European Champions League Women (from 3rd to 8th December) The draw for the European Champions League Women was held today in Linz in the eve of the special bubble edition of the most prestige European club’s competition. The European Champions League Women commences tomorrow and on 8th December we will know the winners of the 2020/21 edition. In Linz there will be three Groups in the opening stage of the competition. Top three leaders at the seedings Germany’s TTC Berlin eastside host Austria’s Linz AG Froschberg and French TT Saint-Quentinois leading their respective A B and C Groups. In Groups A beside no. one seed and the club with most of the titles in new history of the competition will also play Spain’s UCAM Cartagena T.M French CP Lyssois Lille Métropole and Portugal’s GDCS Do Juncal. In Group B hosts the winners from 2013 will meet French Metz TT Spain’s Girbau-Vic TT and Hungary’s SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club. In Group C with French TT Saint-Quentinois are only two more clubs Czech Republic’s SKST Stavoimpex Hodonin and Austria’s TTC “CarinthiaWinds” Villach. There are some novelties in the European Champions League Women regarding the system of play. As announced in July this year each 5th game is played until the first player reaches 6 points with a sudden death point at 5:5. In the 5th game each player shall serve only once in a row. Due to hygienic measures there will be no change of ends during an individual match. All the participants have safely arrived with negative Covid tests and have all been tested again in Linz and all negative again. You can watch the live streams here. Group ATTC Berlin eastside GERUCAM Cartagena T.M ESPCP Lyssois Lille Métropole FRAGDCS Do Juncal POR Group BLinz AG Froschberg AUTMetz TT FRAGirbau-Vic TT ESPSH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club HUN Group CTT Saint-Quentinois FRASKST Stavoimpex Hodonin CZETTC “CarinthiaWinds” Villach AUT
Linz AG Froschberg dream of third title
European Champions League Women (from 3rd to 8th December) In the year of the celebration of the 50th anniversary Austria’s Linz AG Froschberg will host European Champions League Women (from 3rd to 8th December). The event will be played as a tournament under strict sanitary measures. Berlin eastside is at the top of the seedings with the host being seeded at the position no. two. “We are the number two of the bet-at-home.com Champions League Bubble behind Berlin eastside. We hope to reach the final and dream of winning the title for the third time after 2009 and 2013. On the other hand being out in the group stage would be a huge disappointment ” explained LINZ AG Froschberg President Günther RENNER. Who will be the toughest adversary? “All eleven teams are very strong. But number 1 Berlin eastside with Nina MITTELHAM SHAN Xiaona and LIN Yin is of course the big opponent. Then there are the French seeded number three and four with Saint-Quentinois with our ex-player ZHANG Mo and our eternal rival Metz with Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN at the top.” Are you playing with the strongest team? “Thankfully despite the difficult conditions during the corona pandemic all the stars were able to come: We will play with the number 1 in Europe Sofia POLCANOVA LIU Jia the European champion from 2005 plus the new signings: the Europe Top 16 winner from 2018 Bernadette SZÖCS and Vice European Champion Margarita PESOTSKA.” What is your position now in the Austria’s Bundesliga are you satisfied? “in Austria Linz ag Froschberg with LIU Jia Karoline MISCHEK and Margarita BALTUSHYTE is the new cup winner and also leads the Bundesliga table ” added LINZ AG Froschberg President Günther RENNER.
