Timo Boll who caught the corona virus shortly before the end of the year and his booster appointment probably experiences the saddest Christmas days. “I isolated myself from my wife and our daughter in quarantine ” said Houston’s World Championships bronze medalist. Dima OVTCHAROV does not fly in until Christmas Eve after commitments in the Russian League. The busiest pre-Christmas season is traditionally spent by Dimitrij OVTCHAROV. Because Christmas is not celebrated in Russia until January 7th the Olympic medalists from Tokyo will be working individually until Christmas Eve for his Russian club Fakel Gazprom Orenburg before going to Sweden to see his daughter Emma his wife Jenny and their family. Whether OVTCHAROV will be able to stand at the table again under full stress after his ankle operation at the end of October and the subsequent rehab will be decided at short notice. “Maybe I can already do one or two matches. But I am aiming for January ” said OVTCHAROV. Petrissa Solja is so looking forward to giving presents that it has happened in the past that she distributed presents before Christmas. The two-time European champion celebrates the new year differently than usual: “There is no big celebration on New Year’s Eve this year. I want to be fit for the wedding!” She says. Not for your own mind you. Her mixed partner Patrick FRANZISKA and the sister of World champion in doubles Kristian KARLSSON Frida have long been planning to give each other the church’s vows on January 1st. After all there are not many days in the tournament calendar when table tennis is reliably not played. Nina MITTELHAM European team champion Europe Top 16 winner German individual champion: “I spend the Christmas days at home almost every year since I have come of age. This year we’re celebrating with my parents. We celebrated at my place for the last two years. On the 24th I will go to my parents for dinner unwrapping presents and games where my siblings my friend Sascha and I will be. “ Dimitrij OVTCHAROV Olympic second team Olympic third individual winner of the WTT premiere tournament: “I landed in Russia on Sunday and will be here until the 24th. Then I’ll go back in time for Christmas Eve to Jenny Emma and Jenny’s family to Sweden. “
Titles for Simon GAUZY and JIA Nan Yuan at the 91st French Championships
The 91st edition of the 2021 French Senior Championships concluded last weekend in the Glaz Arena in Cesson-Sévigné with the coronations of Simon GAUZY for the men and JIA Nan Yuan for the women. Seeded n ° 1 the two winners respectively win their 3rd and 6th national crown in singles. Stéphanie LOEUILLETTE and JIA Nan Yuan in the semi finals. JIA Nan Yuan stood out for her experience. However. It was great result for Stéphanie LOEUILLETTE too because she left Cesson with three medals two gold and one bronze. The second semi-final brought two residents of Ile de France against each other Prithika PAVADE (Saint-Denis TT) and YU-Hua Liu (Paris 13 TT). It was a one-sided match – PRITHIKA left no chance for his opponent. A very high level match awaited the public at the Glaz Arena for the first men’s semi-final between Simon GAUZY and Alexis LEBRUN. Simon won his ticket for the final (4-2). Alexis LEBRUN climbed on the podium of the French Senior Championships as 18 years old. Romain RUIZ easily won second semi final against Damien PROVOST. Like LEBRUN it was PROVOST’s first medal rostrum but he is 37 years old. Favorite of this 91st edition JIA Nan Yuan has perfectly assumed her status by winning a sixth title of champion of France after her withdrawal last year. In the final she took over Prithika PAVADE after a very high level meeting. JIA Nan Yuan joins Claude BERGERET and Anne BOILEAU with 6 titles on the clock. A fine performance also from Prithika PAVADE who claimed a silver medal in the women’s singles for the first time in her career. Seeded n ° 1 Simon justified his status by winning the title for the second year in a row. He was able to raise his level of play over the matches and won without much in the final against Romain RUIZ. He becomes triple Champion of France.
Polcanova won Top 12 title in Austria Kopie
Jet lag time shifts corona alarms and more than 20 000 flight kilometers (Linz-USA-Linz – Singapore – Linz – Horn) could not prevent Sofia POLCANOVA’S top 12 victory. Tired but overjoyed Sofia Polcanova received the trophy after her hard-fought 3-0 win over Yuan Liu. “I was nervous and came into play better and better in a high-class match against a strong adversary ” said POLCANOVA. Sofia hopes that in the next few weeks she will find her way back to her top form before her almost two-year injury phase. Her Linz teammates hope that too as the first Champions League quarter final against France’s ETIVAL CLAIRFONTAINE is already on the program on January 16 in Linz. Simon Pfeffer delivered the big surprise at the Generali Austria Top 12 in Horn (Lower Austria). The Kapfenberger defeated the top seeded Robert GARDOS 3: 2 in the semifinals but then failed in his second final after 2019 against Daniel HABESOHN with 0: 3. For the Viennese it was the sixth success in this prestigious tournament.
