We are only days away from the 2021 GAZPROM European Table Tennis Championships to be held from 28 September until 3 October in Cluj Napoca. The reigning champions in the Women’s Team Event – Romania – will play on home soil. “It always feels great to play at home we enjoy having our own fans who gives us energy and motivation to succeed. It feels like we fight together we win together with the public. I have played table tennis for more than 25 years and it will be great to play this tournament at home. The conditions for this tournament will be extraordinary so it will be a great event to attend ” said SAMARA. How do you manage pressure and motivation that it brings to get the best of you? “We are fully aware of this pressure considering the fact that we won the previous two titles. Usually I’m used to playing under pressure my way to manage the pressure is to keep focusing on every ball to pay attention to every single detail.” You have played at the POMEGRANATE Europe Top 16 Cup in Thessaloniki what do you think about your shape? “Yes I have been there. It wasn’t a good tournament for me but I turned it into a useful experience I learned everything I could of it. I am in good shape it wasn’t a matter of me not being in a good shape I will do my best in Cluj to help my team to succeed.” You are in Group B with Italy and Belgium. Can you put a “scanner” of the top challengers for the medal rostrum in Cluj? “Every team comes to Cluj determined to have a very good result. We respect every opponent and we take every single match seriously.” Three months ago we had the LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships and you have won bronze medal. What is the difference for you when you play team competition comparing individual? “When you play team events and when you win its an amazing feeling. You play for your country you count on your teammates on the bench It’s a different energy and vibe and I simply love it.” What was the greatest moment of friendship during the championships you experienced? “Try to imagine us winning the title in Luxembourg in 2017. No restaurant was open at that hour I went with Dana DODEAN MONTEIRO and we bought food for everyone and it was a very special moment for all of us “remembered SAMARA. What was the craziest thing that happened when you were with your teammates? “The craziest moment during a competition was at the World Cup in London. The fire alarm went off twice during the night and we had to go out on our pyjamas confused it was absolutely crazy ” laughed SAMARA.
We write and rewrite history
The 2021 GAZPROM European Table Tennis Team Championships matches that will take place in Cluj Napoca between 28 September and 3rd October will be played on 2 TIBHAR show tables with innovative and modern design. The project initiated and produced exclusively by the Romanian Table Tennis Federation supported by ETTU was approved this week by ITTF.Stay tuned to ettu.tv for the hottest information about 2021 GAZPROM European Team Table Tennis Championships!
Kay STUMPER and Vlada VORONINA topping the list of juniors in Tours
The list of 10 players of each youth categories at the 2021 Tamanneftegas Europe Youth Top 10 in Tours is announced today. The tournament is schedules fro 15th to 17th October. At the top of the seedeings in junior’s list is the gold medalist from the Youth European Championships held earlir this summer Kay STUMPER of Germany. The list goes on with Adrien RASSENFOSSE of Belgium Ivor BAN of Croatia Borgar HAUG of Norway Darius MOVILEANU of Romania Thibault PORET of France Andrei Teodor ISTRATE of Romania Csaba ANDRAS of Hungary Maciej KUBIK of Poland and Eduard IONESCU of Romania. In Junior Girls Event in Tours will play: Vlada VORONINA of Russia Elena ZAHARIA of Romania Isa COK of France Ece HARAC of Turkey Jamila LAURENTI of Italy Ozge YILMAZ of Turkey Camille LUTZ of France Sophia KLEE of Germany Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia Helga DARI of Hungary. In Cadet Boys Event two players from Romania topping the seedings Dragos Alexandru BUJOR and Iulian CHIRITA. The seedings coes on Daniel BERZOSA of Spain David SZANTOSI of Hungary Ilia KONIUKHOV of Russia Stepan BRHEL of Czech Republic Tom CLOSSET of Belgium Flavien COTON of France and David BJORKRYD of Sweden. In Cadet Girls Event will Sophie EARLEY of Ireland Dominika WILTSCHKOVA of Slovakia Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania Mia GRIESEL of Germany Matilde PINTO of Portugal Veronika MATIUNINA of Ukraine Leana HOCHART of France Anastasiia IVANOVA of Russia Jele STORTZ of Germany and Clea DE STOPPELEIRE of France.
