatest success in the history for the club TJ STO Nizna after the last year’s bronze. The match for the third place in the Extraleague has been played only in two encounters overall as well which ended up with the victory of TJ Geolog Roznava. They won against TJ Gasto Galanta away match 5:1 and at home 5:0. Roznava has succeeded to get a medal position for the third time in a row. Last year they have played in the Finals too but ended up as Vice-Champions and in 2020 they have won the bronze medal. 2021/2022 Men’s Extraleague (best of three matches system) Finals: First match: TJ STO Nižná – SK Vydrany 2:5 Tibor Bednár – Zoltán Lelkeš 1:3 (-4 -8 5 -6) Dalibor Diko – Peter Šereda 1:3 (8 -9 -7 -5) Adam Brat – Samuel Novota 3:1 (-9 8 3 8) Diko – Lelkeš 3:2 (-6 7 10 -7 8) Bednár – Novota 0:3 (-9 -7 -11) Brat – Šereda 2:3 (8 -5 -7 10 -6) Diko – Novota 0:3 (-8 -7 -10) Second match: SK Vydrany – TJ STO Nižná 5:0 konečný výsledok série 2:0 Vydrany sa stali majstrom SR Šereda – Diko 3:0 (2 9 9) Novota – Peter Turček 3:0 (8 10 10) Lelkeš – Brat 3:1 (3 9 -11 3) Novota – Diko 3:0 (3 8 5) Šereda – Brat 3:2 (-2 7 -8 10 5) 3rd place match: First match: TJ Gasto Galanta – TJ Geológ Rožňava 1:5 Bálint Biró – Igor Zavadskij 0:3 (-6 -4 -6) Dávid Wiltschka – Jakub Takáč 3:1 (-5 7 9 6) Branislav Kalužný – Ingemar Péter 0:3 (-9 -10 -4) Wiltschka – Zavadskij 2:3 (12 -8 5 -1 -7) Biró – Péter 0:3 (-2 -10 -3) Kalužný – Takáč 1:3 (8 -8 -9 -4) Second match: TJ Geológ Rožňava – TJ Gasto Galanta 5:0 konečný výsledok série 2:0 Rožňava získala bronz Takáč – Kalužný 3:0 (5 2 7) Péter – Biró 3:0 (9 3 7) Zavadskij – Wiltschka 3:1 (-9 5 9 6) Péter – Kalužný 3:1 (5 6 -10 8) Takáč – Samuel Martinka 3:0 (2 7 5)
Novi Sad and Radnicki Beocin clinched the titles in Serbia
Serbian Super league came to the conclusion. Without any upsets Novi Sad and Radnicki Beocin clinched the titles in their respective Women’s and Men’s Leagues. For Novi Sad the club which will play in the Europe Champions League this year again it is fifth title in the row seventh overall in last nine seasons. Tijana JOKIC Aneta MAKSUTI Reka BEZEG Radmila TOMINJAK Andjelija RATIC Anamarija ERDELJI and Sara RADAK were on duty this year. The club is unbeaten for more than 900 days in National championships in 53 matches. They also played twice in the semi final of the European Cup. For Radnicki BEOCIN led by Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC and with Zolt PETE Lubomir PISTEJ Bojan CREPULJA and Petjo KRASTEV it is also moment of history. Not only that they clinched the title but they stayed unbeaten in all 21 rounds in 2021/2022 season.
