Uncle Pop 2019 ITTF Women’s World Cup in Chengdu On the first day of the play at the Uncle Pop 2019 ITTF Women’s World Cup in Chengdu three European players progressed to the knock out stage of the Event. Bernadette SZOCS of Romania Petrissa SOLJA of Germany reached the top place in their respective Groups and joined Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria who secured the place in the main draw as a seed no. 8. Romania’s Bernadette SZOCS the no.9 seed beat Lily ZHANG the no. 18 seed; SZOCS overcame Adriana DIAZ and thus reserved first place in her Group. In the opening round WU Yue faces Austria’s Sofia POLCANOVA; Lily ZHANG confronts Japan’s Miu HIRANO the no.4 seed. For Zhang MO China’s ZHU Yuling the top seed is the adversary for Bernadette SZOCSs Singapore’s FENG Tianwei the no.7 seed awaits. Germany’s Petrissa SOLJA the no.11 seed it was first position ahead of Chinese Taipei’s CHEN Szu-Yu the no.13 seed and Australia’s JIAN Fang Lay the no.20 seed. SOLJA almost came to grief when opposing JIOAN she needed the full seven games to secure victory. Tomorrow Petrissa SOLJA will confront Hong Kong’s DOO Hoi Kem the no.6 seed.
TTCLM: Borussia holds top spot in Group D
Table Tennis Champions League Men Round 2 TTCLM record-holder Borussia Dusseldorf stands alone at the top of Group D after Round 2 as they beat away GV Hennebont TT 3:1. German side recorded its second win in a row while French team now has 1-1 win-loss record. The score was evened after two encounters. Timo BOLL beat FAN Sheng Peng in straight games of the opening clash but Cedric NUYTINCK beat Anton KALLBERG in four games to secure sole point for host side. Two members of Swedish National Team provided remaining two points for 11-time TTCLM champion. Kristian KARLSSON was extended to full distance by Hennebont’s newcomer Samuel WALKER whilst Anton KALLBERG prevailed against FAN Sheng Peng in four games. TTCLM Group D Round 2 GV Hennebont TT – Borussia Dusseldorf 1:3 FAN Sheng Peng – Timo BOLL 0:3 (7:11 5:11 7:11) Cedric NUYTINCK – Anton KALLBERG 3:1 (8:11 11:7 11:9 11:8) Samuel WALKER – Kristian KARLSSON 2:3 (9:11 11:4 5:11 11:5 9:11) FAN Sheng Peng – Anton KALLBERG 1:3 (10:12 7:11 13:11 12:14)
UMMC and Roskilde face-off for the first time
Table Tennis Champions League Men Round 2 Actual TTCLM runner-up UMMC and 2017/18 TTCLM quarter-finalist Roskilde Bordtennis BTK 61 will face-off against each other for the first time playing Round 2 game this Friday October 18th (16:00 CET). Danish club Roskilde no.4 seed travels to Russia after disappointing outcome against SPG Walter Wels (2:3) five weeks ago while Verkhnaya Pyshma’s side (no.6 seed) easily beat away TTC Ostrava 2016 3:0. “All athletes have been training in Baltym for several days and all are in good shape preparing for the second round. Roskilde is a new team for us as we have not played with the Danes yet. In addition Michael MAZE who played for UMMC will not come and I think the fans were waiting for him. But there will be Bojan TOKIC of course he is a good player. We will try to show a good game at home to our fans!” stated UMMC coach Tatiana KUTERGINA.