Season closing in Romania’s Buzau
The last camp in 2021 4th ETTU Development Camp U-13 is running now in Buzau Romania. “we have superior accommodation and food in Hotel Sport B90 and excellent conditions in the renovated sports hall “Romeo Iamandi” with excellent young players and sparring partners from Romania ” said ETTU Development Manager Neven CEGNAR. The camp is run by the same trio as in 2019: Anamaria SEBE MIRICA Alexandru GHEORGHE and Andrei NEF (fitness coach). “In total we have 24 players and 14 coaches ” added CEGNAR .
The draw for the quarter finals of the TAMANNEFTEGAS Europe Cup Men and Women
Three days of fierce fights in TAMANNEFTEGAS Europe Cup launched quarterfinalists
The second stage of the TAMANNEFTEGAS Europe Cup Men and Women concluded tonight. The draw for the quarter finals will be done on Monday 13th December and it will be streamed on ETTU Facebook (11.15). In Group A in Men’s Cup KS DARTOM BOGORIA Grodzisk Mazowiecki already secured the passage day earlier and today UTTC Stockerau and HB Ostrov z.s. Fought for the second position. In direct clash Czech team showed no mercy and beat adversaries from Austria’s club in straight matches. In Group B Italy’s USD Apuania Carrara Tennistavolo recorded three straight matches win. Lubomir PISTEJ Mihai Razvan BOBOCICA and Leonardo MUTTI overcame adversaries from Roskilde Bordtennis BTK 61 SF SKK El Nino Praha and SPG Linz. Danish club is second in the group with one win less. In Group C Spanish CTT Borges remained unbeaten. Austria’s SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt is second. Marc DURAN Viktor BRODD Joan MASIP and Alberto LILLO played for the Spanish club. SPG FELBERMAYR Wels and Top Spin Messina Fontalba progressed to the quarterfinals as two leading clubs in Group D. Both clubs started the season in the Champions League Men. Austria’s side is unbeaten in TAMANNEFTEGAS Europe Cup and they were under severe pressure only in the duel against Italian club. On the other side Top Spin Messina Fontalba was forced to go full distance twice. Spanish Real Club Cajasur Priego T.M. also stretched them to full five matches but with Joao MONTEIRO who lost only one match at the whole tournament it was very difficult task. Only player who defeated MONTEIRO was Andreas LEVENKO from Wels. In TAMANNEFTEGAS Europe Cup Women in Group A ASD Quattro Mori recorded all three victories. Andreea DRAGOMAN Tania Maria PLAIAN and Rossana Antonella FERCIUG pushed the club to the quarters. From the second position it is Tecnigen Linares who joined them. Another Spanish club reached the top of the Group. Reus Ganxets MIRÓ with Jessica YAMADA Anastasiya KOLISH and Sara RAMIREZ overcame all adversaries even the favorites from SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club. Hungarian side led by Georgina POTA reached the quarters from the second position. French ALCL TT Grand Quevilly is unbeaten is all three rounds. Anis SALPIN Pauline CHASSELIN and Samson LI overcame Novi SAD in the last round. However the hosts of the Group C progressed from the second position. UCAM Cartagena T.M. with LI Fen Maria XIAO and Dora MADARASZ is at the top of the Group D followed by TMK-TAGMET Taganrog.
Claudia Herweg is the new President of the DTTB
Claudia HERWEG has been elected with an overwhelming majority as the new DTTB President. HERWEG has worked full-time in table tennis for 30 years including as a managing associate in the table tennis industry. Since 2018 she has been the ITTF equipment manager and has built up the equipment department in Cologne. As an active player newly elected President used to play in the 2nd Bundesliga and worked as a coach with one of the biggest German regional associations. Since Saturday at 4.17 p.m. Claudia Herweg is the President of the German Table Tennis Association. The 55-year-old who was proposed by the five DTTB regional associations with the largest number of members was elected by the DTTB-AGM with 204 votes in favour two against and no abstentions. Herweg is the 13th person to hold the office of president of the DTTB and the first woman since the founding of the association in 1925. She succeeds Michael GEIGER who after six years as a President and previously five years as a vice-president for finances did not run again for an office in the DTTB executive committee. „It shouldn’t really matter that I am the first woman. But we still have to fight for that and hopefully pioneers like me will make it easier for the younger girls” HERWEG says. The long-term priorities of her office: “We have to get better in many areas and this can only be done together. I feel that unity is very important because we have very demanding tasks ahead of us. Together we are much stronger and can better market our incredibly fascinating and multi-faceted sport.”
