2019 Europe Youth Top-10 Fourth place last year in the European Youth Top 10 tournament in Vila Real Poland’s Anna WEGRZYN is the top seed in the junior girls’ singles event at the forthcoming 2019 Europe Youth Top-10 to be held from 4th to 6th October. European champion from Ostrava WEGRZYN will face great challenge in the city of Noordwijk which was named as one of the European Cities of Sport for 2017. Number two seed is Zdena BLASKOVA of Czech Republic last year placed at the position no. six in Vila Real. Earlier this year she lost in the quarterfinal of the European Youth Championships in Ostrava. The list of participants goes on with Jamila LAURENTI of Italy silver medalist in Ostrava and Anna’s twin sister Katarzyna WEGRZYN. Tania PLAIAN of Romania no. five seed currently occupies sixth position at the European rankings. Last year she won bronze in Top 10 in Portugal. Franziska SCHREINER of Germany ranked at position no. 9 in Europe is seventh seed. She was fifth last year at Top-10 and reached only second round at the European championships few months ago. Isa COK of France Ema LABOSOVA of Slovakia and Olga VISHNIAKOVA of Russia completed the list wich ends with host nation representative Emine ERNST. For all four players will be first apperance at the Youth Top-10. COK and VISHNIAKOVA reached the Round of 16 at the European Youth Championships in 2019. More informations here Official site here Europe Youth Top-10 Magazine here
European Champion Elena ZAHARIA on duty in Noordwijk
2019 Europe Youth Top-10 from 4th to 6th October There are only few days left before the start of the 2019 Europe Youth Top-10 (from 4th to 6th October) in Dutch Noordwijk. The list of the Cadet girls entries is closed with only two names missing from top 10 rankings. European singles champion and last year’s bronze medalist Elena ZAHARIA is the leading name on duty in Netherlands. Silver medalist from Ostrava Vlada VORONINA of Russia is seeded at the position no. two. Unlike ZAHARIA VORONINA was not playing last year at Top -10 in Vila Real. Last week VORONINA was the member of the Russia’s Junior team which clinched silver medal at the 2019 ITTF Junior Circuit Serbia Junior & Cadet Open in Zrenjanin. Europe’s no four Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia is no. three seed. Two weeks ago both ZAHARIA and ARAPOVIC played at the 2019 ITTF Junior Circuit Golden Croatia Junior & Cadet Open in Baradin. Romania’s player reached semis whilst Hana was halted in the quarterfinal. Last year’s winner of the Event Prithika PAVADE of France is invited but will not play. Dorottya TOLGYES of Hungary Alina ZAVARYKINA of Russia Helena SOMMEROVA of Czech Republic Annett KAUFMANN Naomi PRANJKOVIC both from Germany Malamatenia PAPADIMITRIOU of Greece completed positions from four to nine. The tenth position is reserved for the host nation representative Anna PETERS. Anna is currently ranked at the position no 63 at the European Under 15 rankings. More informations here Official site here Europe Youth Top-10 Magazine here
Louis LAFFINEUR leads the cadets’ list in Noordwijk
2019 Europe Youth Top-10 from 4th to 6th October Next week best Europe’s juniors and cadets will be on duty at the 2019 Europe Youth Top-10 (from 4th to 6th October) in Dutch Noordwijk. In Cadets Boys Singles Event the leading name and the currently best ranked Under 15 player Louis LAFFINEUR of Belgium will lead the pack. LAFFINEUR beat Chen Yuanyu in the cadet boys’ singles final to clinch the title at the 2019 ITTF Junior Circuit Golden SET Thailand Junior & Cadet Open in May this year. He was halted in the third Round of the Singles Event at the European Youth Championships in the Czech Republic by Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland who won bronze later. The list goes on with Darius MOVILEANU and Iulian CHIRITA both from Romania ranked at the positions no. two and three respectively. MOVILEANU won gold at the European Championships after final in which he beat his teammate CHIRITA. Together they won gold in Doubles also in Czech Republic’s Ostrava. None of those leading players was playing last year in Portugal’s Vila Real and that kind of experience might help no. four seed Simon BELIK of Slovakia who finished eighth last year in Cadet category. No. 5 seed currently placed at the position no. seven in Europe Mike HOLLO of Germany finished sixth last year. At the European Championships he reached quarterfinal. The list of the players who already played last year in Portugal ends with those two players; for European Championships semifinalist Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland Eduard IONESCU of Romania Hugo DESCHAMPS of France and Jakub GOLDIR of Slovakia this will be premiere at the Top 10. Netherlands also has its representative. Europe’s no. 32 Gabrielius CAMARA will have hard task in Noordwijk. He reached the third round in Cadet Singles event earlier this year at the European Youth Championships. More informations here Official site here
