The 2021 World Youth Championships commenced today in Portugal’s Vila Nova De Gaia. The venue for the Championships is Pavilhão Desportivo Municipal de Gaia. In the first part of the today’s program in the Under 19 Boys’ Teams Event Poland inflicted the pain in host nation supportres by overcaming Portugal in straight matches. Maciej KUBIK overcame Tiago LI 3:1 Samuel KULCZYCKI prevailed against David BESSA in straight games whilst Milosz REDZIMSKI was forced to go full distance but eventualy beat Silas MONTEIRO. They were close to repeat the success against the top seeds Germany represented by Kay STUMPER Daniel RINDERER and Hannes HOERMANN but after five matches favorites prevailed. After fantastic performance at the European Team’s Championships for seniors in Cluj erlier this year Vladimir SIDORENKO and Maksim GREBNEV looked untachable in the opening match at the World Championships against Slovakia. SIDORENKO overcame Adam KLAJBER 3:0 whilst GREBNEV prevailed against Filip DELINCAK by same margin. Vladislav MAKAROV overcame Kristian UHERIK in four games. In next stage Russia prevailed against Belgium to reach the penultimate stage. SIDORENKO GREBNEV and Damir AKHMETSAFIN overcame Louis LAFFINEUR Olav KOSOLOSKY and Nicolas DEGROS In the quarterfinal of the Under 19 Girls Event Romania prevailed against Hong Kong in straight matches. Elena ZAHARIA Ioana SINGEORZAN and Luciana MITROFAN showed no mercy against CHAN Shiu Lam Chelsea. NG Wing Lam and WONG Hoi Tung. In the quarterfinal of the Under 15 Boys’ Event France overcame Romania after five matches. Both points for Romania came by Iulian CHIRITA who overcame Antoine Jean Christian NOIRAULT and Flavien COTON. On the other side COTON and NOIRAULT overcame Dragos Alexandru BUJOR. Third point for France was gained by Nathan LAM in the match against Horia Stefan URSUT. Portugal joined them with the 3:1 victory over Czech Republic. Martin SIP gave Czech Republic good start with the victory over Rafael SILVA 3:0 but Tiago ABIODUN had a different oppinion where the match should go. He beat Jandrich MORAVEK and Martin SIP. Bernardo PINTO added third point to the score line. In five games he overcame David SOCHOR. Russia needed full five matches to overcame India tp reach the semi final. Ilia KONIUKHOV Aleksei SAMOKHIN and Roman VINOGRADOV all three scored point and managed to recover after Russia being 2:0 in reverse. In Under 15 Girls’ Event Russia beat Mauritius 3:0. Anastasiia IVANOVA Zlata TEREKHOVA and Kristina KURILKINA overcame Maena ANDRE Ashfani HOSENALLY and Rachel CHADY. Semifinals U19 Girls’ Teams China – Japan USA – Romania U19 Boys’ Teams Russia – Germany Japan – China U15 Boys’ Teams Russia – Portugal France – USA U15 Girls’ Teams Russia – India Japan – USA

The 2021 World Youth Championships hosted and organized by the Portuguese Table Tennis Association and under the auspices and authority of the International Table Tennis Federation commences tomorrow in Portugal’s Vila Nova De Gaia. The venue for the Championships is Pavilhão Desportivo Municipal de Gaia. The competitions commences with the Team’s event in both Under 15 and Under 19 categories for boys and girls. Team’s event will last two days and from 4th to 8th December the individual events are scheduled. Top seeds in Under 19 Boys Teams Evet is Germany represented by Kay STUMPER Tom SCHWEIGER Daniel RINDERER and Hannes HOERMANN. Seeded one position below is Romania with Darius MOVILEANU Eduard IONESCU Andrei Teodor ISTRATE and Andrei TOMICA. France will play with Felix and Alexis LEBRUN Thibault PORET and Alexis KOURAICHI; in Belgium’s team are Adrien RASSENFOSSE Louis LAFFINEUR Nicolas DEGROS and Olav KOSOLOSKY. No. five seed is Russia with Vladimir SIDORENKO Damir AKHMETSAFIN Maksim GREBNEV and Vladislav MAKAROV. Top seeds in Under 19 Girls Teams Event is Russia represented by Vlada VORONINA Elizabet ABRAAMIAN Natalia MALININA and Liubov TENTSER. Romania is second on the list with Elena ZAHARIA Ioana SINGEORZAN Luciana MITROFAN and Bianca MEI ROSU. India is seeded at the position no. three followed by France with Camille LUTZ Isa COK Charlotte LUTZ and Prithika PAVADE. Top three seeds in Under 15 Boys Teams are Romania Czech Republic and Hungary whilst in the girls list Germany India and Russia holding the top.  