Ormesby celebrated the 50th anniversary of winning the European Club Cup with the title in the British League
Ormesby dropped just two sets on their way to a 7-0 victory against Ormeau and the Senior British League Premier Division title. The victory also came on the day they celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of Ormesby’s men’s team winning the European Club Cup Championship. The trio of Ryan JENKINS Sam MABEY and Joshua WETHERBY were too good for the Northern Irish side as they continued their unbeaten run this season. MABEY and JENKINS have been monumental in their efforts throughout the year and it was no different on Saturday. JENKINS opened the tie with a comfortable 3-0 win over debutant Zak EARLEY. Mabey was taken to four by Matt WARE but came through 12-10 8-11 11-9 11-4. In the pairs JENKINS and MABEY teamed up to face WARE and EARLEY with Ormeau looking to get a foothold in the tie. They simply weren’t given the opportunity as the Middlesborough duo won in three. Josh WETHERBY followed suit as he won his first game of the day against Thomas EARLEY. JENKINS then returned and although pushed beat WARE 3-0. With victory and the championship decided WETHERBY beat Earley MABEY rounded off the tie with a win against Thomas EARLEY. It was a tough tie for Ormeau but the young players did not lack fight as they showed great promise for the future. For Ormesby who have been title contenders from the very first round this was a fitting way to win the league they have dominated. 200 miles south of the title decider BATTS beat Fusion in the lower tier of the Premier Division to move two points clear of Urban at the bottom of the table. Josh BENNET was named player of the match as the home side dropped just one game on their way to victory. Ralph PATTISON was also unbeaten with Jack BENNET picking up a singles victory. Whilst 6-1 may seem convincing Fusion had opportunities throughout the tie. Five of the seven games were won by BATTS players 3-1 showing that the Fusion three of Joshua DYE Joshua BRUCE and Jama DENNISON were not far off a much closer score line. BATTS are back in action on 21st May as they travel to Urban TTC for a crunch match at the bottom of the league. League champions Ormesby will also be in action as they face North Ayrshire in Scotland. Link to the presentation https://fb.watch/cUubqP1lbH/ Results: Ormesby bt Ormeau 7-0 Ryan Jenkins bt Zak Earley 3-0 (11-7 11-9 11-7) Sam Mabey bt Matthew Ware 3-1 (12-10 8-11 11-9 11-4) Ryan Jenkins/Sam Mabey bt Matthew Ware/Zak Earley 3-0 (11-6 11-1 11-8) Joshua Wetherby bt Thomas Earley 3-0 (11-8 11-9 11-4) Ryan Jenkins bt Matthew Ware 3-0 (11-4 13-11 11-7) Joshua Wetherby bt Zak Earley 3-1 (9-11 11-7 11-8 11-6) Sam Mabey bt Thomas Earley 3-0 (11-7 13-11 11-8) BATTS bt Fusion 6-1 Joshua Bennett bt Joshua Dye 3-0 (11-8 11-8 11-7) Joshua Bruce bt Jack Bennett 3-1 (5-11 11-9 11-9 11-6) Joshua Bennett/Jack Bennett bt Joshua Bruce/Joshua Dye 3-0 (11-5 11-8 11-7) Ralph Pattison bt Jamal Dennison 3-1 (7-11 13-11 11-9 11-5) Joshua Bennett bt Joshua Bruce 3-1 (10-12 11-9 11-6 11-9) Ralph Pattison bt Joshua Dye 3-1 (11-3 9-11 11-2 11-5) Jack Bennett bt Jamal Dennison 3-1 (9-11 11-1 11-5 11-9)
The Gender Equality Committee meeting
The Gender Equality Committee met yesterday to progress their planning and prepare some recommendations and propositions for the ETTU Congress in August. Gender equality is a key topic on the agenda of many sporting organisations and despite women and girls representing half of the world’s population gender inequality still persists. It creates barriers to social and economic progress and leaves women underrepresented in key leadership and decision-making roles. The GE Committee was established in September 2020 and has picked up some momentum in its recent meetings to scope the priorities for work and provide leadership in this important area. The Gender Equality Committee aim to: Provide a voice for all- Athletes Officials Umpires Coaches Directors Create more opportunities for women to become leaders in sport Encourage more women and girls to play table tennis Champion female role models to inspire the next generation on and off the field of play Ensure equal investment and prize money Ensure our sport is addressing and eliminating bias and discrimination at every level Its members have been actively researching best practice from across the world from the International Olympic Committee Gender Equality themes to how other international sport federations drive cultural change and improve representation. The Gender Equality Committee has also been looking at data and feedback from other ETTU committees and National Associations to create a plan of action for the sport. The recent ETTU request to National Associations to submit their numbers of registered players coaches employees board members and umpires will provide important information to help identify any gender bias and where improvements are needed the most. Moving towards the ETTU Congress in August the Chair of the Gender Equality Committee Innes LOURO will present an overview of the committee and some propositions that would help further this work. She would also welcome meeting other ETTU committee chairs to ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed through all of the ETTU’s delivery and that everyone is working together to drive a positive change.
