The ITTF Executive Committee has decided to extend the suspension of all ITTF events until the end of August 2020 due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ITTF World Tour Czech Open originally scheduled between 25–30 August 2020 in Olomouc has been cancelled after the ITTF and Czech Table Tennis Association deemed the event impossible to stage amidst the ongoing travel restrictions and potential risks to health and safety. The ITTF places on record its thanks for the hard work undertaken by the Czech Table Tennis Association towards the preparation of the event. Meanwhile the ITTF World Tour Hong Kong Open originally scheduled between 5–10 May 2020 will not be going ahead. The event had been provisionally postponed with the ITTF and Hong Kong Table Tennis Association working together to find new suitable dates towards the end of the year. However the ongoing travel restrictions amidst the pandemic have made it impossible to reschedule the event in 2020. The ITTF continues to explore the possibility of holding alternative events which could be implemented for the final months of 2020 in case the COVID-19 pandemic does not allow the staging of full open international events as originally planned.
Duesseldorf Masters VII: Dang QIU beats Anton KALLBERG in the final
Dang QIU is the winner of the seventh Duesseldorf Masters. The man from Grünwettersbach continued the series of German successes with a 4-0 victory over Sweden’s world-class player Anton KALLBERG in the final and extended his lead in the overall standings. With Tobias HIPPLER (Cologne) and Geritt ENGEMANN (Hamm) two aces of the DTTB-U23 support squad also reached the semi-finals. The Masters series at the ARAG CenterCourt in Duesseldorf will be continued next week from Thursday to Saturday (23-25 July) with the eighth tournament. The final became a very clear affair for Dang QIU who as before in the semi-final proved to be a thrifty Swabian and did not allow his opponent to win a game. The winner of the Portugal Open dominated Anton KALLBERG with 11:8 11:6 11:6 and 11:5 and did not really get into trouble at any stage of the match. The 23-year-old penholder player was delighted to win the tournament in his third attempt having previously lost in two finals to his national team-mates Dimitrij OVTCHAROV and Bastian STEGER: “I am happy to have won my first title at the Masters. So I will definitely take a break next week. Anton didn’t play so well today so I deserved to win.” KALLBERG who plays for Borusssia Duesseldorf acknowledged his opponent’s superiority after the final: “Unfortunately I didn’t stand a chance today. He played very safe and I made a lot of easy mistakes. He really deserved the victory and was just too good today.” After six men’s events Dang QIU who has always reached at least the semi-finals so far leads the overall standings with 170 points ahead of Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (110) and the Egyptian Omar ASSAR (90). The Swabian’s success was the seventh success of a German national player at the seventh tournament. In the previous editions Timo BOLL (Masters I) Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Masters II + III) Bastian STEGER (Masters IV) Benedikt DUDA (Masters VI) as well as HAN Ying who had won the women’s tournament. QIU and KALLBERG No. 52 and 57 in the world rankings had previously ended the triumphal procession of two German U23 hopes in the semi-finals who had made it into the limelight with remarkable successes in yesterday’s quarter-finals. Dang QIU dominated the German duel with Gerrit ENGEMANN after a fierce first game and secured his third victory against the 20-year-old Westphalian within a few weeks without losing a game. QIU commented: “Gerrit had a good start and played game points directly. But somehow I managed to bring home the first game and played better afterwards”. Underdog ENGEMANN on the other hand mourned the chances he missed at the beginning of the match: “If the first game had ended differently the match could have taken a different course. But overall the victory is deserved because at this moment his level is simply still too high for me. But it’s exactly these kind of difficult matches that will definitely get me ahead.” The importance of constant comparisons with world-class opponents was confirmed by the second-division player of TTC GW Bad Hamm yesterday in the quarter-finals. Without losing a game the 2019 U21 European Championship finalist defeated the Ecuadorian Alberto MINO number 77 in the ITTF ranking for the second time within a month. In the second preliminary round match Anton KALLBERG kept Tobias HIPPLER at bay with 4:1. The Swede then praised the 21-year-old newcomer to 1 FC Cologne: “It was a tough match for me. Tobias played really well.” HIPPLER however was less satisfied with his performance despite winning the second round: “I never really found a rhythm. But against Anton is also