Olympiacos has been crowned Greek champion for the third consecutive year triumphing 4-3 against Panathinaikos in a thrilling final. Olympiacos retained the title in the men’s A1 national league in Greece. In a gripping final against Panathinaikos on Tuesday night June 25th at the Peace and Friendship Stadium Olympiacos won 4-3 celebrating their third consecutive championship and the 17th in their history. It was an impressive conclusion to the postponed playoffs for positions 1-4 where Pera Athens and AEK Athens also competed. World-class athletes from Europe and Greece delivered a unique “show” in front of 350 fans. The decisive moment came in the doubles match just before midnight after 4 hours and 45 minutes of play. For the third time this year in as many league matches the clash between the traditional rivals went down to the wire. The teams’ line-ups varied but in the decisive doubles match PUCAR and OVTCHAROV teamed up for Olympiacos showing a slight superiority and securing the final result in three sets. The third place was won by Pera Athens who defeated AEK Athens 4-1 in the small final. In the semifinals Olympiacos beat AEK 4-0 and Panathinaikos overcame Pera with the same score. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV who will return to the German league next season commented: “You have just seen that a championship in the Greek league means a lot to me as well. I fought every match every point participated with a very strong spirit and managed to win in two individual matches and in doubles. I have won championships in Germany Russia Belgium and now I am a champion in Greece. I am happy. Next year I will play in the German league and I am not allowed to play in a second league but I really enjoyed my time here and would be happy to come back at some point.” Panagiotis GIONIS who appeared in the Greek league again after 23 years added: “The fact that we managed to put Olympiacos on the ropes is a great success. A team with two players in the world’s top 20 and of course SGOUROPOULOS. The draw didn’t work out for us. We wanted me to face PUCAR and KONSTANTINOPOULOS to face SGOUROPOULOS pairs in which I think we would have had a better chance of winning but it didn’t happen. Then we had to achieve the absolute knowing that OVTCHAROV was in excellent condition and that the doubles would be very difficult. It became a real advertisement for the sport. An amazing Champions League level match and I am happy that we offered special emotions to the audience.” The coach of Olympiacos is George CHRISTOPHORAKIS. George STAMATOUROS and Tasos RINIOTIS were also part of the team. Lefteris MAKRAS was the coach for Panathinaikos with Konstantinos ANGELAKIS not playing in the final and George KONSTANTINOPOULOS also part of the team. Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 4-3 Tomislav PUCAR – Konstantinos KONSTANTINOPOULOS 3-0 (11-9 11-6 15-13) Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS – Emmanuel LEBESSON 2-3 (11-7 8-11 11-6 8-11 8-11) Dimitrij OVTCHAROV – Panagiotis GIONIS 3-1 (11-7 11-6 11-13 11-6) PUCAR – LEBESSON 2-3 (11-9 11-9 2-11 6-11 8-11) OVTCHAROV – KONSTANTINOPOULOS 3-0 (11-6 11-3 11-6) SGOUROPOULOS – GIONIS 2-3 (5-11 6-11 11-6 11-9 14-16) OVTCHAROV/PUCAR – KONSTANTINOPOULOS/LEBESSON 3-0 (11-8 11-4 11-9)

The reigning Champions League winner KTS Enea Siarkopol Tarnobrzeg has defended its title in the Polish League marking the 32nd title in the club’s history. Additionally LI Qian has officially ended her career. Present at the event were Stefan DRYSZEL on behalf of the Polish Table Tennis Federation President of Tarnobrzeg Łukasz NOWAK representatives of sponsors and spectators. Li Qian said: “I am very happy and grateful. Time flies; I first came to Tarnobrzeg in 2002. In the blink of an eye over 20 years have passed. I became a Polish citizen in 2007. Coach NĘCEK my sister Kinga and many friends who have helped me are like family too. We have worked together and achieved great results in our careers. Although I want to leave Tarnobrzeg and go back to live in China this place will always be my home and I will definitely come back. Thank you for the precious gifts and wonderful memories. I wish you good luck and happiness forever!”

The city of Győr in Hungary is set to host the 4th International Table Tennis Competition known as the “Cup of Hopes ” at the Club Aréna. Scheduled for October 10-13 2024 this event will see young table tennis talents from around the world compete in various age groups including U11 U12 U13 and U15 for both boys and girls. The Cup of Hopes has grown in popularity since its inception. The previous edition held in April was a resounding success attracting 100 competitors from seven different countries. This year’s competition promises to build on that success offering a platform for young athletes to showcase their skills and gain international experience.

