Germany’s club Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. tops the seedings at Final of the Europe Cup to be held in Varaždin Croatia 12th-15th May 2021. Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. qualified for the Europe Cup as the relegated club from the Champions League Men final tournament played at the end of the last year in Dusseldorf. By the same criteria Czech Republic’s TTC Enfireex Ostrava French AS Pontoise Cergy TT Austria’s SPG Walter Wels and Irun Leka Enea Marpex from Spain all found their place in the Europe Cup final through Champions League. The list goes on with Spain’s CTT Borges Austria’s Solex-Consult Wiener Neustadt Croatia’s STK Libertas Marinkolor Italy’s Top Spin Messina Slovakia’s SK Vydrany Romania’s CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc Hungary’s PTE PEAC Kalo-Meh and Russia’s TTSC UMMC-ELEM “We are looking forward to the Europe Cup and we are happy with the possibility to play the Cup in these trouble times. The team is ready for the cup. Since the TTBL German national league finished in the middle of March we have enough time to prepare well ” said team’s Manager Thomas STECHER. “This year in May our Club is celebrating the 70th birthday – so the team likes to make a very fine gift to the whole club.” The team will be presented by the International stars Daniel HABESOHN Ovidiu IONESCU Steffen MENGEL Lubomir JANCARIK lead by Coach Erik Schreyer. Css-Szak Odorheiu Secuiesc booked their place in the final after the First round of the Europe Cup played at the end of the March. “We are very proud to reach the final tournament of Europe Cup in Varazdin to be part of this great competition with very strong clubs. Everyone in the team looking forward to the start of the Final. At this moment we hope we will have success in the group stage and to be able to reach the quarterfinal ” said Css-Szak Odorheiu Secuiesc Team Manager István GYÖRGY. The club is doing fine at the home front in Romania as well. “We are in the semi final of the National League this year. It was very long season with two tournaments with eight clubs playing against each other. However it was also a fruitful season since we reached the medal already ” concluded István GYÖRGY. PTE PEAC Kalo Meh’s Team Manager Robert DUDAS will depend on Zsolt PETO Demeter Lehel GYARFAS Gabor GEROLD and David MOLNAR in Varazdin to reach the best of eight clubs in Croatia. “Our players are from different cities and pandemic situations do not allow us to have trainings together but so far we showed good shape in National league in Hungary. We are currently second and hopefully at beginning of the June we will have the success in the final ” said Team Manager Robert DUDAS.
OVTCHAROV DUDA PITCHFORD and KARLSSON lead the field at Düsseldorf Masters
Last week’s opening tournament with Anton KÄLLBERG (Sweden) and Omar ASSAR (Egypt) was already very prominent but the starting field at the second Düsseldorf Masters is filled even more with top names. The World number nine Dimitrij OVTCHAROV the Englishman Liam PITCHFORD ranked at the 15th position the Swede Kristian KARLSSON (29) and Benedikt DUDA (41) four absolute top stars will play for the title in the ARAG CenterCourt on Sunday from 10 a.m. The Düsseldorf Masters will be held on a total of seven Sundays in the ARAG CenterCourt until the end of May and streamed live on sportdeutschland.tv on Borussia TV and on tischtennis.de.After the prelude a week ago mainly served to give DTTB talents their first match practice after a long pandemic break men’s national coach Jörg ROSSKOPF decided this time to give his stars Dimitrij OVTCHAROV and Benedikt DUDA important competition due to a lack of international alternatives.“The most important thing for our entire training group is match practice. This applies to our talents as well as to the closest circle of the national team. That’s why we always decide from week to week who and how many will play “explained ROSSKOPF.The Düsseldorf Masters a joint project by the host Borussia Düsseldorf and the German Table Tennis Association (DTTB) brings four world stars to the tables on the second Sunday who are challenged by a total of five young athletes from the DTTB sponsorship squad. The game is played in the knockout system from the start. The top seeded Dimitrij OVTCHAROV recently in great shape in Qatar and winner of the WTT Contender premiere will meet left-hander Tobias HIPPLER (Cologne) in the quarter-finals at 11 a.m.: “I’m looking forward to being at the Masters on Sunday and winning again. “The four top seed1 Dimitrij OVTCHAROV GER (Fakel Gazprom Orenburg RUS)2 Liam PITCHFORD ENG (UMMC Ekaterinburg RUS)3 Kristian KARLSSON SWE (Borussia Düsseldorf)4 Benedikt DUDA GER (TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt)The other participantsTobias HIPPLER (1. FC Cologne)Nils HOHMEIER (TTC OE Bad Homburg)Benno OEHME (TTC RöhnSprudel Fulda-Maberzell)Cedric MEISSNER (FSV Mainz 05)Kay STUMPER (TTC Neu-Ulm)Round of 1610.00 a.m: Benno Oehme – Kay StumperQuarter finals10.30 a.m: Benedikt Duda – Nils Hohmeier11.00 a.m: Dimitrij Ovtcharov – Tobias Hippler11.30 a.m: Kristian Karlsson – Benno Oehme or Kay Stumper12: Liam Pitchford – Cedric MeissnerSemifinals12.30 p.m.: Winner Duda / Hohmeier – Winner Karlsson / Winner Oehme vs Stumper1 p.m: Winner Ovtcharov / Hippler – Winner Pitchford / Meissner– 60 minutes break –Final