Stage set for Uncle Pop 2019 ITTF Women’s World Cup in Chengdu China
Europe Cup champion Petrissa Solja on duty in China Twenty of the world’s best women’s players have gathered in Chengdu China ready to battle over the next three days in a bid to win one of the most prestigious prizes in international table tennis. The Women’s World Cup forms part of the Grand Slam trio of titles alongside the Olympic Games and World Championships. Whoever celebrates gold on Sunday 20th October will have to navigate their way past a highly competitive field of talent stretching the entire globe. That is because the all-star event features World champion Liu Shiwen (of China) her compatriot and Asian Cup champion Zhu Yuling Europe Cup champion Petrissa Solja (Germany) Africa Cup champion Dina Meshref (Egypt) Pan American Cup champion Adriana Diaz (Puerto Rico) and Oceania Cup champion Jian Fang Lay (Australia) as well as a whole host of household names who also qualified via their Continental Cups plus wild card Lily Zhang of the United States who comes highly rated after claiming four titles in September’s Pan American Championships in Paraguay. A Women’s World Cup winner in 2009 2012 2013 and 2015 Liu Shiwen would set an all-time record were she to win the title for her fifth time here in Chengdu. Liu currently sits level with former greats Wang Nan and Zhang Yining on four titles apiece. For the reigning World champion after her famous exploits in Budapest earlier this year victory in the Women’s World Cup would also put Liu one step closer to claiming an incredible Golden Grand Slam which she would only complete by clinching gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (subject to selection). Fellow Chinese star Zhu Yuling also has experience of winning the Women’s World Cup in 2017 in Markham Canada. This time however the tournament takes on an extra special meaning for the player who is native to Sichuan Province: “Sichuan is my hometown and I will do my best to put on a strong showing at this Women’s World Cup for everyone watching here in Chengdu. I also hope that everyone will support me and cheer for me! Table tennis has had many competitions in Chengdu over recent years. I hope everyone can learn about Sichuan through table tennis understand Chengdu and fall in love with my hometown!” said Zhu Yuling. As the top two seeds Zhu and Liu will enter automatically into the knockout rounds (Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th October) along with 3rd to 8th seeds: Japanese duo Kasumi Ishikawa and Miu Hirano Cheng I-Ching (Chinese Taipei) Doo Hoi Kem (Hong Kong China) Feng Tianwei (Singapore) and Europe’s top representative Sofia Polcanova (Austria). Friday 18th October is dedicated to the group stage where the players seeded 9th to 20th play off against one another in a bid to reach the weekend’s knockout rounds. The top two players from each group will qualify for the main draw where they will be pitted against the 1st to 8th seeds. Group AThe highest ranked player involved in first-day action Romania’s Bernadette Szocs has been drawn into a highly competitive group alongside Puerto Rican star Adriana Diaz and USA’s Lily Zhang. Szocs and Diaz – who is making her Women’s World Cup debut in Chengdu – have never crossed paths before while the Romanian’s last encounter with Zhang came in an Under 21 contest back in 2015. This promises to be a tight race for the main draw. Group BWill Dina Meshref’s experience be the difference in Group B? The Egyptian is making her seventh appearance at the Women’s World Cup. In stark contrast this is the first ever showing for three-time Paralympic gold medallist Natalia Partyka of Poland. Completing the group is Korea Republic’s Jeon Jihee who won women’s doubles gold at last week’s German Open. Can she convert that form into her singles game? Group CAnother well-balanced group sees Germany’s Petrissa Solja joined by Chinese Taipei’s Chen Szu-Yu and Australia’s Jian Fang Lay. Solja and Chen head into the group as favourites to progress but rule out Jian at your peril: the 46-year-old carrying the hopes of Oceania on her shoulders defied the odds to reach the round of 16 last year in Chengdu. Can she upset the odds yet again? Group DThe fourth and final group sees Romania’s Elizabeta Samara welcome opposition from two North American stars in Canada’s Zhang Mo and USA’s Wu Yue. 2015 European champion Samara will fancy her chances of successfully negotiating the group stage but it is the head-to-head contest between Zhang and Wu that perhaps holds the most intrigue. Their three previous meetings have all favoured the Canadian but Wu will be extra determined to avoid the same outcome this time out as she chases her first Women’s World Cup victory. Off the back of a successful Twitter emoji campaign at April’s World Championships in Budapest we are engaging followers once again throughout the Women’s World Cup! Share your stories moments and emotions with us during the event using the hashtags #ITTFWorldCup #Chengdu2019 and #LiftTheCup to see a special event emoji appear like magic in your tweet! This time there is also a unique hashtag for Japanese followers to enjoy using. The nation represents the ITTF’s largest fan base on Twitter across the global @ittfworld and Japanese-language @ITTFJapan accounts. Quick Links: News & Articles Live Streaming Daily Schedule Photo Gallery Flash Quotes Media Kit ITTF Social: Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube Weibo
Borussia respects current ETTU Cup champion
Table Tennis Champions League Men Round 2 TTCLM record holder 11-time winner Borussia Dusseldorf aims its second win in Group D playing away game against actual ETTU Cup winner GV Hennebont TT. Both sides won their encounters in the opening round. “It is after all the current ETTU Cup champion. Hence we come with the latest best possible team to Hennebont. Clear goal is the 1st place of the group therefor we have to win no matter how” stated Borussia Dusseldorf team manager Andreas PREUSS. Round 2 game to be held this Thursday October 17th 19:30 CET. It will be a chance to see actual shape of players who participated at the recent 2019 German Open in Bremen where Borussia’s biggest star Timo BOLL reached quarter-finals.