Kosovo promoting table tennis during the European week of sport in Pristina
As part of the “European Week of Sport” activities being held in Kosovo these days Kosovo Table Tennis Association is promoting Table Tennis for citizens. Speaking about the importance of this sporting event President of the Kosovo Table Tennis Association Mr. Nehat ÇITAKU considered the participation of table tennis players and citizens in the “European Week of Sport” as important according to him the sport makes us feel European. “Kosovo through sport shows that it is physically in Europe even though we are not yet part of it but with such activities we express once again that we are undoubtedly part of Europe until we will be part of it officially” said CITAKU Board Member of KTTA Kastriot Orana said that the Federation has good relations with its peers around the world. “The Table Tennis federation is the first internationally recognized federation since 2003 so since the admission of our federation into the international arena KTTA has been actively participating in European and World competitions so we have a good cooperation and relationship with ETTU and ITTF. We consider that these activities such as European Week of Sports are very important to get kids and parents closer to sports in general including table tennis” he said for local TV. Table tennis players citizens and representatives of the Kosovo Deaf Association expressed satisfaction with this sporting activity as they said the sport provides positive energy. “I am pleased with the citizens participation to all kinds of activities including #BeActive’s activity for which we are here today and we are thankful to KTTA for giving as the equal opportunity in their association” said Samire JUPOLLI representative of the Kosovo Deaf Association. During the Table Tennis activity the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports of Kosovo together with Kosovo Table Tennis Association shared awards for the most active participants in this event. The European Week of Sports started on 23rd of September and will have a closing ceremony in 30th of September.
Austrian Cup: Linz rewrites history books
Club from Linz won all three medals in the Women’s Cup Linz AG Froschberg goes down in history as the first ever club with three medals at the same edition of Austrian Cup. All three Linz’s teams reached podium in the women’s competition at the event held in the city of Baden. Union Stockerau is the men’s winner as they beat ASKÖ Glas Wiesbauer Mauthausen 3:0. The first team of Linz AG Froschberg former two-time ECLW champion have defeated LZ Linz Froschberg in straight games to secure gold. All three encounters were decided in straight sets. LINZ AG Froschberg II prevailed against TTC ´CarinthiaWinds´ Villach 3:2 to reach bronze. Women’s final LINZ AG Froschberg 1 vs. LZ Linz Froschberg 3:0 Yui HAMAMOTO vs. HO Tin Tin 3:0 (11:2 11:6 11:1) Sofia POLCANOVA vs. Karoline MISCHEK 3:0 (11:7 11:3 11:3) Linda BERGSTRÖM vs. Denise PAYET 3:0 (11:8 11:4 11:5) Women’s bronze medal match TTC ´CarinthiaWinds´ Villach – LINZ AG Froschberg II 2:3 LIU Yuan vs. Margarita BALTUSYTE 3:2 (11:3 6:11 11:5 9:11 11:4) Amelie SOLJA vs. Christina KALLBERG 0:3 (6:11 5:11 7:11) Liudmila KIRITSA vs. Sophia KELLERMANN 3:1 (11:5 5:11 11:1 12:10) LIU Yuan vs. Christina KALLBERG 0:3 (9:11 6:11 9:11) Amelie SOLJA vs. Margarita BALTUSYTE 1:3 (4:11 11:9 9:11 3:11) Men’s final Union Stockerau vs. ASKÖ Glas Wiesbauer Mauthausen 3:0 CHEN Weixing vs. Simon PFEFFER 3:0 (11:7 14:12 11:9) Oleksandr DIDUKH vs. Andy PEREIRA 3:2 (7:11 11:9 9:11 12:10 11:9) Eto KEI vs. Bernhard KINZ-PRESSLMAYER 3:2 (6:11 12:14 11:3 11:9 12:10) Men’s bronze medal match SPG Linz vs. Walter Wels 0:3 Samuel KALUZNY vs. KANG Dongsoo 2:3 (7:11 11:9 11:9 8:11 7:11) Lubomir PISTEJ vs. Frane KOJIC 2:3 (11:9 11:13 8:11 11:8 8:11) Terence YEUNG vs. Adam SZUDI 0:3 (4:11 10:12 7:11)
GIONIS will join PITCHFORD and MOREGARD in Japan
Greek star Panagiotis GIONIS will join Liam PITCHFORD of England and Swede Truls MOREGARD in Japan’s “T League” club from Saitama. Organised by private’s companies last year this League already attracted notable names of World’s table tennis. GIONIS received permission from his club Polish representative in the Table Tennis Champions League Men KS Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki to take part in few matches for Japan’s club. So far two appearances are arranged and more dates will depend on his match schedule. Since the League is highly competitive it will help GIONIS to prepare better for the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020. Saitama is the city only 40 kilometers far from Tokyo. Last season Portugal’s Tiago APOLONIA played for this club. As well as Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting who prolonged his contract for this season. There are 4 clubs in this League and each team can have up to 8 players; the new season for 2019-2020 commences in October.