really hard for me. I have problems with his serves and therefore I quickly get into trouble.” All the more reason for the former European Junior Champion in doubles to celebrate a spectacular victory yesterday. In the round of the best eight in six games the left-hander surprisingly finished the title hopes of the number 38 of the world ranking list Omar ASSAR (Egypt) who had already reached the Masters final twice before. The eighth edition of the tournament series is scheduled from 23 to 25 July. The Duesseldorf Masters organized by Borussia Duesseldorf with the support of the German Table Tennis Federation will be held almost weekly until August at the ARAG CenterCourt in a knockout/ knockout system with up to 16 world-class players and is intended to shorten the break in competition caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. The series will conclude with a final tournament at the end of August with eight professionals for which five athletes will qualify on points. All events will be streamed live on Sportdeutschland.TV Borussia-TV und auf tischtennis.de. Duesseldorf Masters 7th tournament (17-19 July) Final July 19th Dang Qiu GER – Anton Kaellberg SWE 4:0 (8 6 6 5) Semifinal July 19 Tobias Hippler GER – Anton Kaellberg SWE 1:4 (-6.15 -5 -4 -8) Dang Qiu GER – Gerrit Engemann GER 4:0 (12 5 2 7)
HIPPLER defeats ASSAR ENGEMANN wins against MINO
Upsets in Dusseldorf Masters VII quarter finals At the seventh Dusseldorf Masters two talented players from the German U23 support squad turned the list of seedings upside down in the quarter-finals. Cologne-based Tobias HIPPLER and Gerrit ENGEMANN (HAMM) brought down the favourites – World No. 38 and 77 Omar ASSAR (Egypt) and Alberto Mino (Ecuador). ENGEMANN will now challenge his established national team colleague DANG Qiu on Sunday at the ARAG CenterCourt at 10 am Hippler 45 minutes later the Swede Anton KALLBERG. Even more surprising than ENGEMANN’S second win over Mino was the coup of left-hander Tobias HIPPLER against top seeded Omar ASSAR. Lower Saxony who will play for 1 FC Cologne in the 2nd Bundesliga next season unexpectedly won 4-2 against the multiple African champion who had already reached the final in two Masters tournaments. After a 2-1 lead the former European youth champion in doubles was not disturbed by the world-class player’s game equalization or by two match points missed in the sixth game. The 21-year-old HIPPLER was pleased: “I played quite well yesterday but today I am of course particularly pleased with the match. Because Omar does not play so hard on the first balls I got into my game well. I felt very comfortable in the rallies with him.” Veteran ASSAR proved to be a fair loser and congratulated: “Tobias played very well today. It was very difficult for me to play against him. I wish Tobias good luck for tomorrow.” After his win Gerrit ENGEMANN clenched his fist with satisfaction. Like HIPPLER the 2019 U21 European Championship Runner-up reached the semi-finals of the Duesseldorf Masters for the first time. And more than deserved it. The second division player of TTC GW Bad Hamm remarkably defeated the fourth seeded Ecuadorian Alberto MINO without losing a game. For the 20-year-old ENGEMANN it was already the second success over the number 77 in the world after he had already tripped Mino in the round of sixteen of the second Masters in June. However Engemann himself was surprised at the clarity of his victory: “As I had already won against him before I went into the game with confidence. I just concentrated from point to point. But I didn’t think it would end so clearly.” MINO said after his defeat: “I played well but I made some easy mistakes. That’s why Gerrit could clearly beat me.” Only Dang QIU and Anton KALLBERG justified their favourite roles today. QIU had a lively exchange with Cedric MEISSNER. The winner of the Portugal Open was never in serious danger but MEISSNER (Mainz) who has been a 20 year old participant in the Youth Olympic Games for a few days won two games with courage and a good portion of chutzpah. The three years older Grünwettersbacher praised MEISSNER after the match: ” Cedric played very well. He was much more aggressive than in the last games and made good decisions in tight situations. I came in a bit worse myself. In the semi-finals I have to be very concentrated. Against Gerrit I won the last two games clearly but he is in good form and will be very motivated.” Anton KALLBERG as number 57 of the ITTF ranking five places behind Dang QIU ended Kilian ORT’S hopes for a semi-final appearance today. The 24-year-old from Bad Königshofen competed in the Masters for the first time since the German Championships in Chemnitz four and a half months ago and lost Sweden’s former European Youth Champion in five games. Winner KALLBERG was satisfied with his performance today: “Kilian started very well. In the second game I got better into the serve-return game and scored a few more easy points. Of course I’d like to go to the final but first I’ve got to win against Tobias Hippler who plays very dangerously.” Dusseldorf Masters 7th tournament (17-19 July) Final July 19th 1 p.m. Semifinal 19 July Dang Qiu GER – Gerrit Engemann GER 10 a.m. Tobias Hippler GER – Anton Kaellberg SWE immediately following but not before 10.45 a.m. Quarterfinal 18 July Omar Assar EGY – Tobias Hippler GER 2:4 (11 -7 -6 6 -2 -9) Anton Kaellberg SWE – Kilian Ort GER 4:1 (-7 4 7 6 9) Alberto Mino ECU – Gerrit Engemann GER 0:4 (-7 -8 -8 -11) Dang Qiu GER – Cedric Meisser GER 4:2 (6 10 -8 3 -11 3)