European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Spyros CAPRALOS and Chair of the European Games 2023 Coordination Commission Hasan ARAT have been awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. President CAPRALOS and Mr Arat were presented with the distinction by the Polish President Andrzej DUDA at a ceremony held at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw. The award recognises the highly successful 3rd European Games in Kraków- Małopolska in 2023 which President DUDA opened one year ago on Friday (21 June). During his speech at the award ceremony President CAPRALOS expressed his gratitude at being awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit and thanked President DUDA for his support for the European Games. One year on from Kraków-Małopolska 2023 118 athletes who earned direct qualification or NOC quota places during the European Games in Poland are now finalising their preparations for the Olympic Games in Paris. President CAPRALOS reflected on the success of Kraków-Małopolska 2023 and expressed his hope that the 2027 edition in Istanbul will build on its momentum and legacy. “At a time when many organisers are facing difficulties with multi-sport events Poland showed it is possible to deliver a successful Games which benefits the host nation and international athletes alike. With a legacy that still endures a generation of young Polish athletes have been inspired by the Games and they now have access to world-class facilities having been refurbished for the Games ” President CAPRALOS said. “Earlier this month Istanbul was confirmed as the host city for the 2027 Games having been inspired by Krakow-Malopolska. We are very confident they will follow Poland’s lead and deliver a memorable and successful event.”

Last year she was the youngest finalist in German history in doubles alongside Josephina NEUMANN. Now Bavaria’s Koharu ITAGAKI is the youngest gold medalist in the history of the German Championships for men and women. At the age of 14 years and 141 days the Bad Königshofen native won the mixed competition with Daniel RINDERER becoming the youngest winner surpassing Nicole STRUSE and the SOLJA sisters Amelie and Petrissa at their title debuts. Her first comment after the historic success: “I am speechless.” The doubles titles went to Annett KAUFMANN/Yuan WAN and Cedric MEISSNER/Ricardo WALTHER. Women’s Singles: First Title for Kaufmann “I can’t even realize that I am now the German Champion ” said the 17-year-old European junior champion in all categories who made a strong return to the tournament scene with this title win. Annett KAUFMANN had last played at the Team World Championships in February followed by a longer break due to her final exams. Men’s Singles: Second Title for DUDA “This title means even more to me than the first ” explained Benedikt DUDA who won his second national singles title after 2021. In an impressive final he defeated local hero Steffen MENGEL in five sets whom the approximately 2 200 spectators would have loved to see win. NEUMANN Wins Long-Awaited U15 Title In the girls’ U15 category Josephina NEUMANN dominated the singles tournament and also won gold in doubles alongside Koharu ITAGAKI. “I am super happy especially because things didn’t go so well in my age group at the German Championships the last two times ” said the 14-year-old from Okarben who plays for ttc berlin eastside in the Bundesliga and Champions League. The U15 boys’ singles title went to Jonas RINDERER. RINDERER Trio is the Most Successful Family: “We Live in the Gym” With so much success at once things get confusing: The Bavarian RINDERER family won gold in the mixed competition through Daniel gold in U15 mixed through Fabian and U15 gold in singles through Jonas. Jonas also won silver in U15 mixed in a brotherly duel with Fabian while Daniel secured silver in the men’s doubles. “We live in the gym ” said parents Hans and Petra RINDERER. They have passed their table tennis genes onto their sons with great success. Positive Balance of the TT Finals Premiere with 7 000 Spectators The organizers draw an entirely positive conclusion from the first edition of the German Table Tennis Finals: many fans enthusiastic participants and a genuine festival atmosphere.

The Slovak Table Tennis Conference was held in Bratislava on May 7 2024. It was attended by 46 delegates (83.6 percent participation) and 12 guests. The President of the Slovak Table Tennis Association (STTA) Anton HAMRAN assessed the past year as very successful when the Slovakian women’s team achieved the best result in the modern history of independent Slovakia. At the European Championships in Malmö the Slovak team took an unexpected 5th place and at the first world championship of mixed teams in Cheng doo Slovakia finished in an excellent 8th place. He emphasized that in addition to strong support for adult and youth representative teams and top athletes (they used 25 percent of the budget) the union also supported the activities of 120 clubs in the amount of 265 755 euros – the amount was intended for players under 23 years of age (an average of 105 euros per player). Overall table tennis in Slovakia has long been among the top ten sports and in terms of the number of clubs (more than 600) it is second only to football. STTA is already preparing for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of organized table tennis in Slovakia which will be commemorated during the European Under-21 Championships in May in Bratislava. The second part of the celebrations will be held in the autumn together with the Czech Table Tennis Association in Prague as the Czechoslovak Table Tennis Association was originally founded in 1925. The delegates unanimously approved the entry of two important personalities into the Hall of Fame of Slovak table tennis: Zdenko KRÍŽ (73 years old) long-time leading sports diplomat and official who led Czechoslovak and Slovak table tennis as its president for a record 38 years (1983 – 2021). He was also a member of the ITTF Board of Directors (2003-2021) and chairman of the ETTU Veterans Commission (1999-2024) today he is a member of the SCI executive. He is also Honorary Chairman of STTA and Honorary Member of ITTF. Jaromír TRUKSA (53 years old) was the best Slovak player at the turn of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. He won the first historic medal for Slovakia from the European Championships in 1994 in Birmingham where he won bronze together with Valentína Popová in the mixed doubles. He was a successful youth coach for many years coach of the Slovak men’s national team and currently works as a coach of the Slovak women’s team.