Linz is ready for the great matches in 50th anniversary year
European Champions League Women (from 3rd to 8th December) Four times European Champions League Women champion Germany’s TTC Berlin eastside topping the seeding list at the forthcoming bubble format European Champions League Women to be held in Linz from 3rd to 8th December. Hosts Austria’s Linz AG Froschberg are second on the list composing 11 clubs in total. You can follow the matches live here . In Austria will also play: French TT Saint-Quentinois and Metz TT Spain’s UCAM Cartagena T.M Czech Republic’s SKST Stavoimpex Hodonin French CP Lyssois Lille Métropole Spain’s Girbau-Vic TT Austria’s Carinthia Winds Villach Hungary’s SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club and Portugal’s GDCS Do Juncal. The draw will be held on 2nd December at 1400 CET in Linz. In the Group stage there will be two groups with four teams and one with three. All group winners will qualify for the semi-final whilst runners up will proceed to play-off. In play-off round there will be one group of three clubs and the winner qualifies for the last place in the semi final. “The COVID 19 Pandemic is an enormous challenge. We have to create a real bubble. We have rented a separate floor in our partner hotel Park Inn by Radisson for the players coaches referees and supervisors. Everyone eats in a separate room. Players are only allowed to leave the hotel with our shuttle service and cannot go into town for shopping. Only two people are allowed to sit in each row of seats in the BMW Höglinger shuttle buses. It’s really challenging. The whole thing must be done in addition to the normal preparation with hall lighting Gerflor floor sound and more ” said LINZ AG Froschberg President Günther RENNER. Have you overcame all the challenges? “So far we have fulfilled everything. Now we are eagerly waiting for the draw on December 2nd. at 2 p.m. live on ettu.tv. Then the games on December 3rd. begin. We hope for exciting and beautiful matches as part of our 50th anniversary.” TTC Berlin eastside lead the elite in Linz. “We will come with our three Top-players; Xiaona SHAN Britt EERLAND and Nina MITTELHAM. As reserve we have Jessica GÖBEL on board. In Bundesliga we play this year with Play Off from 7 teams 6 reach the Play-Offs. So we have actually have no focus to the Bundesliga and look only to reach the Play-Offs. From 1. January we hired 5 new players then we will be in a good position to win again the German Championship and the German Cup ” stated Team Manager Andreas HAIN. Timetable Day 1 (3rd December) 1st round group stage 5 matches 1 table 2 matches group A 2 match group B 1 match group C 5 time slots Day 2 (4th December) 2nd round group stage 5 matches 1 table 2 matches group A 2 match group B 1 match group C 5 time slots Day 3 (5th December) 3rd round group stage 5 matches 1 table 2 matches group A 2 match group B 1 match group C 5 time slots Day 4 (6th December) Playoff round 3 matches 1 table 3 matches play-off group 3 time slots Day 5 (7th December) Semifinals 2 matches 2 time slots Day 6 (8th December) Final 1 match 1 time slot
Ma Long and Sun Yingsha crowned champions at WTT Macao
Ma Long and Sun Yingsha showed their star quality as they won the respective men’s and women’s titles at WTT Macao on Sunday 29 November 2020. In two all-Chinese finals Ma Long the no.3 seed overcame Wang Chuqin no.7 seed (11-5 11-9 11-4 11-5 10-11 11-8) as Sun Yingsha no.2 seed defeated Chen Xingtong no.8 seed (11-10 11-8 11-6 9-11 11-6 11-4). The finals witnessed by a capacity crowd at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion in Macao were decided by best of nine games – one of many innovations on display at WTT Macao. Offering a first glimpse into the future of the sport the WTT Macao proof-of-concept showcased a thrilling original playing format with 32 of the world’s biggest table tennis stars (16 in men’s singles and 16 in women’s singles) battling it out in brand-new WTT surrounds. The prize money was an equal pot for both men and women and was distributed based on performance. The tournament provided an opportunity for players fans and media to experience a taste of what to expect when WTT launches its first annual calendar of events in 2021. Ma Long’s pedigree on the world stage is unquestioned. The reigning World and Olympic champion took gold last Sunday at the ITTF Finals in Zhengzhou China. In Macao Ma Long opened his campaign in the Top Four Seed Battle with a win against Lin Gaoyuan (3-5 5-2 5-2 5-2) and defeat to Xu Xin (5-1 2-5 4-5 5-3 2-5) – matches decided by best of five games each game to five points. “The Dragon” roared back with victories over Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik in the quarterfinals (11-8 11-7 10-11 9-11 11-5) before his second success of the event against Lin Gaoyuan (11-5 11-10 8-11 11-7 11-3) paved the way to a final showdown against Wang Chuqin. Ma Long’s gold medal haul also sees him take home USD 72 500 in prize money. “Winning the ITTF Finals in Zhengzhou helped me to gain lots of confidence heading into this event. I have never lost a match in Macao: this is my lucky place! Having won here in 2008 2009 and 2012 it feels great to be here again with the trophy. WTT Macao put players at centre-stage. It drew audiences’ attention onto the match and players themselves which is important for a brand-new competition.” – Ma Long Heading into the final Wang Chuqin had won two of his three encounters against Ma. The Chinese 20-year-old star also had the added incentive of earning an “undefeated champion bonus” of USD 10 000. Unbeaten and highly impressive in his previous rounds Wang Chuqin reached the final with victory over Sweden’s Mattias Falck no.6 seed in straight games (11-3 11-8 11-8 11-7). That followed his quarterfinal win over Brazil’s Hugo Calderano no.4 seed (11-10 8-11 11-4 7-11 11-9). Whilst defeat to Ma Long in the final ended Wang Chuqin’s hopes of glory and a bonus reward he took home silver and USD 50 000 for his efforts. Sun Yingsha’s road to the women’s title in Macao was far from straightforward. In the Top Four