ITTF Table Tennis Youth Ranking announced ahead of inaugural WTT Youth Series
The journey to become World No.1 has been solidified with the launch of the new ITTF Table Tennis Youth Ranking today following their approval by the ITTF Executive Committee at a meeting held last Sunday. The newly formed WTT Youth Series replaces the ITTF World Junior Circuit. Divided into two tiers WTT Youth Star Contender and WTT Youth Contender the WTT Youth Series will form the basis of an event pyramid designed to provide youth players with the opportunity to transition into professional careers. The ITTF Table Tennis Youth Ranking to be published weekly follows a similar structure to the ITTF Table Tennis World Ranking and will see points awarded based on performance for each age category for boys’ and girls’ singles. A youth player’s ranking will comprise of the best eight results in 2021 and best 10 results commencing in 2022. Doubles and mixed doubles rankings are now also included as part of the new regulations. The World Youth Championships will sit atop the ITTF Table Tennis Youth Ranking with 3 000 points awarded to the winners Under-19 WTT Youth Star Contender and WTT Youth Contender champions will collect 2 250 and 750 points respectively with the number of points reducing for each subsequent age category. Youth players will also have the opportunity to earn senior rankings points at WTT Youth Series events and vice versa with points earned by youth players at WTT Series level to be included in a their ITTF Table Tennis Youth Ranking. Portugal will host the first ever WTT Youth Series event with the inaugural WTT Youth Contender to take place in Vila Real from Tuesday 11 to Monday 17th May. It will be the first youth event to be held since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tiago VIEGAS WTT Youth Series Manager says “The new WTT Youth Series and ranking regulations will bear witness to more inter-generational competitiveness across the age categories and provide opportunities for talented and fast-improving players to put their skills to the test against slightly older opponents. We are looking forward to launching our first WTT Youth Series event in Portugal despite the challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We are very grateful for the support and commitment given to us by Vila Real and Portuguese Table Tennis Association for ensuring this event can occur safely”. Performance at WTT Youth Contender events is crucial for players to qualify for the WTT Youth Star Contender events where USD 17 000 in prize money will be on offer.
European champions booked their quarterfinal place
Portugal in perfect run at the 2015 LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships European champions are safely through the quarterfinal of the 2015 LIEBHERR European Championships in Eketarinburg. Portugal concluded the matches in the Group stage unbeaten and secure the top position in Group A. France is at the position no. two. After beating Hungary and France in epic match day earlier Portugal accounted for Serbia in straight matches today. To be precise Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC Marko JEVTOVIC and Zolt PETE failed to win single game against Joa MONTEIRO Marcos FREITAS and Tiago APOLONIA. “We are relieved now when the first task is successfully accomplished. We had very difficult matches. It is true that we are unbeaten but none of them was easy. Even today in 3:0 victory against Serbia many things could get wrong. I beat KARAKASEVIC at the opening but in reverse situation we will be under severe pressure.” France showed impressive performance in Russia especially Simon GAUZY. After very close match against Serbia when they recovered from match ball down French team had 2:0 lead against Portugal. In addition GAUZY in fourth match had 2:0 against Marcos FREITAS. Today they overcame Hungary. GAUZY beat Adam SZUDI. Emmanuel LEBESSON overcame Tamas LAKATOS whilst Stephane OUAICHE beat Adam PATTANTYS. “The opening match always adds some extra pressure on player. You want to set your team on the right track and that could be difficult sometime. So far I am very happy with my performance. I won four out of five matches in Russia”. stated GAUZY. Reflecting about the matches day earlier GAUZY added: “I have no reason to regret. Yesterday we were 2:0 up against Portugal and we lost but it was tremendous match. It took the best of both teams. We were very close and for sure we gave our best. It was clear from the start that the third match will be important. MONTEIRO beat FLORE but we had another great opportunity when I was 2:0 up against FREITAS. We lost but the most important thing is that we played good and that we are safely through to the quarterfinal. Hopefully we will play for the medal here.”