KS DARTOM BOGORIA Grodzisk Mazowieck moves to quarters from the top spot
On the second day of the play in Stage two of the TAMANNEFTEGAS Europe Cup Men KS DARTOM BOGORIA Grodzisk Mazowiecki of Poland already secured the pass to the quarterfinals. In Group A Polish club beat HB Ostrov z.s. Today and added second victory in the Group of three clubs. However the victory did not come easy Bogoria was stretched to full five matches. Tomas TREGLER beat Pawel SIRUCEk in the opening match before Marek BADOWSKI leveled after with the victory over Dimitrij PROKOPCOV. In third match Michal OBESLO managed to overcame Milosz REDZIMSKI in five games to brought back Ostrov in game but BADOWSKI and SIRUCEK stood the pressure and by narrowest of margin secured victory. In Group B USD Apuania Carrara Tennistavolo remained unbeaten in Portugal. Lubomir PISTEJ Mihai Razvan BOBOCICA and Leonardo MUTTI beat Kim TAEHYUN Samuel KALUZNY and Janos PROMBERGER in straight matches and by doing so secured the place in the quarterfinal. Roskilde Bordtennis BTK 61 recovered after yesterday’s defeat against the leader at the standings USD Apuania Carrara Tennistavolo and overcame SF SKK El Nino Praha from Czech Republic in long distance duel. Jens LUNDQUIST beat Jakub ZELINKA but lost to Jiri VRABLIK. However Michael MAZE showed good performance and beat both VRABLIK and ZELINKA. Mikkel HINDERSSON lost to Frantisek ONDERKA. In Group D TTSC UMMC-ELEM recovered after yesterday’s defeat to overcame Spanish Real Club Cajasur Priego T.M. In five matches. Carlos MACHADO won both his encounters but Viacheslav KRIVOSHEEV Danila TRAVIN and Mikhail ROZHKOV did not other 3 points. Top Spin Messina Fontalba suffered by the hands of the players from SPG FELBERMAYR Wels. Austria’s club is at the top of the standings with two wins. In TAMANNEFTEGAS Europe Cup Women top seeded club in Group A TT Moravsky Krumlov lost to Girbau Vic TT and went one step further from the quarters. Tamolwan KHETKHUAN gave Spanish side good opening and ZHANG Sofia Xuan and Charlotte CAREY followed the path. In Group B Austria’s TTC NanoTech Villach lost to SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club from Hungary 1:3. Maria FAZEKAS and Georgina POTA showed no mercy against Anna Szofia FENYVESY and Ina JAZBEC only Ivana MALOBABIC managed to beat Helga DARI. In the first match in Group D UCAM Cartagena T.M. overcame TMK-TAGMET Taganrog in straight matches. LI Fen Maria XIAO and Dora MADARASZ proved too strong for Yulia PROKHOROVA Margarita FETUKHINA and Olga KULIKOVA. In Group D French ALCL TT Grand Quevilly is unbeaten after two rounds. Spanish Museo De La Almendra Francisco Morales was defeated today in straight matches. Anis SALPIN Pauline CHASSELIN and Samson LI were not in the mood for the charity.
Thriller in Spain Serbia showed no mercy as a host
The matches in the Stage 2 of the TAMANNEFTEGAS Europe Cup Women commenced today. In Spain in Group A Italy’s ASD Quattro Mori needed five matches to overcame TT Moravsky Krumlov of Czech Republic. Andreea DRAGOMAN overcame Liliya ANDRIYANOVA and Tania Maria PLAIAN overcame Ekaterina CHERNYAVSKAYA to post 2:0 lead. In third match Nikita PETROVOVA overcame Rossana Antonella FERCIUG to change the rhythm of the game. CHERNYAVSKAYA beat DRAGOMAAN to push the match into the decisive encounter. PLAIAN stood the pressure and overcame ANDRIYANOVA. In the same Group in all-Spanish duel Tecnigen Linares overcame Girbau Vic TT. Orawan PARANANG beat Sílvia Coll SOLA and Tamolwan KHETKHUAN whilst Roxana ISTRATE also prevailed against KHETKHUAN. Only point for Girbau came from Sofia-Xuan ZHANG. In only match in Group B today Austria’s TTC NanoTech Villach beat Slovakia’s Stolnotenisove Centrum SKST Bratislava 3:1. Ivana MALOBABIC posted two victories against Martine TOFTAKER and Rebekka CARLSEN. Rebekka overcame Ana Szofija FENYVESY in close five games match to secure only point from the club from Bratislava. Ina JAZBEC beat Dominika WILTSCHKOVA. In group C in Serbia the host Novi Sad recorded straight matches victory over Spanish Museo De La Almendra Francisco Morales. Aneta MAKSUTI Tijana JOKIC and Radmila TOMINJAK all needed four games to succeed against Ana GARCIA MONTERO Marija GALONJA and Lucia LOPEZ CUENCA. In other match Portugal’s GDCS Do Juncal lost to French