Duesseldorf Masters VII: Favourites wins on the first day
Injuries have led to a new draw at the seventh Düsseldorf Masters. After the short-term cancellation of Benedikt DUDA (sprain) who was originally placed second and the draw for Fanbo MENG due to a torn muscle fibre a new draw took place on Friday morning. In the morning last week’s winner Benedikt DUDA (Bergneustadt) had to cancel his start. Yesterday evening the world’s number 39 had twisted his right foot during the final jump training. Although the swelling went down a bit overnight but after a test at the table on Friday Duda decided to give it up as a precaution: “It’s only sprained but nothing torn. It won’t be a long drawn-out affair but I felt it stronger during the morning training. I’d have liked to play but a few days off would be healthier.” Omar ASSAR (Egypt) and Dang QIU (Grünwettersbach) now top seeded ahead of Anton KÄLLBERG (Sweden) and Alberto MINO (Ecuador) were given a walk-through for day one after the new draw due to two missing players. In the remaining six round of sixteen matches between the seeded players and DTTB junior players the favourites kept the upper hand as expected. In the quarterfinals at 11.30 am Gerrit Engemann (TTC GW Bad Hamm) and the Ecuadorian Alberto Mino will fight an interesting duel. At the second Masters in June the 2019 U21 European Championship finalist Engemann surprisingly defeated the world number 77. Engemann is eagerly awaiting another duel with Mino: “At the beginning I had some problems today but then I played better. I’m looking forward to the game against Alberto. We’ll see how it goes this time.” The winner of the match is expected to face the world number 52nd Dang Qiu in the semi-final on Sunday at 10am. In the round of the best eight Kilian ORT plays the number 67 of the ITTF ranking Sweden’s Anton KÄLLBERG. Yesterday the Bad Köngshofener played his first match in four and a half months against youngster Kirill FADEEV in the round of sixteen. Accordingly the Franconian needed some time to find his way into the game: “I haven’t had a match since the German Championships. At the beginning it took a lot of getting used to. But Kirill also played quite well. I hope I can win against Anton tomorrow.” However the second day of the tournament started at ten o’clock at first with the match between Portugal Open winner DANG Qiu (Grünwettersbach) and former German Youth Champion Cedric MEISSNER (Mainz). From 12.15 p.m. the two-time Masters finalist the world number 38 Omar Assar will compete against left-hander Tobias Hippler (Cologne). In any case a new name will be added to the list of winners of the men’s events at the seventh Masters because this time the previous winners Timo BOLL (Masters I) Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Masters II and III) Bastian STEGER (Masters IV) and Benedikt DUDA (Masters VI) are missing. The Duesseldorf Masters is held almost weekly until the end of August at the ARAG CenterCourt and is intended to give the German national players the opportunity to compete at top-class level during the Corona pandemic. There are currently no international tournaments. All matches of the Duesseldorf Masters will be broadcast live on Sportdeutschland.TV Borussia-TV and tischtennis.de. Duesseldorf Masters 7th tournament (17-19 July) Round of 16 17 July (6 games) Omar Assar EGY (seeding position 1) bye Tobias Hippler GER (6) – Dennis Klein GER 4:1 (-7 6 8 6 8) Kilian Ort GER (5) – Kirill Fadeev GER 4:2 (-7 5 -6 9 5 9) Anton Källberg SWE (3) – Felix Köhler GER 4:0 (5 7 8 5) Alberto Mino ECU (4) – André Bertelsmeier GER 4:1 (-4 3 3 5 10) Gerrit Engemann GER (8) – An Duy Dang GER 4:0 (5 6 7 6) Cedric Meisser GER (7) – Tobias Sältzer GER 4:0 (2 7 6 6) Dang Qiu GER (2) bye Quarter-finals 18 July (in chronological order) Dang Qiu GER – Cedric Meisser GER 10 o’clock Anton Källberg SWE – Kilian Ort GER immediately following but not before 10.45 a.m. Alberto Mino ECU – Gerrit Engemann GER immediately following but not before 11.30 a.m. Omar Assar EGY – Tobias Hippler GER directly after but not before 12.15 Semifinal 19 July (in chronological order) Winner 1st quarter final – Winner 3rd quarter final 10am Winner 2nd quarter final – Winner 4th quarter final immediately following but not before 10.45 a.m. Final July 19th 1 p.m.