World Table Tennis Championships confirmed for Houston November 2021
At the meeting of the ITTF Executive Committee on Sunday 11th April the new dates of Tuesday 23rd to Monday 29th November were decided for the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships; the tournament as originally planned will be held in Houston USA.After positive weeks of discussions with the Harris County Sports Authority USATT and USOPC the decision was to go ahead. Necessary adjustments will be put in place to cater for the current ongoing worldwide pandemic; thus ensuring the event will be staged successfully.“It’s great news to confirm the 2021 event. After the 2020 World Championships event in Busan Korea was cancelled it was very important to find solutions for the 2021 event. Since Houston USA was awarded the event the whole table tennis world has been excited to have the event for the first time in the United States of America ” ITTF CEO Steve Dainton stated.Another important decision the ITTF Executive Committee took was to confirm the attendance of operational staff required to assist in administering the table tennis competition at the Olympic Games. Meeting the IOC Sports Department suggestion and in view of the Covid-19 pandemic the number of officials will be significantly reduced. Furthermore in line with the IOC request and recommendation the ITTF Executive Committee confirmed there will be no accompanying guests accredited.After months of development and negotiations proposed by the ITTF World Ranking Working Group the ITTF Executive Committee approved the new ITTF Team and Youth rankings. The regulations along with the first ranking lists will be published in the coming days.Also the ITTF Executive Committee recognized the excellent work of Dr. Shiro Matsuo for his long service to the ITTF Sports Science and Medical Committee as Chief Anti-Doping; all wished him the best of luck in his retirement.
2021 ETTU Development Webinar – 4: Innovation and new approach
The latest edition of the online activity in ETTU 2021 ETTU Development Webinar – 4 broke the record again; 196 participants from 39 National Associations joined the lecture. The event welcomed new participants from new countries and even new Continents. The webinar’s subject has been Fit Work Table Tennis and the lecturer was from Italy the founder of Fit Work Table Tennis Nevena KOSTOVA. The session has begun with an opening speech and then KOSTOVA has made her presentation in two separate parts; theoretical and practical part. Then “Question & Answer” part has taken place at the end. Nevena KOSTOVA explained: “During the first part of the webinar we explored the story the philosophy and the approach of Fit Work Table Tennis physical preparation. That training is based on fitness and can be adapted to many different subjects. During the second part we did a practical demonstration proposing an interactive training session that involved some of the participants to try this activity. We perform together 11 exercises just to work on as many aspect as possible and make the training funniest and completed the session after Q & A part. It’s great to see so many nice messages as my feedback and I wish to work harder to contribute to European Table Tennis. I’d like to thank ETTU Executive Board Neven Cegnar and Samet POLAT for their support too. ” ETTU Development Manager CEGNAR stated that it was the unusually valuable useful and innovative presentation. “We have seen a project whose content provides many opportunities in the application of basic – special physical preparation of young table tennis players. This is mainly due to the fact that these and similar contents can be easily dosed at different levels of intensity but also the content of the exercises ” said CEGNAR who thanked regular collaborator Samet POLAT for his contribution to the implementation of the webinar.