Thirty years after Peter KARLSSON and Thomas von SCHEELE won the gold in the Men’s Doubles Event in Chiba Sweden’s Kristian KARLSSON and Mattias FALCK are the crowned World Champions. In 1991 pattnering Erik LINDH Jorgen PERSSON clinched bronze whilst tonight he was at the coach seat beahind new champions at the World Championships finals in Houston. In breathteaking final KARLSSON and FALCK overcame JANG Woojin and LIM Jonghoon who carry the honour of being the first-ever pair to represent the Republic of Korea in the title decider (11:8 15:13 11:13 12:10). “It feels pretty euphoric. The whole tournament has been amazing. We played our absolute best and it’s been amazing to play here in front of everyone ” said Kristian KARLSSON. “We had a fantastic tournament. It’s been great to play in front of all these fantastic spectators so a big thanks to everyone here and to everyone supporting us ” said Mattias FALCK. The fantastic run of 19-years old Swede is over. World’s no. 77 Truls MOREGARD clinched silver medal in Men’s Singles. In the final it was World’s no. one FAN Zhendog of China who reached the top spot at the medal rostrum 4:0 (11:6 11:9 11:7 11:8). “It’s disappointing to lose but I’m happy to have reached the final. But Fan’s the world’s number one for a reason and it’s a tough match. I’m just looking forward to going home and celebrating my silver medal with my friends and family. I don’t think I lost the gold medal but I won the silver medal ” said MOREGARD. WANG Chuqin and SUN Yingsha of China outplayed their Japanese rivals Hina HAYATA and Tomokazu HARIMOTO 3-0 (11-2 11-5 11-8) to win the Mixed Doubles final.

Sweden will have three aces tomorrow in the run for gold in two events at the Worlds Championships final in Huston. Truls MOREGARD at age of 19 will play in the final of the Men’s Singles whilst Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON will play in Men’s Doubles. In the semi final MOREGARD overcame Timo BOLL of Germany (8:11 8:11 11:6 11:8 10:12 11:8 11:5). MOREGARD is no 77 in the World whilst Timo BOLL is ranked at the position no. 11 and he followed FALC’s steps.At the 2019 ITTF World Championships Mattias became the first Swede to reach the men’s singles final since 1997. In addition today FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON become the first Swedish pair to reach the Men’s Doubles final since 1997 – again. They overcame China’s LIN Gaoyuan and LIANG Jingkun (12-10 11-8. 11-8) to end China’s hopes of a fourth consecutive Men’s Doubles title on the World Championships stage. “Directly after the match we felt really happy. This is an amazing venue to play at and we want to thank the crowd as it has been amazing to play here. We had our style of play we wanted to lock it down in the short game and I think we managed to do that well. It was tactically a very successful match from us ” said Kristian KARLSSON. “I just want to say a big thank you to everyone supporting us here in the crowd and back home as well. We really appreciate-it ” said Mattias FALCK. After incredible journey Sarah DE NUTTE and NI Xia Lian of Luxembourg clinched the bronze medal in Women’s Doubles Event. They lost in the semi final against the Chinese pairings WANG Manyu and SUN Yingsha (4:11 3:11 12:14). “ It is fantastic result to reach the medal rostrum at the World Championships. We are so happy even though we lost today. China is so strong. We needed time to adjust to their level and we played a great 3rd set it’s a pity we couldn’t win that one. But we are very proud to have reached the semifinal we never thought we would go home with a medal ” said DE NUTTE.    

