Seeded as no. 5 Marcos FREITAS of Portugal will play for the 8th time at the 2021 POMEGRANATE Europe Top 16 Cup. The winner of the competition in Lausanne 2014 and runner up a year later in Baku will face fierce competition in Thessaloniki this year as well. “For me Top 12 and now 16 are very important tournaments. I played it for years and I still have not lose the excitement and feel of exclusivity for this competition. It is one of the most important events in Europe and I did not want to miss it although it was very difficult to choose since we have Qatar and European Championships all in September. However I choose to play at Top 16 because it has very great importance historically it has a special place for all top European players and it means a lot to be present and bring a good result home from Top 16 ” explained Marcos. A win in Switzerland 7 years ago launched FREITAS to the top of Europe. “I have greatest memories of that tournament. It was amazing to win the Top 12. It was my first big victory at major events in singles. It was an unforgettable moment. It is a competition where only the best in Europe are invited and being a winner is great achievement. I will be well prepared this time again I hope to reach the semifinal and to be in position to fight for the title ” announced FREITAS. In Tokyo at the Olympic Games Marcos reached the Round of 16 in singles. “Until the last moment I did not believe we will have Olympics but it really happened. I played at the Olympics Games since Beijing 2008 and this one was very different. However despite all the measures and COVID threat it was very nice to be present in Japan and we had a very good tournament. Unfortunately it was not same with the draw. It did not work our way. In Team’s event we had Germany in the first round ” saidFREITAS. Intensive preparations and hard competition at the Olympics were not rewarded with the long break. “I only had two weeks to recover. I needed that break at the end of long cycle to recharge the batteries. Now I am already in training process for few weeks. I am preparing for Top 16 in Porto in national’s team center.”

Last year in Switzerland Robert GARDOS of Austria finished third at the 2021 POMEGRANATE Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux. At this year’s edition in Thessaloniki he will be the No. seven seed and enters the tournament having just won his fourth national champion of Austria title. In Thessaloniki on 18 and 19 September he will be on duty alongside European stars: Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Germany) Mattias FALCK (Sweden) Liam PITCHFORD (England) Patrick FRANZISKA (Germany) Simon GAUZY (France) Marcos FREITAS (Portugal) Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) Darko JORGIC (Slovenia) Jonathan GROTH (Denmark) Tomislav PUCAR (Croatia) Yang WANG (Slovakia) Emmanuel LEBESSON (France) Daniel HABESOHN (Austria) Andrej GACINA (Croatia) and Panagiotis GIONIS (Greece). Having competed at the event eight times before Robert has been at the top of Europe for a long time. “If we are talking about best memories that is most certainly the 2020 edition when I won bronze. The worst was 2015 in Baku. I lost the quarterfinal against Simon GAUZY after I was 3:0 up. He recovered to win it in seven games ” said GARDOS. For this year’s edition GARDOS has high hopes. “The top players from Europe will be there so let’s just start with a win in the opening round. There are no easy matches there but my goal is to defend the bronze I won last year. I hope for that ” said GARDOS. Speaking about the favourites GARDOS pointed at the usual “suspect”. “Dima is the best player for sure but we have to see who will be in the best shape in Thessaloniki. We did not have any tournaments after the Olympic Games so no one knows how everyone will play.” GARDOS was also at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. “It was very well organised; the only thing was that we did not have a chance to play at the central court tables at training as we all prefer. Everything else was perfect. Japan did a great job. “On the other hand I was not very happy with my performance. I had never lost to Paul DRINKHALL before and I failed to close the last game after I had a 10:6 lead. It was very difficult after I lost in the first round so I do not have best of memories from Tokyo this year. It was a long journey with a very long and far from perfect qualifying system. Now I am glad it is over ” explained Robert. After a one-week break which Robert spent with his family he was back in action again. “We had some preparations with the team then I won another title in singles in Austria which makes me very happy. I returned to Granada and I am now preparing for the Top 16 and I hope I will be fully ready.”