João Geraldo and Leila Oliveira are the Portuguese National Singles Champions
João GERALDO (Les Loups d’Angers France) and Leila OLIVEIRA (U Sebastianense FC) are the new Portuguese National Singles champions after winning the National Championships held at the Pavilhão Municipal de Mozelos.João GERALDO succeeds Diogo CHEN in the singles after beating Gonçalo Gomes (CD 1.º Maio) by 4-0 in the final. It is the second Portuguese National Singles title for GERALDO who had already won in 2015. The 3rd place was conquered by António MALHEIRO (AR Novelense) and Ivo Silva (GDCAAA Guilhabreu).Leila OLIVEIRA (U Sebastianense FC) beat in the final the sixteen years old player Inês MATOS (Boa Hora FC) by 4-1 and regained the title she had won for the last time in 2014.The young player Inês SALGADO (CTM Mirandela) only fifteen years of age and Raquel ANDRADE (GDCS Juncal) won the bronze medal.In the doubles event the new national champions are António MALHEIRO and Silas MONTEIRO (Men´s Doubles) Olga CHRAMKO and Rita FINS (Women’s Doubles) and Bode ABIODUN / Patrícia SANTOS (Mixed Doubles).Joao Geraldo said “I managed to justify my value at this competition. It’s always good to win a tournament. I’m happy with my performance because I think I played at a good level.”The most difficult match was the game against David BESSA in the quarterfinals: “without any doubt and you can see it even by the score it was the only a game I lost in the whole tournament. After that match my game got a lot better and the semi-finals and the final were my best matches.”The restrictions caused by the pandemic confinement triggered by Covid-19 virus did not affect the athlete’s training. “I have been working at the High Performance Center for quite some time and I never had any problem to do my trainings. I have been doing my normal practices. The High Performance Center and the Portuguese Federation have allowed me to keep my regular training schedule.”João GERALDO also said “Next week I’m going to play in France and I have the opportunity to win the French National championship with my club. The team hasn’t won the National title in 22 years. There are four games left and if we win them all we will be champions. It only depends on us and now that’s the main goal.”For GERALDO the results obtained in the Qatar Open in March in the French championship and in the Portuguese Championship show that “I am in good shape and I am very happy with my performance. It’s been a very positive season for me especially because I’ve never had such an important role in my team.”Leila Oliveira said “My performance has been evolved with the games I played. I’ve been improving along the tournament gaining confidence in every match and then in the final I had to be very focused because Inês is a very strong opponent. I’m quite self-assured for the rest of the season.”
Victory for Anton KÄLLBERG at Düsseldorf Masters
Anton KÄLLBERG is the winner of the opening tournament of the Düsseldorf Masters 2021. The Scandinavian who plays for Borussia Düsseldorf beat Africa champion Omar ASSAR 3-1 in the final. Anton KÄLLBERG has been in impressive form for months. He already proved great shape in the Masters hosted by Borussia Düsseldorf last year and recently caused a sensation at the WTT Star Contender in Qatar. Today he beat ex- Borussia ASSAR 5:11 11: 8 11.1 and 12:10 in the final. The world number 53. was satisfied with his match against the eleven positions better ranked African player. “In the first game I wasn’t really in the game. The second one went well. We played a lot of long rallies and my service got better. In addition I was more precise on the table ” said KALLBERG. Omar ASSAR was happy about his first appearance in the Masters in ten and a half months: “Anton played very well today. I had a good idea how to control the match in the opening game. If I had played exactly the same way in the second it would have been 2-0. Still I’m satisfied that I was able to play two good matches today and I’m looking forward to the next tournaments. I’m glad that the DTTB and Borussia Düsseldorf are now organizing the tournament again and they invited me to play here. “ In the semifinals the DTTB talents Benno OEHME and Cedric MEISSNER tried in vain to prevent the Swede and the Egyptian from making it into the final. In a game with many good rallies KÄLLBERG defended Benno OEHME’S (TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell) attacks with 11: 9 11: 4 13:11; ASSAR beat MEISSNER (FSV Mainz 05) 11: 3 11: 8 11: 9 Dusseldorf Masters was launced in 2020. The format was initiated by Borussia Düsseldorf and carried out with the support of the German Table Tennis Association (DTTB). Final Anton Källberg SWE – Omar Assar EGY 3:1 (-5 8 1 10) Semifinals Anton Källberg – Benno Oehme 3:0 (9 4 11) Omar Assar – Cedric Meissner 3:0 (3 8 9)
The Power of Ping Pong Diplomacy