Fakel Gazprom rules in Group A
Table Tennis Champions League Men Round 2: Mühlhausen – Orenburg 0:3 Five-time TTCLM winner and reigning champion justified its status playing Round 2 game in Germany: Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. – Fakel Gazprom Orenburg 0:3. It was second win in a row for Russian side while German club suffered its first defeat. Two individual silver medalists at the European Championships met in the opener as 2015 runner-up Portugal’s Marcos FREITAS overcame actual one Ovidiu IONESCU in four games. Current World no.12 Dimitrij OVTCHAROV prevailed against his compatriot Steffen MENGEL in straight games to rise Orenburg’s lead while CHUANG Chih-Yuan defeated Lubomir JANCARIK in four games. It was very first game of Chinese Taipei’s player in the jersey of TTCLM champion. TTCLM Round 2 GROUP A Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. – Fakel Gazprom Orenburg 0:3 Ovidiu IONESCU – Marcos FREITAS 1:3 (9:11 11:5 7:11 1:11) Steffen MENGEL – Dimitrij OVTCHAROV 0:3 (8:11 9:11 8:11) Lubomir JANCARIK – CHUANG Chih-Yuan 1:3 (11:4 11:13 7:11 3:11) VS Angers TT – Leka Enea TDM (Oct 18 19:30 CET) GROUP B TTSC UMMC – Roskilde Bordtennis BTK61 (Oct 18 16:00 CET) SPG Walter Wels – TTC Ostrava 2016 (Oct 18 18:30 CET) GROUP C KS Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki – FC Saarbrücken TT 2:3 Ping Pong Club Villeneuvois – GDCS Juncal (Oct 18 20:00 CET) GROUP D GV Hennebont TT – Borussia Düsseldorf (Oct 17 19:30 CET) Sporting Clube De Portugal – STK Starr Croatia (Oct 18 19:00 CET)
Reigning TTCLM champion eager to win in Germany
2019/20 Table Tennis Champions League Men Round 2 Reigning TTCLM champion TTC Fakel-Gazprom from Orenburg is determined to win its Round 2 away match against Mühlhausen considering this clash as decisive one for the top spot in Group A. “All the main players from TTC Fakel-Gazprom arrived in Mühlhausen. Both clubs have experienced world-class players. This fact suggests that the upcoming TTCLM match is expected to be very tense and decisive for both teams. It will decide the fate of the first place in our group. I think that not only our fans but also table tennis fans from all over the world are looking forward to this confrontation” stated TTC Fakel-Gazprom coach Vladimir ENDOLOV about clash to be held this Wednesday October 16th 18:30 CET. Russian club five-time TTCLM champion continues with its strong European line-up Dimitrij OVTCHAROV Marcos FREITAS Vladimir SAMSONOV; signing another well experienced player CHUANG Chih-Yuan from Chinese Taipei. CHUANG knows how to play TTCLM as he has been its part for many seasons in different top clubs. “There have been some changes in our team this season. Now CHUANG Chih-Yuan is a part of the Orenburg club. His debut is of particular interest to fans. Of course our team carefully prepares for this important match and is motivated only to win. All our players are in good physical shape and ready to please their spectators” explained ENDOLOV.