We have another incredible night behind us at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals in Houston where 9 players from Europe Reached the Round of 16 in the Men’s and Women’s Singles. There are 7 men and 2 women who will fight for their place in the quarterfinal tonight. One of two remaining European players in Women’s Singles Event is Bernadette SZOCS of Romania who eliminated no. 11 seed JEON Jihee of Korea 2:4 (11:13 9:11 11:3 9:11 11:5 9:11). “JEON is one of the best player in the World and to beat her at World Championships is something of dream come true. I am so happy that I won this match. I spent so many effort time and dedication to this. I was well prepared and I had various tactics in my head to be sure I will succeed. I still can not believe I am among the top 16 players in the World I am speechless. One thing is for sure hard work pays off ” said SZOCS. In the next round she will play against no. 6 see Kasumi ISHIKAWA of Japan. ‘We met before and I lost in very close duel. I think I can make very good match against her and if I manage to rise my game to level I reached in Round of 32 I can certainly win ” said SZOCZ who also play for the place in the quarterfinal with Ionescu OVIDIU.”We are both in perfect shape I am positive that we can reach best of 8.” French player Jia Nan YUAN will also play in the Round of 16 after success against Taipei’s LIU Hsing-Yin after success in straight games (11:7 11:8 13:11 11:4). In Round of 16 she will meet WANG Manyu of China. In men’s Singles event Liam PITCHFORD reached the last 16 of the World Championships after seeing off Jonathan GROTH in six pulsating games (11:13 13:11 11:7 11:7 7:11 11:9). PITCHFORD and the Dane are good friends having shared a training base in Copenhagen and even if that were not the case the Englishman would have been well aware of the threat posed by the left-handed world No 33. In the next round he will meet China’s LIANG Jingkun the sixth seed who overcame Benedikt DUDA of Germany last night. Liam PITCHFORD and Paul DRINKHALL beat Nikhil KUMAR and KAI Zhang of USA 3:1 (11:4 8:11 19:17 11:5) in the round of 32 in Doubles. Germany’s Timo BOLL progressed to the Round of 16 after victory over 19-years old PANG Yew En Koen of Singapore in four express games (11:4 11:7 11:5 11:5). “I haven’t often started a game at eleven o’clock in the evening ” said BOLL about his late night schedule. “I got in well and played a in a various rhythm than he is perhaps used to against younger players a little more delayed better placed – on the other hand he had massive problems.” In the round of the best 16 Timo Boll will meet the Slovak defense specialist WANG Yang who had previously eliminated France’s top man Simon Gauzy 4:2 (7:11 11:13 11:9 11:7 11:9 11:9). Ruwen FILUS will join his teammate after third 4:0 win in Houston. This time it was Jakub DYJAS of Poland who suffered by his hands. “ It’s been 4-0 for me three times at this World Cup but it’s still a long tournament and the tension and the heat is there all the time. You notice that ”said the 33-year-old who has been one of the best modern defenders in the world for years who will meet American hope Kanak Jha. It is possible that two Germans meets in the quarters. “I could live very well with a Hessian quarter-final ” said Timo Boll. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed for Ruwen. He’s played very well so far. Besides it would be a nice thing to definitely have a German in the semifinals.” Swede Kristian KARLSSON overcame Alexandre CASSIN of France. He could also face his temmate Truls MOREGARD in the quarterfinal. MOREGARD beat Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany in seven gruelling games and now he will meet LIM Jonghoon of Korea. KARLSSON will play against Quadri ARUNA of Nigeria in the next round. Darko JORGIC prevailed against Kirill SKACHKOV of Russia.