One of the appeals of sport is that it transcends all boundaries and unites people regardless of race language and religion. It is also a universal phenomenon that unlocks talents changes attitudes and empowers us to do even greater things. On 10th April 50 years ago the role of table tennis took on a historical significance that will forever be etched in the minds of many. Touted as one of the greatest diplomatic breakthroughs of that era table tennis played a pivotal role in re-establishing ties between China and the United States in what is now famously known as Ping Pong Diplomacy. A chance meeting at the 1971 World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya Japan took place between China’s Zhuang Zedong and American teenager Glenn Cowan who had to board the Chinese team’s bus after missing his own. The shaggy-haired American was initially greeted with silence but Zhuang the team’s greatest player stepped forward to shake Cowan’s hand and spoke to him through an interpreter. He presented the teenager with a gift: a silk-screen picture of China’s Huangshan mountains. Cowan a self-described hippie returned the gesture the following day by giving Zhuang a t-shirt emblazoned with a peace symbol and the Beatles’ lyric “Let It Be.” Photographers caught the incident on film and the unexpected goodwill between the U.S. and Chinese teams soon became the talk of the tournament. Photos of Zhuang and Cowan were widely publicised after their fateful encounter. Before long Chinese leader Mao Zedong invited the American team to visit and play friendly matches in China. The following year U.S. President Richard Nixon visited China ultimately leading to the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1979. This historical moment brought a new perspective to table tennis where it has continued to remind us of the power of the sport and its ability to unify. The dawn of Ping Pong Diplomacy has successfully created a model of promoting exchanges and reconciliation between countries through friendship between their people. Over the years frequent trade culture education and people-to-people exchanges have been forged through a community across the Pacific driving only win-win cooperation and mutual benefits for all. A more recent example was at the Liebherr 2018 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad Sweden where North and South Korea refused to play against each other. With support from the ITTF and ITTF Foundation for a unified team initiative both teams were able to play together as one in several tournaments leading to the result of winning silver at the 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals. In today’s challenging global environment Ping Pong Diplomacy holds a greater resonance. Whilst some athletes thrill with moments of brilliance and can inspire a whole new generation to play like them table tennis as a sport will leave behind a legacy where beyond the venue it has shaped the world in more ways than one.
Düsseldorf Masters 2021: Every Sunday table tennis at its best
Ten months after its successful premiere the Düsseldorf Masters tournament series is celebrating its continuation. German and international world-class players will be on stage again in 2021 but the system of play has been changed. Six talents from the DTTB team each will challenge two aces seeded directly for the semifinals. The series commenced on April 11th at 10 a.m; the international stars Omar ASSAR (Egypt) and Anton KÄLLBERG (Sweden) are top seeded. The Düsseldorf Masters will be played on a total of seven Sundays in the ARAG CenterCourt until the end of May. In 2020 the format initiated by Borussia Düsseldorf and carried out with the support of the German Table Tennis Association (DTTB) provided the elite with gaming practice regarding the tournament and league obligations that were canceled at the time. This time the talents who are engaged in the first to third leagues benefit more. The youngest members of the permanent training group at the German Table Tennis Center (DTTZ) have been hit hardest by the pandemic. While the stars in the TTBL in Germany compete in an almost unrestricted season all matches in the divisions under the 1st Bundesliga have fallen victim to the Corona restrictions for the talents since late autumn. Top-class youngsters like the U21 European Championship finalist Gerrit ENGEMANN Europe Youth Top 10 winner Kay STUMPER Cedric MEISSNER Kirill FADEEV Benno OEHME and Tobias SÄLTZER who will start on the first Sunday will be at the Düsseldorf Masters Maximum match practice enabled in 2021. The compressed competition format offers an interesting mix of group and knockout systems almost every Sunday until the end of May. Six talents play in the preliminary round in two groups of three each against each other the two group winners are rewarded with the semi-finals. There two top-seeded world-class players from the DTTB training group of national coach Jörg ROSSKOPF and record champions Borussia Düsseldorf are waiting for their young challengers. Directly in the semifinals on the first Sunday of the Masters 2021 are Egypt’s multiple African champion Omar ASSAR and Borussia’s strong Swede Anton KÄLLBERG who has presented himself in impressive shape for his club for months and most recently at the WTT Star Contender in Doha. Borussia manager Andreas PREUSS is also happy about the continuation of the Düsseldorf Masters: “Last year we were a pioneer for table tennis all over the world. This year we would like to make an important contribution to promoting our German talents who have hardly been able to compete for a year. The whole thing also has a great side effect: At the same time we regularly offer our fans top table tennis in the live stream during this low-event time. “ Preliminary group A Gerrit Engemann (TTC GW Bad Hamm) Benno Oehme (TTC RöhnSprudel Fulda-Maberzell / new season: TTC OE Bad Homburg) Tobias Sältzer (TTC drawbridge Grenzau) Preliminary group B Kay Stumper (TTC Neu-Ulm) Cedric Meissner (FSV Mainz 05 / new season: TTC OE Bad Homburg) Kirill Fadeev (Borussia Dortmund) The seeded semi-final participants Omar Assar EGY (GV Hennebont TT / FRA) 2. Anton Källberg SWE (Borussia Düsseldorf)