Saarbrucken wins in Poland
TTCLM Round 2 Group C Saarbrucken TT beat KS Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki 3:2 in match held in Poland remaining only unbeaten team in TTCLM Group C after two rounds. Patrick FRANZISKA continued his top-class performances from the recent 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open where he reached quarter-finals. Current World no.15 beat two Bogoria’s player Marek BADOWSKI and Panagiotis GIONIS while Chinese SHANG Kun secured third point for the visitors. Host team led twice first after Panagiotis GIONIS win over SHANG Kun in the opening encounter. FRANZISKA was extended to full distance by BADOWSKI but managed to even out score at 1:1. Pavel SIRUCEK has secured another advantage for Bogoria as he prevailed against Cristian PLETEA in straight games. Last two clashes were decided in straight games: FRANZISKA and SHANG overcame GIONIS and BADOWSKI respectively. TTCLM Round 2 Group C KS Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT 2:3 Panagiotis GIONIS – SHANG Kun 3:1 (11:5 11:5 9:11 11:7) Marek BADOWSKI – Patrick FRANZISKA 2:3 (8:11 12:10 11:13 12:10 2:11) Pavel SIRUCEK – Cristian PLETEA 3:0 (11:7 15:13 11:6) Panagiotis GIONIS – Patrick FRANZISKA 0:3 (9:11 3:11 4:11) Marek BADOWSKI – SHANG Kun 0:3 (9:11 5:11 5:11)
Post SV Mühlhausen host reigning TTCLM champion
Table Tennis Champions League Men After two 2019 World Tour events on European soil in Sweden and Germany strongest European teams are coming back to their duties in the 2019/20 Table Tennis Champions League Men. Eight Round 2 matches to be held from this Tuesday to Saturday October 15-18th as reigning champion Fakel Gazprom Orenburg travels to Germany to face its rival from previous season Post SV Mühlhausen. Russian club five-times TTCLM winner beat twice 3:0 Post SV Mühlhausen within 2018/19 group stage but five out of six matches were finished after full five games. Because of that fact German club believe they are capable to upset strong Russian team and actual no.1 seed in the 2019/20 TTCLM. „We are looking forward for this highlight match against Orenburg. Last year we lost from six matches five in the fifth set… This was really pity. We are ready for the revanche but the big favourite is Orenburg. Every single match that we will win is a success for us. But our team is in a good shape. “stated Erik SCHREYER Coach of Post SV Mühlhausen. The 2018 European Championships runner-up Ovidiu IONESCU is looking forward playing Group A clash against such strong team like Orenburg: „We are looking forward for the match against Orenburg. They are the reigning champions but I believe in our chances. We have a good start of the season overall and I believe especially home we are a very dangerous team to play against it. “ Both sides won their Round 1 encounters in straight matches: Post SV Mühlhausen overcame Leka Enea in Spain while Orenburg defeated VS Angers TT on home soil. TTCLM Round 2 GROUP A Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. – Fakel Gazprom Orenburg (Oct 16 18:30 CET) VS Angers TT – Leka Enea TDM (Oct 18 19:30 CET) GROUP B TTSC UMMC – Roskilde Bordtennis BTK61 (Oct 18 16:00 CET) SPG Walter Wels – TTC Ostrava 2016 (Oct 18:30 CET) GROUP C KS Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki – FC Saarbrücken TT (Oct 15 18:30 CET) Ping Pong Club Villeneuvois – GDCS Juncal (Oct 18 20:00 CET) GROUP D GV Hennebont TT – Borussia Düsseldorf (Oct 17 19:30 CET) Sporting Clube De Portugal – STK Starr Croatia (Oct 18 19:00 CET)
Germans do host nation proud
ITTF World Tour 2019 German Open Fan Zhendong’s 343-day wait to win the men’s singles title on the ITTF World Tour came to an end on Sunday 13th October in Bremen as the Chinese world no. 2 defeated compatriot and world no. 1 Xu Xin to claim German Open glory (5-11 11-8 14-12 11-7 11-7). Astonishingly this was Fan’s first singles title on the 2019 World Tour his last victory tracing back to 4th November 2018 at the Swedish Open. Over the intervening period the 22-year-old lost his world no. 1 position to Xu who went on to rubberstamp his supremacy by picking up three consecutive gold medals at this year’s Japan Korea and Australian Opens. It had looked like Fan’s barren streak would continue when “Xu-perman” comfortably won the first game of today’s final in Bremen and had his sights set on equalling the record of four ITTF World Tour men’s singles titles in a calendar year. However Fan fought back in style to take the title the 12th of his career in the ITTF World Tour men’s singles competition to raise hopes that he