Former USSR and Belarus coach Vladimir YEFREMOV passes away
Last week the former coach of the USSR and Belarus Vladimir Yefremov passed away at the age of 79. A native of Yaroslavl the city of Russia Vladimir Yefremov devoted his whole life without reserve to our sport and achieved the greatest success along this path. Among the players he coached were Victor SINKEVICH Inga YAVOROVSKAYA Ivan MINKEVICH Alexander SKURATOVICH and other stars who brought glory to Belarusian and Soviet Union table tennis. Under the leadership of the honored coach the women’s and men’s teams of Belarus won the USSR Cup. YEFREMOV was involved in working with the national team of the Soviet Union in recent years he took part in coaching seminars in Russia and ETTU NAAP seminars & training camps
ETTU ACC – EXTENDED DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES AND COVID PROTOCOL AMENDED
ETTU Annual Coaching Conference will be held in Cluj Napoca Romania October 4th – 6th 2021 in Grand Hotel Napoca1. To attend the Conference please meet the requiremnets 1. Mandatory pcr test 72 before departure for Cluj Napoca and ART in Cluj Napoca (LOC and ETTU) before entering and accommodation in the hotel 2. Extend the deadline for entries until Friday 24th September .
The draw for the Champions league Men and Europe Cup Men
The draw for the Champions league Men and Europe Cup Men was held tonight in POMEGRANATE Hotel near Thessaloniki.
The draw for the Champions league Men live tonight at 9 PM CET
The draw for the Champions League men stage 2 positions 3 and 4 and the draw for the Europe Cup men stage 1 positions 1 and 2 will be held today starting 2100 CEST at the Pomegranate Hotel in Thessaloniki Greece. The draw will be streamed on ETTU Facebook live.
Day two of the POMEGRANATE Europe Top 16 Cup
Semi finals In the semis on her first appearance at the Europe Top 16 Cup YU Fu beat the winner from the 2018 Bernadette SZOCS of Romania in thrilling match with lot of ups and downs (8:11 11:9 6:11 7:11 12:10 11:8 11:8). “I am in top 16 players for years but this is my first year when I am eligible to play for Portugal at the Europe Top 16 Cup. I am happy that I reached the final despite a very tough challenge I faced. I was dow 1:3 but I kept on fighting ” said YU Fu. With less drama in the second penultimate stage match Nina MITTELHAM overcame Hana MATELOVA of Czech Republic (2:11 4:11 8:11 8:11) “I was very confident because in all previous encounters I beat her. Of course this was the semi final of the Top 16 and there were not guarantees. Day earlier Hana played at the top level and her performance here no one can underestimate. However when the match started I felt I am mentally much stronger. I am looking forward my match against FU. I think physically I am better right now but experience is on her side ” said Nina. In Men’s Event first semi final seeded no. three Patrick FRANZISKA who won the first three games withstood a spirited comeback from no. one seed Mattias FALCK to book his place in the final (8:11 8:11 11:13 11:6 11:9 8:11). “FALCK is the player who never gives up. He just played better and better as the match progressed. He improved everything in his game today and it was difficult to stop him ” said FRANZISKA. Marcos FREITAS overcame Emmanuel LEBESSON of France in straight games but not as easy as the result predicts (11:6 12:10 13:11 11:6). “ LEBESSON is the among very dangerous players for my game. It was very close especially in the third game. Now I am happy I managed to finish the match in four games and to gain some extra time to recover. Patric is playing very well here and he is very confident ” said FREITAS. Nina MITTELHAM and Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany clinched the titles at the POMEGRANATE Europe Top 16 Cup in Thessaloniki. In the final FRANZISKA overcame Marcos FREITAS of Portugal (12:10 11:8 11:6 11:13 11:5). “This was my best performance at the tournament. We played fantastic rallies but at the end all comes to small points and there I was mush better today ” said FRANZISKA. Nina MITTELHAM of Germany won her first title in singles at the major European tournament after she already won gold in doubles and mixed doubles. In the final Nina overcame Portugal’s FU Yu (11:8 8:11 11:6 11:3 14:12). YU Fu who won the European Games in 2019 and was finalist in the EC women’s singles in 2016 could not find the game for Nina who came in Thessaloniki after withdrawal of Petrissa SOLJA and HAN Ying. “This victory is so important for me. For some time I am always close but now I finally won the title. It means so much to me for the future and for the European Championships. FU was strong today but I felt very well and I had full control ” said MITTELHAM. This is the first top 16 or12 in this century in which neither BOLL SAMSONOV or OVTCHAROV is playing. These 3 players won 13 of the 19 Tops played in this century (2013 was not played) and 8 from the last 9. The 9th was won by FREITAS in 2014. The other exceptions: SCHLAGER in 2000 and 2008 NAZE in 2004 SMIRNOV in 2005 and KREANGA in 2011.
