Marie MIGOT is in France in isolation during the pandemic. “I’m at home now for almost a month with my family. I’ve not spent time with them that long long for 10 years so it’s something special ” said MIGOT. Like many athletes she is trying to stay in good shape under the time of restrictions. “I start my day with yoga and I’m quite busy actually… I have a table tennis table at home so I can play a bit with my dad to keep the contact with the sport. I’m doing physical I can go one km away from home for one hour so I’m lucky with that rule because I’m living in country side. I practice differently I use different method. So I’m trying to stay in shape as much as I can with different activities. I think it’s time to live differently but I’ll add some things for sure in the “next life”. So I’m doing yoga meditation visualization juggling challenges … and to have more time than usual it’s also something rare.” TV is always there to fill the free time. “I would recommend “Billy Elliot” for movie fans book “Kobe Bryant” for a readers and 3% as a TV series.” The message is clear: “Stay healthy it’s a moment to live respect the rules and soon we will be back at the table in normal”
European Youth Championships
The ETTU Executive Board has decided to postpone the 2020 European Youth Championships scheduled for 10th to 19th July at Zagreb CRO due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty as to the resumption of international table tennis. ETTU will work with the Croatian Table Tennis Association to seek a new provisional date which allows all Associations to prepare and participate. In recent past Zagreb succesfuly hosted the 2016 European Youth Championships in Zagreb whilst a month ago Croatia’s Varazdin has organised European Under 21 Championships.
Ricardo WALTHER is using his mobile as never before
Ricardo WALTHER uses his mobile more than ever to fight the time surplus. “I do not have new hobbies or routines – just a lot of fitness sessions and using my mobile phone so much as never before ” said WALTHER. Ricardo sticks to his routine as much as it is possible. “I stay at home and try to do some other things which usually I do not have time during the season. Every morning I go running and do some fitness workouts.” For entertainment time he recommends: “La Casa de Papel Law Abiding Citizen Designated Survivor.
New dates for 2020 World Table Tennis Championships
Provisional dates of 27 September – 4 October 2020 have been agreed for the Hana Bank 2020 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan Korea Republic. The ITTF has been working in close cooperation with the Korea Table Tennis Association (KTTA) led by president Ryu Seung-min and representatives of the city of Busan in order to establish the new provisional dates and also have other optional dates to stage the World Championships if necessary. The most significant annual table tennis event and richest in terms of history of the sport the Hana Bank 2020 World Team Table Tennis Championships were among the many ITTF events to be postponed this year due to the COVID-19 public health crisis.Originally due to take place between 22 – 29 March 2020 an emergency ITTF Executive Committee meeting proposed provisional dates of 21 – 28 June 2020 while maintaining that further back-up plans may be required if the pandemic persisted. On 29 March 2020 the ITTF Executive Committee held a follow-up meeting to confirm that new dates would be announced for the Hana Bank 2020 World Team Table Tennis Championships in light of the fact that all currently planned ITTF events and activities are suspended until 30 June 2020. Now with new provisional dates proposed for 27 September – 4 October 2020 the ITTF and KTTA continue to monitor the situation with the priority being placed on the health and safety of players coaches fans and officials.
Celebrating 2020 World Table Tennis At Home Day!
World Table Tennis Day the annual celebration of the sport taking place every 6th April as organised by the ITTF Foundation and supported by the ITTF traditionally sees a full programme of social gatherings casual table tennis activities and charity events taking place across the globe. While the COVID-19 pandemic prevented physical activities from happening this year it provided an opportunity to celebrate like never before. Physically distanced but socially united fans were fully engaged across the digital and social media channels of the ITTF and ITTF Foundation for 2020 World Table Tennis At Home Day! Fans have had their eyes glued to the ITTF’s digital channels on 6th April 2020 with 24 hours of wall-to-wall table tennis playing since 00:00 GMT+8 on the ITTF’s Facebook YouTube and Weibo channels as well as on Zhibo.TV the ITTF’s streaming partner in China. That’s 24 hours of original never seen before archive footage all in HD taking you on a trip down memory lane to revisit a bucket list of classic unforgettable matches from the past and many of the greatest legends to ever play the sport! In between matches special features were aired ranging from sustainability projects run by the ITTF Foundation the story of Ping Pong Diplomacy: United Korea the Hugo Calderano feature film and more. Watch the full Playlist of #UltimateWTTD on YouTube! That’s not all! To get in the festive spirit fans have been challenged to find hidden “Easter eggs” appearing on screen at certain points of the 24-hour programme. These are no ordinary Easter eggs but special-made original “stickers” of four players chosen for their iconic celebrations: Ma Long Liu Shiwen Hugo Calderano and Miu Hirano! The idea is for fans to collect as many stickers as possible by sharing them on Instagram tagging @ittfworld and using the hashtag #UltimateWTTD for a chance to enter the special prize draw! OVER 4 MILLION FANS ON ITTF SOCIAL MEDIA! Sports events around the world may be suspended at present but the ITTF is continuing to entertain its growing fan base on social media which has now surpassed the four million milestone! Despite difficult times the ITTF is galvanising table tennis fans and new followers from across the globe to stay active and keep spirits high through a series of social media initiatives listed below… #SafeTableTennis – Fans have been making videos of how they are showing their passion for table tennis with anything and everything they can find despite being quarantined at home! You can see all our posted videos on ITTF social media channels and send us your own. #TrainLikeAPro – Home Edition: A fun spin-off of the ongoing #TrainLikeAPro series. Elite athletes and young aspiring players are filming themselves and sharing how they are staying fit and keeping their skills sharp while in isolation. Remember just because you’re inside doesn’t mean you can’t train! #BLOCKcovid19 – These videos focus on the creative methods adopted by players and fans to combat the virus and stay healthy in different day-to-day circumstances presenting neat tips to promote good hygiene practices such as hand washing and physical distancing. #ITTFSmashBack – Every week fans are being treated to a series of classic matches from the past on the ITTF’s digital platforms. The initiative began with a bang in the last week of March which saw the 2006 World Championships replayed with full matches on Facebook and highlights on YouTube Instagram and Twitter. This kept fans entertained during the week that the Hana Bank 2020 World Team Table Tennis Championships would originally have been staged but for the COVID-19 pandemic. Many more “Blast from the Past” matches will be replayed across the ITTF’s social media channels over the coming weeks.