club ALCL TT Grand Quevilly 1:3. In five games Tatiana GARNOVA gave Portugal’s club dream start with the victory over Anais SALPIN but after that Pauline CHASSELIN overcame Janet EFFION and GARNOVA. LI Samson overcame Raqel ANDRADE. In Men’s TAMANNEFTEGAS Europe Cup in Group A Polish KS DARTOM BOGORIA Grodzisk Mazowiecki was stretched to full distance in the match against HB Ostrov z.s. From Czech Republic. Tomáš TREGLER overcame Pavel SIRUCEK in straight games but Marek BADOWSKI leveled after 3:2 win over Dimitrij PROKOPCOV. Michal OBESLO was also forced to go full distance but he beat Milosz REDZIMSKI 3:2. Marek BADOWSKI remained unbeaten and he also overcame TREGLER before SIRICEK sealed the match with the victory over PROKOPCOV 3:2. In Group B Roskilde Bordtennis BTK 61 suffered straight match defeat in the duel against Italy’s USD Apuania Carrara Tennistavolo. Lubomir PISTEJ Mihai Razvan BOBOCICA and Leonardo MUTTI overcame Jens LUNDQUIST Michale MAZE and Mikkel HINDERSSON. In the same Group SF SKK El Nino Praha from Czech Republic overcame SPG Linz from Austria 3:1. Jiri VRABLIK beat Samuel KALUZNY and Kim TAEHYUN whilst TAEHYUN overcame Jakub ZELINKA. Frantisek ONDERKA prevailed against Patrik JUHASZ. In Group C both matches concluded with 3:0 margin. PTE PEAC Kalo-Meh lost to CTT Borges with two matches went full distance. Marc DURAN beat Szolt PETO 3:2; Sebestyen KOVACS lost to Joan MASIP in decisive game. In addition SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt’s Frane KOJIC Tomas KONECNY and Felix WETZEL beat Fortune Kyiv’s Viktor YEFIMOV Anton LIMONOV and Bohdan SINKEVYCH In Group D Austria’s SPG FELBERMAYR Wels in unbeaten in two matches. After Austria’s club has been 2:0 down Jiri MARTINKO pushed the match in opposite direction with the victory over Marco RECH DALDOSSO. In fierce fight Nandor ECSEKI and Andreas LEVENKO seized the opportunity and won. In the match against Spanish Real Club Cajasur Priego T.M only Carlos MACHADO brought the point to Cajasur. Top Spin Messina Fontalba beat Russia’s TTSC UMMC-ELEM 3:1. Joao MONTEIRO was the key to the success with victories over Viacheslav KRIVOSHEEV and Danila TRAVIN.
Battle for the quarterfinal of the TAMANNEFTEGAS Europe Cup Men and Women
Just a two days after the World Youth Championships Portugal’s Vila Nova de Gaia welcomes three groups in the Stage 2 of the TAMANNEFTEGAS Europe Cup Men. Only group’s D matches plays in Austria’s Wels. In TAMANNEFTEGAS Europe Cup Women the Groups are playing in Spain Serbia and Croatia. The 15 clubs are divided in four groups and top two will progress to the quarterfinals. In this stage we have relegated clubs from the Champions League and the winners and runner ups from the Stage one in Europe Cup. The program in Portugal starts with the clash between SPG Linz of Austria and Champions league’s SF SKK El Nino Praha from Czech Republic in Group B. In the same Group USD Apuania Carrara Tennistavolo from Italy will meet Roskilde Bordtennis BTK 61 from Denmark. In Group A KS DARTOM BOGORIA Grodzisk Mazowiecki of Poland who also came from Champions League will clash with HB Ostrov Havlíčkův Brod from Czech Republic. In Group C Ukraine’s Fortune Kyiv will play against SolexConsult TTC Wiener Neustadt of Austria. In same Group PTE PEAC Kalo-Meh from Hungary will play against ASISA Borges Vall of Spain. In Wels in Group D Real Club Cajasur Priego T.M. From Spain will meet the hosts SPG FELBERMAYR Wels and Russia’s TTSC UMMC-ELEM will clash with Top Spin Messina Fontalba. Italian’s club will meet SPG FELBERMAYR Wels tonight as well. In TAMANNEFTEGAS Europe Cup Women today we have 6 matches. First on schedule is Slovakia’s Stolnotenisove Centrum SKST Bratislava vs. Austria’s TTC “NanoTech” Villach in Spain in Group B. In the same group will meet Reus Ganxets MIRÓ from Spain and SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club from Hungary. In Linares is also group A where Italy’s ASD Quattro Mori will meet TT Moravsky Krumlov of Czech Republic. At the end of the day two Spanish sides will clash Tecnigen Linares vs. Girbau Vic TT (ESP). In Serbia’s Novi Sad we have two matches today. French ALCL TT Grand Quevilly will play againstPortugal’s GDCS Do Juncal (POR) and Spanish Museo de la Almendra Francisco Morales (ESP) will meet hosts Novi Sad.