Seed Battle she lost to both Wang Manyu no.3 seed (3-5 5-1 5-2 3-5 3-5) and Ding Ning no.2 seed (1-5 2-5 5-1 2-5). That meant that Sun was the only women’s player from the Top Four Seed Battle who did not have the opportunity to choose her opponent in the next round. In the quarterfinals she defeated Wang Yidi no.7 seed (11-6 10-11 11-3 6-11 11-9) before crossing paths once more with Wang Manyu. In an epic semifinal Sun showed immense spirit to recover from a three-games to one deficit (8-11 11-7 7-11 2-11 11-7 11-10 12-10) to reach the final. Against Chen Xingtong Sun rarely put a foot wrong the 20-year-old having grown in stature. She got her hands on gold and USD 70 000 in prize money. “I did not play too well in the early stages of WTT Macao so in this final I told myself to enjoy the match no matter how many difficulties faced and to do myself proud. Chen Xingtong has made plenty of progress this year and I can learn from her in terms of her patience and ability to not make unforced errors.” – Sun Yingsha A silver medallist in Macao Chen Xingtong completed arguably the two greatest comeback victories of the entire week. In the quarterfinals she upset Ding Ning (10-11 7-11 11-9 11-8 14-12). The reigning Olympic champion had chosen to play against Chen as her opponent in the preceding draw. In the next round the 23-year-old ousted the world no.1 Chen Meng who had scooped gold medals earlier in the month at both the Dishang Women’s World Cup and Bank of Communications ITTF Finals. After losing the first three games of her semifinal Chen Xingtong reeled off the next four to complete a stunning victory (10-11 1-11 7-11 11-10 11-9 11-5 11-7). With her unbeaten run ended by Sun Yingsha Chen Xingtong ends the week with earnings of USD 50 000 and countless fond memories shared with fans around the world.
Kosovo TTA and Albania TTA signed a mutual Memorandum of Cooperation
Kosovo TTA and Albania TTA yesterday on 28 November in Durres Albania signed a mutual Memorandum of Cooperation for a four year terms. The MeC was signed by both Presidents Jeton BEQIRI (Kosovo TTA) and Arben MEÇAJ (President of Albania TTa) in precense of both Secretary Generals. The Memorandum foresees a smooth cooperation between two TTA on establishing a joint activities related to having a joint league with best teams female and male open tournament capacity building while holding seminars on ethic code anti doping anti harrasment umpires coaches and sport administrators having a joint training camps with experts with focus on hopes cadet and juniors and any other activity related to increasing TT level. The official signing ceremony was broadcasted by two biggest Albanian TV station followed by intervies. On the ceremeny were present the highest Sport Authorities from Ministries of Sport from both countries and als the Presidents of both National Olympic Committees.
Mattias FALCK beat XU Xin at WTT Macao
Mattias FALCK of Sweden reached the first-ever World Table Tennis semifinals of WTT Macao after fantastic win over XU Xin. The World’s no 2 stumbled in four games (11-7 11-10 2-11 11-8). It is FALCK first ever win over XU. China’s Xu had the pick of the lot as the top seed after Top 4 Seed Battles had been concluded and he chose FALCK to be his quarter-final opponent. That seems to have been a decision which costed him as the Swede was simply in stunning form winning the first two games to establish control. Despite Xu’s win in the third the day belonged to FALCK who – having previously lost times to the Chinese (2010 2015 2017 & 2019) – managed to become the third European to claim victory over XU. Most recently XU has lost out to Simon GAUZY at the 2019 ITTF World Championships and also against Liam PITCHFORD a few months ago at the 2020 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open.
DRAGOMAN and GROTH clinched the titles at the II Spain Masters 2020
The Romania’s Andreea DRAGOMAN and the Dane Jonathan GROTH clinched the titles at the II Spain Masters 2020 which was held from 23 to 26 November at the RIU Plaza de España hotel in Madrid. In the second edition of the Iberdrola Spain Masters DRAGOMAN overcame the revelation of the tournament Caroline KUMAHARA 4-0. KUMAHARA reached the final defeating the current Iberdrola Spain Masters champion Bruna TAKAHASHI in a match that had many twist and turns. TAKAHASHI struck first taking the first set (11-7) but KUMAHARA recovered (3-11 9-11) and take a 2-1 lead. Immediately TAKAHASHI took the lead again (2-3) but could not stay on same path due to the good work of her compatriot who won 11-6 and 11-7 the sixth and seventh games. In the lower part of the table DRAGOMAN also imposed her authority on the Serbian Marija GALONJA. The Romanian managed to take a long first set (15-13) and from there left no option to her adversary (11-6 11-9 and 11-8). In the second RIU Spain Masters Jonathan GROTH took the glory defeating Portuguese first seeded Marcos FREITAS 4-1. The Danish player reached the final beating Joao MONTEIRO in a tough quarter-final duel where the ranking prevailed at the competitive pace of Joao MONTEIRO 4-3. In the semifinals GROTH managed to defeat the always fearsome Vladimir SAMSONOV showing from the start that he came for everything. At the top Marcos FREITAS was the executioner of Spanish hopes. The Portuguese beat Carlos MACHADO first and Álvaro ROBLES later to reach the final. Three Spanish athletes reached the final phase. Carlos MACHADO and Carlos CABALLERO lost in the quarterfinals. MACHADO fell 4-0 to FREITAS and CABALLERO awoke from his sleep against Vladimir SAMSONOV. At the Iberdrola Spain Masters Sofía-Xuan ZHANG was the most outstanding of the Spanish representation with two victories in the group stage against Charlotte CAREY from Wales and Eugenia SASTRE from Spain. Galia DVORAK could only claim a group stage win beating Romania’s Roxana ISTRATE. Faced with the persistent health crisis the Royal Spanish Table Tennis Federation established firm criteria to create a ‘health bubble’ and maintain the health security of athletes tournament staff and staff at the RIU Plaza España hotel.