PT-Helsinki crowned Finnish League champion
PT-Helsinki is the Finnish League champion in the season 2021-22. They beat PT Espoo 4-3 in the final. The title was decided in the seventh match – doubles which went clearly 3-0 to PT-Helsinki. “PT-Helsinki won the regular season and afther withdrawal of Kosken Kaiku club went straight to the final. In the semi-final PT Espoo won PT 75 from Tampere 4-1. So the “Pongfinity-duo” Miikka O´CONNOR – Otto TENNILÄ alongside Patrik RISSANEN earned bronze medals.The best player of the final tournament was PT-Helsinki’s Lithuanian Valdas MARTINKUS who won all his three matches ” stated in his report Finnish Table Tennis Association Communications Coordinator Heikki KIISKINEN. The last team of the regular season PT Tapiola relegated to Division 1 for next season replaced by Wega from Helsinki. Through the qualifiers TIP-70 from Vantaa and OPT-86 from Oulu retained their place on the Finnish top level. Finnish League 2021-22 medallists PT-Helsinki (at the picture from the left: Valdas MARTINKUS Stanislav STROGOV Aleksander STETSENKO and Alexandr LUSHIN Arturs REINHOLDS) PT Espoo (Arttu PIHKALA Aleksi RÄSÄNEN Mika RÄSÄNEN) PT 75 (Miikka O´CONNOR Otto TENNILÄ Patrik RISSANEN)
Iva VUJOVIC and Milena UCHMANOWICZ officiated in Linz
One of the main objectives of the project is to support female match officials on their umpire career and to give them possibilities to learn outside their own country. WTT Youth Contender Linz was the first event which gave two places for candidates of this project. Iva VUJOVIC from Montenegro and Milena UCHMANOWICZ from Poland are both umpires who are aiming to become International Umpire. They applied through the ETTU project “Development of Female Match Officials” for this event. Iva and Milena did not only umpire in Linz but they also had the chance to attend the Advanced Umpires Training (AUT) and worked together with a lot of experienced umpires. “I used to play table tennis for more than 10 years although I gave up as I got more and more busy with school. However as I wanted to “keep in contact” with this sport I decided to become an umpire. I officially started umpiring in the 2017. The experience I got from umpiring on the WTT Youth Contender in Linz was extraordinary. I met so many people and everyone was really kind and eager to help me. I learnt a lot of new things as well and I believe my umpiring skills have become even better. Furthermore I got extremely motivated and currently can’t wait to take another step in my career.I’m really eager to improve my skills even further and finally become someone who can umpire the greatest players in the world ” said Iva VUJOVIC.
Rēzekne BJSS 1and Salaspils GTK crowned champions in Latvia
In the Latvian Clubs Championship 2021/2022 the Men’s Top League champions laurels had won by Rēzekne BJSS 1and Salaspils GTK team is crowned champions in the Women’s Top League. On April in the mood of the Easter holiday in Salaspils Sports House ended the Latvian Teams Table Tennis Championship 2021/2022. In the final stage – all six leagues took part in the Finals. The best teams were awarded with medals and cups. The Salaspils GTK team was crowned as the champions in the Women’s Top League beating the Jekabpils SC team 4:1 in the final whilst in the game for the 3rd place the Latvian RTU team won the Kuldiga SS team 4:2. In the Men’s Top League the laurels of the champions were won by Rezekne BJSS 1. In the final Rezekne BJSS 1was superior to the Saldus NP team 4:2 but in the game for the 3rd place GTK Namejs-Baltais team won the RTU team 4:0. Competition photos Competition Videos – Men’s Top League Final – Rezekne BJSS 1 vs Saldus NP. Competition results: Women’s Top League: https://lgtf.lv/#/competition-results/5414 Men’s Top League: https://lgtf.lv/#/competition-results/5121
Summer starts in Podgorica with Under 13 Challenge
After the successful organization of the Pre-Selection Development Camp within the ETTU in May 2021 Montenegro Table Tennis Association (MNE TTA) decided to apply for the organization of the Europe Under 13 Challenge the first tournament of its kind to be the forerunner of the European Championship under the auspices of ETTU for young players up to 13 years of age. This competition is planned for the period from June 16 to 19 2022 in Podgorica. “The event will be held in sport complex Verde which provides great benefits for the participants. Located perfectly in the capital – Podgorica the event venue provides all in one experience for all the participants: competition and practice halls 5 stars hotel excellent facilities for training and recreation pool and wellness center fully equipped gym etc. Namely the hall is located just beneath the hotel which excludes the need for shuttle busses and enables players coaches and officials to use their time for rest without much hassle. The main hotel is a 5* hotel and the feedback MNE TTA got from the Development Camp participants was great so we expect that the participant will once again be satisfied with the conditions of their stay ” said MNE TTA Generaly Secretar Suncica ROGIC. In addition to the fact that the MNE TTA is entrusted with the organization of the Europe U13 Challenge this event is important for society as a whole. Positive effects are reflected in: strengthening the potential for organizing future table tennis competitions of this type; better positioning of table tennis in Montenegro and sports in general; positioning MNE TTA as a relevant partner in national and international frameworks; presentation of sports tourist and cultural potentials of Podgorica and Montenegro; promoting the participation of young people in physical activities; promotion and development of volunteerism in sports; encouraging inter-institutional cooperation between key actors national association local government Sports and Youth Administration and Montenegrin Olympic Committee.” Taking into account the potential number of participants and the importance of the competition as well as the organizational resources it requires in Montenegro TTA believes that in addition to the Games of the Small States of Europe (2019) and the Balkan Senior Championships (2019) this competition will be the largest and most important ever organized. “We are certain that this event will be successful and that participants will enjoy their time in Montenegro. We are looking forward to hosting Europe’s young hopes and national associations’ delegations. Finally we are grateful that the ETTU trusted us with this task and as a small national association we believe that we are ready for the challenge “concluded ROGIC.