Fakel-Gazprom Orenburg will meet Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki in Group Stage
European Champions League Men 2020/21 The draw for the all European club competitions announced new season today in Luxembourg. The previous one was halted after the quarterfinal due the COVID 19 Pandemic. Two Russia’s and two Germany’s clubs leading the four Groups in the Group phase of the Champions League Men 2019/20. Russia’s Fakel-Gazprom Orenburg is the leader at the seedings and at the top of the Group A. The winners from previous season and quarterfinalist this year are in the same Group as Poland’s KS Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki. The third club in that group will be known after the preliminary phase which consist of eight clubs. Another Russia’s club TTSC “UMMC” is at the top of the Group B. They will meet Portugal’s Sporting Clube de Portugal and stage one winner. In Group C is this season Bundesliga winner and surprising quarterfinalist of the Champions League Men Germany’s 1. FC Saarbrücken TT. They will play against Denmark’s Roskilde Bordtennis BTK 61. Winners two years ago Germany’s Borussia Düsseldorf is at the top of the Group D. In the same group is French GV Hennebont TT. In the opening phase for the third position in each group will play: Germany’s Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 e.V v.s. Belgium’s TTC Sokah Hoboken Netherland’s De Boer Taverzo v.s Spain’s Leka Enea TDM Czech TTC Enerfireex Ostrava v.s. Poland’s K.S. Dekorglass Dzialdowo Austria’s SPG Walter Wels v.s. French AS Pontoise Cergy TT.
Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg and Metz in the same Group
The winner of the 2019 Champions League Women and last year’s quarterfinalist Poland’s KTS Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg is the leader at the seadings for this season. The outcome of the draw today in Luxembourg put the top seed in the same group with French Metz TT. The name of the third club will be known after the first stage of the CL. In the opening stage eight clubs will meet and winners will progres further. In Group B is another quarterfinalist and bronze medalists from 2019 Austria’s Linz AG Froschberg. They will meet Spain’s UCAM Cartagena T.M. In Group C French TT Saint-Quentinois is ahead of Russia’ sTMK-TAGMET Taganrog. In Group C no. two seed Germany’s TTC Berlin eastside will play against Czech Republic’s SKST Stavoimpex Hodonin. In the opening stage of the competition for the place in the group stage will play: French CP Lyssois Lille Métropole v.s. Hungarian SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club Spain’s Girbau-Vic TT v.s. Czech Republic’s Moravsky Krumlov Austria’s Carintia Winds v.s Russia’s Kazan and Spain’s Leka Enea Tenis de Mesa v.s. Portugal’s GDCS Do Juncal.
Austria’s Leistungszentrum Linz Froschberg will go to Novi Sad
Europe Cup Women 2020/21 draw The leading team at the seeding in the Women’s Europe Cup Austria’s Leistungszentrum Linz Froschberg will travel to Novi Sad to play in the Group stage of the event this fall. The hosts of the remaining three groups are Greece and France. The draw was conducted today in ETTU headquarters in Luxembourg. In Group A the leading name is no. four seeded Italia club ASD Quattro Mori Cagliari. They will travel to Greece to play against ASEA Sarises Florinas and Spain’s Alicante Tenis de Mesa. In Group B are Austria’s Leistungszentrum Linz Froschberg and Serbia’s STK Novi Sad as well as TT Malonne of Belgium. No. three seed in Euurope Cup Spanish Tecnigen Linares is at the top of the Group C with the hosts Luxembourg’s DT Nidderkäerjeng and French Saint-Denis US 93 Tennis de Table. In Group D is another French club the host of the Group – second seeded French Etival Clairefontaine ASRTT. To France will travel Italy’s A.S.D. Tennistavolo Norbello and Belgium’s TT Vedrinamur.