Last year’s Europe Top 16 runner up Britt EERLAND of Netherlands is no. three seed at the forthcoming 2021 POMEGRANATE Europe Top 16 Cup. It will be her third appearance at the event. “It is one of the most prestige’s tournaments. So far it was always well organised with great atmosphere. It is one of the most important tournaments in Europe and one of my favorites to be honest ” explained EERLAND. Last year EERLAND was seeded only at the position no. 10 but she reached the final before she lost to Petrissa SOLJA of Germany. “I have great memories of that tournament. Every match was fantastic. I played good I was fighting hard; eventually I clinched the medal at Europe Top 16 and that was a dream come true ” said EERLAND. Like every time the competition will be fierce. Reigning champion is missing but beside Petrissa SOLJA only two more names from the top 16 are missing. “The competition is hard but the Top 16 is all about that– the competition for the top players. The only way to win something is to beat the best so it is normal that I expect very hard competition and a top challenge. I am looking forward to that ” added EERLAND. Last year EERLAND set the bar very high by reaching the final. “With adversaries at such high level it is impossible to predict anything especially to promise the medal. My first though is to manage to save my spot and maybe to go little bit further although I am not sure how realistic is that. It is a very high goal. Only a month ago it was confirmed that we will play and I had only two weeks to prepare. I am the kind of player who likes to split year into few periods and to have three months in order to prepare for the main event in that period.” EERLAND lost in the Round of 16 at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. “I played very well at the Olympics. We had a pre – camp before the Olympics and it was really tough and long period. It is difficult first you have to compete for the seed at the tournament then you have long preparations it is all nervous wrecking but at the end it ended well. It is a perfect experience. I felt the atmosphere in the Olympic village. It was stressed intense but I played well I fought hard and for me everything was good in Tokyo.” The brake was very short. “After the Olympics I had two or three weeks for rest but it is not enough. It was a very long period since we had a break an Olympic year is very heavy. On the other side I did not want to miss the Top 16. This summer I spent one week with my father on vacation and had a long weekend with my boyfriend in Belgium ” concluded Britt EERLAND.

Eurotalents Development Camp U-13 was held in Luxembourg. It started on August 29th and it was concluded yesterday. “We have a total of 12 young players 6 girls and 6 boys from 6 National Associations from Europe. The camp has been run by a strong quartet of experts: Zhibin CHEN Martin OSTERMANN Xia CHENG and Nevena MARINOVA KOSTOVA as a fitness trainer. Players had the trainings twice a day for 2.45 hours with the already traditional evening gatherings seminars with all coaches and players on various table tennis topics said Development Manager Neven CEGNAR. In the camp were: Gaetane BLED Faustyna STEFANSKA Noah HERSEL Maria BERZOSA (ESP) Ivan Kahn Brendt RONDE (NED) Zeteny LINDNER (HUN) Jacob BJURSTROM Tom COLLE Julie PONCIN Melisa SADIKOVIC NI Xiaojing (LUX).

The 2021 POMEGRANATE Europe Top 16 Cup is coming our way – in Thessaloniki on 18 and 19 September we will enjoy for a 50th time the clashes of the best players from the Continent. The event lasts only two days with the top names in our sport gathered in one place always bringing a lot of action excitement and good matches. For Hana MATELOVA of Czech Republic the no 8 seed this will be her third appearance in a row at the event. “I like it very much. It is very nice tournament which is playing in warm atmosphere smaller venue people are closer and I am looking forward to play in Greece this September ” said MATELOVA. Hana had her debut at the event in 2019. “I remember that competition the best. I guess I was excited and nervous at the same time.” The Pandemic changed the plans and it was not possible to have the event in Montreux this winter. “After three years is changing place from Montreux to Thessaloniki and I am pretty curious how it will be there. I like Greece in general good weather good food so I am glad to qualify again for this tournament ” said Hana who also said that Greece was her destination for the holiday this year.” I had nice time in Greece in lovely island after the Olympics.” In the Women’s Event other players will be: Sofia POLCANOVA (Austria) Bernadette SZOCS (Romania) Britt EERLAND (Netherlands) Elizabeta SAMARA (Romania) Nina MITTELHAM (Germany) NI Xia Lian (Luxembourg) Polina MIKHAILOVA (Russia) Georgina POTA (Hungary) Barbora BALAZOVA (Slovakia) YU Fu (Portugal) Yana NOSKOVA (Russia) SHAO Jieni (Portugal) Dora MADARASZ (Hungary) Ganna GAPONOVA (Ukraine) and Aikaterini TOLIOU (Greece). “Petrissa SOLJA will not play but still Germany is very strong. Many players could win it is first big competition after Olympics let’s see who will be in best shape there.” Where you will prepare for the event. “I will prepare in Czech Republic and we will have training camp in Germany ” concluded MATELOVA.