Mattias FALCK reached the quarterfinal of the WTT Macao
At the day Two at WTT Macao Swede Mattias FALCK booked his place in the quarterfinal after straight games win over Gustavo TSUBOI (11-5 11-10 11-10). He recorded the victory over Brazilian thanks to two Sudden Death winners. The Swede took the first game with his strong forehands on show but as TSUBOI recovered into the match it was the final elusive point in two game that proved to be a step too far. JEOUNG Youngsik beat England’s Liam PITCHFORD (6-11 11-8 11-8 9-11 11-5). It was an intense battle with shorter rallies than usual – not just because of the WTT format – but also because neither PITCHFORD nor YOUNGSIK wanted to back down from attacking the other. Eventually it was Korea Republican who managed to gain and then hold on to it – sending him into the Elimination Round tomorrow.
Liam PITCHFORD advances to Battle Two at the WTT Macao
WTT Macao started today in the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion. England’s Liam PITCHFORD no.9 seed advances to Battle Two after the close contest against Korea Republic’s JANG Woojin no.10 seed (9-11 11-4 11-10 11-7). One game went to JANG who recently struck bronze at the 2020 ITTF Men’s World Cup. The Korean would have hoped to extend his advantage but his English counterpart struck back immediately. A tight third game which was edged by a sudden death point handed PITCHFORD the momentum and he capitalised on it coming away from the fixture with the win. The first player representing China to secure a spot in Battle Two of the men’s singles event was none other than FANG Bo following his fine victory over Austria’s Robert GARDOS (11-9 8-11 11-3 11-7). United States’ Lily ZHANG overcame Germany’s Petrissa SOLJA (11-5 11-7 11-8). Hong Kong China’s DOO Hoi Kem needed full seven games to overcome Romania’s Bernadette SZOCS (11-7 7-11 11-8 6-11 11-7). Twice it was DOO who took the lead and twice SZOCS formed an immediate response to force a decider – both giving it their all but only one could advance and in the end it was DOO who took the plaudits.
Project ONSIDE: Enhancing the skills of sport officials in Europe
Over 220 participants attended the International Event of Sport Officiating last week to discover more about the EU funded ONSIDE project and the International Federation for Sport Officials (IFSO). The ONSIDE project aims to ensure the area of sport officiating is able to develop and flourish through an innovative and cross-sport transnational project. The project has been built to provide the opportunity to define the generic skills and competences common across different sports and needed by sport officials and then to develop innovative fit-for-purpose e-learning courses for sport officials with modules to engage inform and up skill them. This European project included all sports and started in 2018. The working group has joined together over the different practical exercises which have allowed to describe all the match officials’ functions and their requirements. ETTU has been one of the main partners in this project. Isabelle BEUMIER one of the most experienced match officials in Europe is representing ETTU in this project. “An important part of the research work was the survey to National Federations for which I saw with pride that table tennis was the sport with the most answers. Thank you to those responsible for collaborating so good. The results of this survey confirmed the purpose of this project: it is difficult to find enough referees to keep them to find women to find young to gain respect… and the vast majority of answers indicated a need of educating tools to improve the quality of their team ” said Isabelle BEUMIER. During the project six e-learning modules have been created (communication conflict management personal brand team work honesty and ethics observation and decision making) and for the other modules like administration or sport integrity the framework is provided. The last meeting of this project will be in December 2020 but Isabelle BEUMIER will ensure together with her colleagues in ETTU URC that all the gained knowledge will be used also in the further development of ETTU match officials. “ A beautiful adventure ends but another begins with the adaptation of the material to our sport. Thank you to EOSE SOUK ETTU and all the partners for this initiative and these fruitful exchanges ” concluded BEUMIER.