is finally ready to kick on and put a difficult 2019 behind him. Undoubtedly one of the surprise packages in Bremen Benedikt Duda and Qiu Dang navigated their journey from the depths of the qualifying rounds all the way to silver medals following a series of impressive wins over seeded opponents: Ho Kwan Kit / Lam Siu Hang (HKG) Jang Woojin / Jeoung Youngsik (KOR) and Chen Chien-An / Chuang Chih-Yuan (TPE) before succumbing to the might of Xu Xin and Liang Jingkun (CHN) at the final hurdle. While Duda and Qiu outperformed their seeded compatriots in the men’s doubles Timo Boll and Patrick Franziska the latter duo would make their mark in the singles competition both advancing as far as the quarter-finals. After his epic seven-game victory over Jun Mizutani (JPN) 38-year-old legend Boll fell to eventual champion Fan Zhendong but his showing in Bremen will have done his chances of qualifying for the 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals no harm at all. Meanwhile Franziska caused one of the upsets of the tournament in defeating 3rd seed Lin Gaoyuan (CHN) in just five games before exiting at the hands of Jeoung Youngsik (KOR). It was also a week to remember for Germany’s Shan Xiaona the world no. 96 defying her ranking to reach the women’s singles quarter-finals comfortably knocking out Doo Hoi Kem (HKG) and Hitomi Sato (JPN) before losing out to Feng Tianwei (SGP) when she had led 3-0 before Feng’s epic fightback. Prior to that classic encounter Singaporean star Feng grabbed the headlines with her straight games victory over world no. 1 Chen Meng – arguably the biggest shock result of the entire event. Sun Yingsha celebrated her third women’s singles title of an excellent year so far on the ITTF World Tour. The Chinese teenage talent overcame Japan’s Mima Ito over five emphatic games (11-3 9-11 11-5 11-5 11-4) to follow up her Japan and Australian Open victories with gold here in Germany. Sun’s win confirms her status as the most successful performer from “Generation Z” during 2019 starting her campaign in Bremen second in the World Tour points standings behind only world no. 1 Chen Meng (CHN). Sun has risen a remarkable 23 places in the last six months up to the no. 6 position. The victory also means that fellow 18-year-old Mima Ito remains without a women’s singles title on this year’s ITTF World Tour. The world no. 7 and highest-ranked non-Chinese player in the women’s game Ito was made to endure the heartbreak of a second final defeat in consecutive weeks following her loss to Chen Meng last Sunday in Stockholm. “I was pretty calm as I had done a lot of practice before this match. I respect Ito who is a very strong competitor and I’m very happy that I could play well in this competition.” – Sun Yingsha Korea Republic duo Jeon Jihee and Yang Haeun became the first non-Chinese winners of a women’s event on this year’s ITTF World Tour beating Japan’s Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki to claim the women’s doubles title (11-5 4-11 11-9 11-7). “I am as happy as if I was flying in the sky! Our opponents overcame Chen Meng and Gu Yuting in the semi-final and we also lost to them last year. I think they will certainly be a big threat in the future. The doubles will be the first match in team competition at next year’s Olympics. It’s pretty important. In singles it will be difficult to beat the Chinese. We will try harder to play beyond our limits.” – Yang Haeun. In the men’s doubles final Xu Xin and Liang Jingkun defeated Germany’s Benedikt Duda and Qiu Dang after the host nation’s unseeded pair took a shock lead and kept their highly fancied Chinese opponents on their toes throughout a highly competitive contest (11-13 11-9 11-9 11-5). Xu Xin also tasted mixed doubles success in his first ever partnership with Sun Yingsha. China’s two in-form athletes combined brilliantly in Bremen and saw off compatriots Wang Chuqin and Wang Manyu in the final (12-10 11-7 5-11 11-7). “I was playing with Sun Yingsha for the first time. I play with different partners and always adapt. I like to play with everyone. Younger players have less drag in their game and want to learn more.” – Xu Xin The 12th and final destination of the 2019 ITTF World Tour will be the Austrian Open held between 12th – 17th November in Linz. This represents the last opportunity for players to gain all-important World Tour points and confirm their places for the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals: the prestigious end-of-year showpiece event being staged between 12th – 15th December in Zhengzhou China.