On the third day of play at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals in Houston European pairings showed good performance in all three Doubles Events. Russia will have two doubles in Women’s Event– Jana NOSKOVA and Olga VOROBEVA overcame Camila ARGUELLES and Ana CODINA of Argentina whilst Elizabet ABRAAMIAN and Natalia MALININA ranked only at the position no. 183 progressed to Round of 16 instead of top seeded Korean’s combination of SHIN Yubin and JEON Jihee. Barbora BALAZOVA of Slovakia and Hana MATELOVA of Czech Republic overcame Joanna SUNG and Rachel SUNG of USA 3:1. Romania’s pairings Andreea DRAGOMAN and Elizabeta SAMARA are also safely through the Round of 16 after win over Yousra HELMY and Farah ABDEL-AZIZ of Egypt. Luxembourg’s Sarah DE NUTTE and NI Xia Lian overcame Taipei’s LIU Hsing-Yin and CHENG Hsien-Tzu. “What a crazy match. We were down 2:9 and 8:10 in the decisive game ” said DE NUTTE. In Men’s Doubles Sweden’s Truls MOREGARD and Anton KALLBERG upset the odds by beating Sathiyan GNANASEKARAN and Sharath Kamal ACHANTA of India 3:1 and the same stands for Emmanuel LEBESSON and Alexandre CASSIN of France who reached the Reound of 16 after victory over Noshad ALAMIYAN and Nima ALAMIAN of Iran. Five Europen Mixed Doubles rached the Round of 16. Patrick FRANZISKA and Petrissa SOLJA of Germany overcame Juan LAMADRID and Paulina VEGA of Chile in superb fashion -3:0. In next Round they will play against HO Kwan Kit and LEE Ho Ching of Korea. Bernadette SZOCS and Ovidiu IONESCU of Romania proved also to strong for Korean combination of CHO Daeseong and SHIN Yubin – 3:0. In next round they will meet Spains’ Maria XIAO and Alvaro ROBLES. Spanish duo overcame Belgium’s Florent LAMBIET and Natalie MARCHETI without losin the game. Kirill SKACHKOV and Olga VOROBEVA of Russia showed no mercy against Aleksandr KHANIN and Daria TRIGOLOS. In next round they will play against Chinese – American combination of LIN Gaoyuan and Lily ZHANG. In another European duel Emmanuel LEBESSON and YUAN Jia Nan of France overcame Poland’s Jakub DYJAS and Natalia PARTYKA – 3:0.  

On a second day of play at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals in Houston we already saw few choking victories created by Europeans. In the Round of 64 Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania Daniel HABESOHN of Austria Jakub DYJAS of Poland Alexandre CASSIN of France upset the orders and moved to the next stage in fantastic fashion. In George R. Brown Convention Center ranked only at the position no. 252 at the rankings in Women’s Singles Event Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania halted the progress of World’s no. 19 Petrissa SOLJA of Germany (7:11 11:9 9:11 11:9 13:11 6:11 11:7). No. 2 seed and big favorite Tomokazu HARIMOTO of Japan suffered by the hands of Jakub DYJAS of Poland. No. 65 succeeded after seven grueling games 4:3 (7:11 11:5 7:11 11:6 6:11 11:8 11:9).HARIMOTO took an early lead but DYJAS fought back to level the score 1-1 after winning the second game. The advantage then swung between Harimoto and Dyjas in the next four games before Dyjas outplayed Harimoto in the decider 11-9 to win the match “I took my chances well against HARIMOTO. Mentally and tactically it worked for me. So I’m really happy to have beaten one of the top seeds at this tournament. It’s a nice victory and I know I have to play even better in the next round to continue to do even better ” said DYAS. Japan’s Koki NIWA is out following a shock defeat for the number 15 seed. A quarter-finalist at the 2019 World Championships in Budapest NIWA was anticipated to go far at the George R. Brown Convention Center. However Daniel HABESOHN had other ideas with the Austrian outpunching NIWA across six dramatic games (11:8 9:11 5:11 17:15 11:9 11:4). Silver medalist from last World Championships Mattias FALCK of Sweden also lost his place in the Round of 32. World’s no. 10 suffered by the hands of Alexandre CASSIN of France ranked only at the position no. 145 (7:11 6:11 11:5 17:15 12:10 8:11 11:7). Another Swede was involved in seven games thriller and once again lower ranked player prevailed but this time it was Truld MOREGARD no. 77 at the rankings who bear Taipei’s CHUANG Chih-Yuan no. 25 (12:10 10:12 5:11 7:11 11:3 11:3 8:11).