Austria’s Daniel HABESOHN is among the top European players invited this year to compete at the 2021 POMEGRANATE Europe Top 16 Cup in Thessaloniki on 18 and 19 September. HABESOHN will be joined by: Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Germany) Mattias FALCK (Sweden) Liam PITCHFORD (England) Patrick FRANZISKA (Germany) Simona GAUZY (France) Marcos FREITAS (Portugal) Robert GARDOS (Austria) Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) Darko JORGIC (Slovenia) Jonathan GROTH (Denmark) Tomislav PUCAR (Croatia) Yang WANG (Slovakia) Emmanuel LEBESSON (France) Andrej GACINA (Croatia) Panagiotis GIONIS (Greece). HABESOHN is the no.14 seed and this will be his third appearance; he played in the previous two editions in Montreux. “I have two totally different memories about my last two appearances at the European Top 16. The first one I played fantastic and reached the Semifinal and on the second I played incredibly bad. So i would be happy with a performance somewhere inbetween ” stated HABESOHN. Do you have special moments from the events? “There were three special moments: when my brother was with me when my wife was with me and when I reached the semifinal.” What is your goal this time? “I want to reach the quarterfinal and with a good shape I think it is possible.” Who is the main favorite? “My opinion is that Dima (Ovtcharov) has showed an incredible performance by winning the bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. I think he is the big favorite for this tournament.” HABESOHN was also playing at the Olympics. “My performance at the 2020 Olympic Games was good. I am satisfied with my games even though I lost last in Round of 32 in a close seven games encounter against Freitas. I think the Japanese handled the pandemic situation very good in the village. Without strict rules and hygienic guidelines there would not be a possibility to host the Olympics.” Did you have a break after the Olympics? “I did not really have a long break. I took just nine days off. Because of the close calendar this season and because of the Pandemic situation we did not go too far. I just stayed in the Czech Republic with my family.” How will you prepare for the POMEGRANATE Europe Top 16 Cup? “There is no special preparation for the Top 16. I have three German League matches one week before…so this will be part of the preparation. And the last days before the event i will focus on small things in practice and on my family ” explained HABESOHN.

The list of players confirmed to compete at the 2021 POMEGRANATE Europe Top 16 Cup is complete. This month in Greece the competition for the prestige’s silverware will be fierce. In Thessaloniki on 18 and 19 September 2021 the following athletes will play: Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Germany) Mattias FALCK (Sweden) Liam PITCHFORD (England) Patrick FRANZISKA (Germany) Simona GAUZY (France) Marcos FREITAS (Portugal) Robert GARDOS (Austria) Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) Darko JORGIC (Slovenia) Jonathan GROTH (Denmark) Tomislav PUCAR (Croatia) Yang WANG (Slovakia) Emmanuel LEBESSON (France) Daniel HABESOHN (Austria) Andrej GACINA (Croatia) Panagiotis GIONIS (Greece). In Women’s Event will play: Sofia POLCANOVA (Austria) Bernadette SZOCS (Romania) Britt EERLAND (Netherlands) Elizabeta SAMARA (Romania) Nina MITTELHAM (Germany) NI Xia Lian (Luxembourg) Polina MIKHAILOVA (Russia) Hana MATELOVA (Czech Republic) Georgina POTA (Hungary) Barbora BALAZOVA (Slovakia) YU Fu (Portugal) Yana NOSKOVA (Russia) SHAO Jieni (Portugal) Dora MADARASZ (Hungary) Ganna GAPONOVA (Ukraine) and Aikaterini TOLIOU (Greece). For a third time in her career Yana NOSKOVA of Russia will face the challenge in Thessaloniki. “Top 16 is very good competition and I am really happy to be a part of it. I played some close matches before at Top 16 and I will try my best this year in Greece. I know it will be difficult because everyone comes to Top 16 in the best shape. There are no easy matches there the pressure starts from the first match ” said NOSKOVA. Earlier this summer NOSKOVA played at the Olympics in Tokyo. “Olympic Games tournament was very hard for me. In the first round I directly get Prithika PAVADE of France. Last time in Portugal I lost 1-4 against her so I was really happy that I managed to beat her in Tokyo. I think she is one of the best young players from Europe at the moment. In the second round I lost in really close battle against ZHANG Mo. So I was happy with my performance there. It was also difficult for Russia’s player to play under measures but our Olympic committee did everything to make things easier for us. Big thanks for them I am so grateful” said Yana. The schedule this year is frantic. There is no much time for a break. “After the Olympics I had 10 days holidays and then I played at the tournament in Hungary. Now we have preparations in the training camp with national team and then I will prepare in Moscow in my hometown hall. I think I will be fully ready for Top 16 ” concluded Yana NOSKOVA.