Stéphanie LOEUILLETTE perfecting her service
France’s Stéphanie LOEUILLETTE shares the faith of most of players at home. “During this corona pandemic I practice as much as I can. I have two physicals training each day and I play table tennis. I make lot of service practice once a day in my living room. My sponsor cornilleau help me to buy a table and I can play in my house. It is not the same as playing in the hall but I can work so I am working on my service receive… “ When it comes to fitness it is much easier to organize the day. “I m lucky I live in the house and I have garden for outdoor exercise. Every day I am in contact with physical coach and he can adjust program with conditions. Three times during the week we have physical training by video with coach and all INSEP players. During this period I do the maximum to stay in good shape and healthy! I have time to look video of matches sometimes we don’t have times for this during the season.” Free time is booked for series and books. “For free time I look some series I look Elite and waiting for Casa de Papel on 4th April!! I read the story of Martin Fourcade French Olympic champion in biathlon he is very humble athlete. My message for all of you is to take care and stay at home for your safety safety of other and for all the people who work hard each day to stop this pandemic. So please respect the rules and take care of you! I cannot wait to get back to the competitions! See you soon in table tennis arena!”
Anton KÄLLBERG: Keep your head high
Swede Anton KÄLLBERG is trying to keep the good shape whilst the competitions are suspended. “I am spending my days mostly inside only going outside for a run in the woods or going to the supermarket. I think it’s a good time to improve my physical strength with the extra time and energy that is available now ” explained KÄLLBERG. Swede who plays in Germany’s Borussia Düsseldorf has few favorites to recommend: “If you want to read some books I would recommend any from the author Dan BROWN who is a personal favorite. Or if you would like to watch some movies I would recommend the movies from Christopher NOLAN.” Message to all: “I hope that everyone are taking really good care of each other and doing the best they can out of the current situation. Keep your head high!”
SIPOS: Table Tennis is the strongest virus ever
Rares SIPOS is in Cluj Napoca in Romania. Like so many athletes he is in home isolation. “Basically I have a really light routine; I exercise in front of my home or in home ride the bike and playing games with my friends. There is a bright side of the isolation. “On one side I am happy because I never get a chance to spend time with my family so much so now that we are all home I will take advantage of this. I will use the time properly playing games with my sister talking to parents. On the other side I miss a lot the competition and the proper practice because this is my job. Of course that I am sad that this virus is stopping all the athletes around the world to follow their programme and do what they love the most.” Netflix is one of the interests now. “I am watching a lot of series on Netflix as well and I am afraid that soon I will finish all the good movies what I can watch because I almost saw them all. As a kid I used to read a lot because my mom was pushing me to do it but now I never read anything long time I prefer to exercise or do whatever else but not reading ” said SIPOS laughing. What about hobbies? “Unfortunately about my hobbies there is nothing to say because all of my hobbies are around sports spending time with friends and socializing. But for the sake of everyone else I and everybody else should stay at home because the longer we are not respecting the rules the longer the virus will last.” And a message to all table tennis fans around the world: “Stay home and be safe. We will get over it and we will all have the joy to play again. Table Tennis is the strongest virus ever: no one can stop us the passion for this sport! ”
LEBESSON: Do not forget to call your grandparents
Emmanuel LEBESSON is with his family in France trying to get the best of unwanted break. “Everything is ok now for me and my family! Around two weeks ago I came back home now from Oman and I went directly to my house close to Paris. I am here with my wife my son and my dog ” said LEBESSON. French player needed some time to “recharge” the batteries after competitions. “For six days I stayed at home to rest after two Opens in Qatar and Oman. After short break I restart physical practice because I have home trainer and treadmill also! With this and some fitness accessories I can keep my shape. However these days I have no solution to continue practice or just play some balls in the house. I will try in few days to find a solution to play at home.” There is a good side of this too: “I enjoy having more time with the family because this period when we have normal situation is used to be very busy. It should be Olympic year with qualifications and all world Tours and like a lot of players I should not have much time to stay with them and take time to make outside activities or society games! Now I m really happy I can spend quality time with the family. What are you reading now? “For 15 days until now I must say that I read every day press about the virus and about the situation in all countries. Also I recommend Designated Survivor on Netflix and I like this actor who makes the series 24h Chrono.” In the hard times LEBESSON reminded us: “Stay at home and take care about your family and don’t forget to call lonely people like grandmother or grandfather for example! We don’t know a lot of thing about this virus but he will change something about our mentality! This I m sure.”
KARLSSON: I recommend The Pillars of the Earth by Ken FOLLETT
Swede Kristian KARLSSON is fighting to stay fit under current circumstances. Like everyone he is trying to get the best from the situation. “I am trying to stay fit by running a lot and training table tennis whenever I can ” said KARLSSON. There is a lot of time to spend it now when we cannot travel. “Most of the time I read a books and I am looking a lot the Youtube. For now I do not have new hobbies or routines.” What can you recommend? “I recommend for reading The Pillars of the Earth a historical novel by Welsh author Ken FOLLETT. What is your message to fans? “Stay strong and healthy everybody!”