Starr Croatia will host Hungary’s Portugal’s and Italy’s clubs
Men’s Europe Cup The top seeded club in Men’s Europe Cup is Croatia’s STK Starr was drawn at the top of the Group D today in Luxembourg. Club from Croatia will host three more clubs in the opening stage of the competition. To Varazdin will travel: Hungary’s PTE PEAC Kalo-Meh Portugal’s Clube Desportivo Sao Roque and Italy’s Top Spin Messina. Ukraine’s Fortune Kyiv is the leader in the Group A which is hosted by Romania’s CSS-SZAK Odorheiu Secuiesc. They will also meet Croatia’s STK Libertas Marinkolor and Portugal’s G.D.D Toledos. In Group B Spanish CTT Borges will host Portugal’s GDCS Juncal Russia’s TTSC UMMC-ELEM and Italy’s ASD Marcozzi Cagliari. In Group C the leader is Slovakia’s SK Vydrany followed by Austria’s Solex-Consult Wiener Neustadt host Belgium’s Logis Auderghem TT and Spanish Universidad De Burgos.
Poland is preparing for Liebherr 2020 ITTF European Table Tennis Championships in September
A press conference was held at the Olympic Center in Warsaw on the Liebherr 2020 ITTF European Table Tennis Championships. The meeting with media representatives was a real celebration of table tennis. The event was attended by representatives of Poland representatives of state authorities and the President of the European Table Tennis Union Ronald KRAMER. “Polish sports have an outstanding record in staging great events including table tennis. Although the present circumstances are complicated and demand a lot from organizers and participants we are working hard with our Polish friends to prepare what will be unique LIEBHERR 2020 European Championships in Warsaw in September ” explained Ronald KRAMER president of the European Table Tennis Union. The conference gathered a wide range of guests. In addition to players and coaches of the national team the event was also attended by stars of Polish table tennis including Natalia PARTYKA Leszek KUCHARSKI and Stefan DRYSZEL. The guests included representatives of the Polish state authorities and the European federation. The meeting with table tennis was honored by the presence of Danuta DMOWSKA-ANDRZEJUK Minister of Sport Łukasz SCHREIBER Minister – member of the Council of Ministers Ronald KRAMER President of the European Table Tennis Union and Andrzej KRAŚNICKI President of the Polish Olympic Committee. “ I am very happy that in September Poland will host the best table tennis players of Europe. In the time of pandemic sport plays a very important role in social life which is why the return of the biggest international events is very important. I hope that everything will take place in accordance with all safety rules and Poland will be an organizational example for other host countries” stated Danuta Dmowska-ANDRZEJUK Minister of Sport. “The Liebherr 2020 ITTF European Table Tennis Championships will be a special celebration of our discipline. We thank the authorities of our country for important support. I believe that a pandemic will not stop us and we will organize a large international sports event in Poland. Of course I count on organizational success but also very good performances of our representatives. Two years ago in Alicante Spain Li Qian won the gold medal and Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA-FRANC bronze in the individual tournament. Men also have a chance for good results” added Dariusz SZUMACHER president of the Polish Table Tennis Association.
Senegal and the IOC agree to postpone the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2022 to 2026
Senegal and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have mutually agreed to postpone the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Dakar 2022 to 2026. President Macky Sall’s proposal was welcomed by IOC President Thomas BACH following in-depth discussions on the subject. This postponement meets the requirement of responsibility and the concern for efficiency imposed by current circumstances. The postponement of Dakar 2022 allows the IOC the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and the International Federations (IFs) to better plan their activities which have been strongly affected by the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 by the subsequent postponements of major international sports events and by the operational and financial consequences of the global health crisis. The IOC and Senegal understand that this news will be disappointing for many young athletes. Both parties can only appeal to their understanding. This agreement results from the large scale of the operational challenges which the IOC the NOCs and the IFs are facing following the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. With this in mind the IOC will continue to offer all IFs and NOC Continental Associations the full content of the educational programmes of the Youth Olympic Games. This will allow for the objectives of this very important and much-appreciated component of the YOG to be maintained through the many events organised between now and 2026 in particular during the Continental Youth Games. “This amicable agreement illustrates the mutual trust between Senegal and the IOC. I would like to express my sincere thanks to President Macky Sall a great friend and supporter of the Olympic Movement for this exceptional relationship of trust and quality. For all these reasons I am sure that together we will organise fantastic Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 for Senegal the entire African continent and all the young athletes of the world ” said IOC President Thomas Bach. The agreement was approved by the IOC Executive Board and will be submitted to the IOC Session for ratification this Friday 17 July 2020.