Day one at the POMEGRANTE Europe Top 16 Cup in Thessaloniki
In the semi final of the POMEGRANTE Europe Top 16 Cup in Thessaloniki in men’s event tomorrow will play Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany vs. Mattias FALCK of Sweden and Marcos FREITAS of Portugal will meet Emmanuel LEBESSON of France. In women’s semi final FU Yu of Portugal will meet Bernadette SZOCS of Romania whilst Hana MATELOVA of Czech Republic will face Nina MITTELHAM of Germany. Round of 16 Ruwen FILUS was in charge for the first upset of the day 16 Cup. In the opening match in Round of 16 FILUS who is seeded at the position no. 12 overcame no 8 seed Kristian KARLSSON 2:4 (8:11 6:11 11:6 6:11 11:5 5:11). “I beat him only once recently in the Bundesliga but before that his record against me was clear. I was afraid of his service game. Today I managed to find the game although it was very difficult after fifth game because the match could go both ways ” said FILUS. In the powerful exchange of rallies the duel between Jonathan GROTH of Denmark and Marcos FREITAS of Portugal brought a lot of good action but Dane failed to stop the favorite 2:4 (13:11 5:11 11:8 7:11 7:11 12:14). “The matches between us in Russia’s League were always close. I was expecting difficult match ” said FREITAS. FU Yu of Portugal proved to strong in Thessaloniki for NI Xia Lian of Luxembourg – 2:4 (11:7 11:9 9:11 11:8 9:11 11:9) so NI exited the competition earlier than her rankings predicted. In the clash against FU Yu NI failed to hold the control over the match after being 2:0 up. FU recovered to level and to win the match. Bernadette SZOCS of Romania responded to very hard challenge from Yana NOSKOVA of Russia. Despite the 4:1 win it was very close encounter (11:9 13:11 11:13 11:6 11:7). Dora MADARASZ of Hungary changed her fortune. For a first time in her career she overcame last year’s silver medalists Britt EERLAND of Netherlands 2:4 (11:6 9:11 12:10 3:11 6:11 9:11). “We are playing against each other from the cadet’s category and I am so happy that I finally managed to beat her. My style of play is attacking but against Britt I could not play that way. I had to play save and to take care that every ball goes to the table ” explained Dora. Pure drama was seen in the match between Daniel HABESOHN of Austria and Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany 3:4 (8:11 11:5 11:7 7:11 11:4 9:11 17:19). The match concluded by narrowest margin after HABESOHN saved seven match points before he lost. ‘I thought I had a smart ideas how to play my service. It turned into the drama instead of victory but from the beginning I knew it will be difficult and I was ready for the fight” said FRANCISKA smiling at the end. Simon GAUZY of France faced Gionis PANAGIOTIS and more than enthusiastic crowd who cheered Greek starfrom full lungs . It gave GIONIS good win in the back at the beginning but from second game Simon took over the control 4:1 (6:11 11:7 11:4 11:9 11:6). Georgina POTA of Hungary inflicted the pain in the harts of the host nation supporters by beating Alkaterina TOLIOU (11:6 13:15 8:11 11:7 12:10 11:9). Hana MATELOVA of Czech Republic was in charge for another surprise after she halted the progress of Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania (11:8 11:8 11:6 12:14 11:8). Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria justified her status by beating SHAI Jieni of Portugal but she faced tough moments. Sofia was two games to one down but she recovered to win 4:2 (11:7 5:11 6:11 11:8 11:7 11:6). Nina MITTELHAM of Germany went full distance in the duel against Barbora BALAZOVA of Slovakia (7:11 11:9 10:12 12:10 11:9 5:11 11:7). Darko JORGIC of Slovenia was at the top of the game against Andrej GACINA of Croatia (11:2 11:3 11:6 8:11 11:9). “We were together at the preparations for the European Championships and Olympic Games this year so there is no big secret between us when it comes to game. I had fantastic start of the match; I was in control in three opening games even had advantage 7:3 in the fourth. Then I lost the focus; managed to recover and faced problems again in the fifth game. I was 9:4 up before GACINA leveled to 9:9. He is very strong and if you do not play at the top he knows how to find the opportunity to attack ” said JORGIC. Liam PITCHFORD of England overcame Croatia’s Tomislav PUCAR (3:11 11:4 11:3 11:6 8:11 11:4) to move to the quarterfinals. In the last match of the round Austria’s Robert GARDOS put Emmanuel LEBESSON of France under severe pressure but former European champion succeeded in six games (8:11 5:11 11:9 9:11 11:5 13:15). QUARTERFINALS In all German semi final Ruwen FILUS Patrick FRANZISKA 1:4 (11:9 7:11 7:11 6:11 5:11). “We were club mates for so long and we know each other so well. It was difficult game always hard for the attacker like me. It is my first semi final at the Top 16 and I had also to be thankful for the support I got here from the fans. They pushed me forward it was amazing ” said Patrick. FU Yu proved too strong for Dora MADARASZ (4:11 8:11 8:11 12:14). Dora managed to put some pressure only in the fourth game but then it was too late. Bernadette SZOCS performed at the top level against Ganna GAPONOVA (4:11 11:13 2:11 4:11 11:9). “It was long time since we played against each other so I spent all my time between matches today to study her game. I knew I had to be patient. I had to wait for the right ball because she could bring back million balls after my mistake. I beat her and it is important to me for so many reasons. Last time I had three players with defensive style of play
drawPomegranate
The draw for the 2021 POMEGRANATE European Top 16 Cup was conducted today in the Pomegranate Wellness Spa Hotel in Nea Moudania near Thessaloniki. In the Round of 16 top seed Sofia POLCANOVA (Austria) will meet SHAO Jieni (Portugal) Bernadette SZOCS (Romania) will play against Yana NOSKOVA (Russia) Britt EERLAND (Netherlands) vs. Dora MADARASZ (Hungary) Elizabeta SAMARA (Romania) vs. Hana MATELOVA (Czech Republic) Nina MITTELHAM (Germany) vs. Barbora BALAZOVA (Slovakia) Polina MIKHAILOVA (Russia) vs. Ganna GAPONOVA (Ukraine) Georgina POTA (Hungary) vs. Aikaterini TOLIOU (Greece) NI Xia Lian (Luxembourg) vs. FU Yu (Portugal). Top seed in Men’s Singles Event Mattias FALCK (Sweden) will meet Yang WANG (Slovakia) Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) will play against Ruwen FILUS (Germany) Daniel HABESOHN (Austria) vs. Patrick FRANZISKA (Germany) Jonathan GROTH (Denmark) vs. Marcos FREITAS (Portugal) Emmanuel LEBESSON (France) vs. Robert GARDOS (Austria) Tomislav PUCAR (Croatia) vs. Liam PITCHFORD (England) Andrej GACINA (Croatia) vs. Darko JORGIC (Slovenia) Simon GAUZY (France) vs. Panagiotis GIONIS (Greece). The first matches of the Round of 16 starts at 9 am CET.