Mixed Doubles Event introduced into Under 21 European Championships
The most important topics on the ETTU Ordinary Congress 2019 in Nantes during the LIEBHERR European Championships were the ones that consider regulations of the European Championships. There have been 25 propositions regarding the ETTU competitions. One of the most important is the new event at the European Under 21 Championships. Beside Men’s and Women’s Doubles and Singles Event the players will fight for title in Mixed Doubles. That will extend the period of competition from four to five days. The system of play at the European Youth Championships will go under change. To ensure the competition schedule of the final day of team events can be completed satisfactorily and to allow the team event finals to commence at an optimum time it was accepted not to play the final match to determine positions unless required for promotion and relegation to and from level 1 or for qualification for other events such as ITTF World Junior Championships. Qualification round will be introduced in Singles Event; 32 seeded players shall be directly placed in first rounds of the knockout stage. All remaining players shall play in a qualification stage in groups of 3 or 4 players. There will be no more consolation events.
German Cup: Favourites extended to full distance
Borussia Saarbrucken and Ochsenhausen won their Round of 16 games 3:2 Favourites had a tough job in the German Cup Round of 16 games but reached quarter-finals. Three title contenders won their matches after full five encounters: Borussia vs. Werder Bremen 3:2 Saarbrucken TT vs. TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau 3:2 and TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen vs. TTC Neu-Ulm 3:2. Two more clashes have been extended to full distance: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell vs. TSV Bad Königshofen 3:2 and TuS Celle vs. TV 1879 Hilpoltstein 3:2. Post SV Mühlhausen beat SV SR Hohenstein-Ernstthal 3:1 while TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt and ASV Grünwettersbach won their matches in straigh games against TTC indeland Jülich and TTC GW Bad Hamm respectively. Saarbrucken was short two matches against Grenzau but managed to turn the score. Darko JORGIC and Patrick FRANZISKA levelled tied at 2:2 after their individual wins while Darko JORGIC/Tomas POLANSKY secured victory in the decisive doubles clash against Anders LIND/Mihai BOBOCICA. Borussia Dusseldorf 11-time TTCLM winner was in better situation after first two games against Werder. They led 2:0 as Sweden’s Anton KALLBERG beat his compatriot Mattias FALCK 3:2 and Timo BOLL overcame Kirill GERASSIMENKO 3:0 but green-white side levelled at 2:2 thanks to Hunor SZOCS (against Omar ASSAR 3:2) and Mattias FALCK (BOLL 3:0). The winner was decided between doubles when Anton KALLBERG/Omar ASSAR prevailed against Hunor SZOCS/Kirill GERASSIMENKO 3:0. Tiago APOLONIA managed to defeat two strong Ochsenhausen’s players Stefan FEGERL and Hugo CALDERANO but it wasn’t enough to secure victory for TTC Neu-Ulm.
France Germany and Turkey teams secured three gold each
ITTF European Para Championships 2019 in Helsingborg The ITTF European Para Championships 2019 held this week in Helsingborg is finish. More than 300 players from 33 countries fought for the medals in Singles and Tem’s Events. In the second part in Team’s Event France Germany and Turkey won three gold medals each; Poland and France won seven overall. In Men’s Teams Classes 1-2 France won gold. Fabien LAMIRAULT and Stephane MOLLIENS overcame Boris STOILJKOVIC and Goran PERLIC in the final. Poland and Spain clinched bronze medals. In Men’s Teams Class 3 Thomas SCHMIDBERGER and Thomas BRUCHLE from Germany overcame Florian MERRIEN and Sylvain NOEL of France. Sweden and Ukraine won bronze. In Men’s Team’s Class 4 Turkey Poland and Slovakia won top 3 places. In Men’s Teams Class 5 Turkey’s Hamza CALISKAN and Ali OZTURK overcame Alexandre DELARQUE and Nicolas SAVANT-AIRA in the match for gold. Norway and Germany also reached the medal rostrum at position no. three. In Men’s Teams Class 6 British duo Paul Arif KARABARDAK and David Paul WETHERILL succceded to the gold. They overcame Marios Kanellis CHATZIKYRIAKOS and Georgios MOUCHTHIS in the final. France and Germany are third. In Men’s Teams Class 7 Spain’s Jordi MORALES and Alvaro VALERA overcame Peter ROSENMEIER and Henrik Korndahl BRAMMER of Denmark in match for first place. Poland and Slovakia are third. In Men’s Teams Class 8 Ukraines Viktor DIDUKH and Ivan MAI beat Aaron MC KIBBIN and Ross William WILSON of Great Britain in the match for gold. Poland and Sweden are third. In Men’s Teams Class 9 Ukraine won another gold. Lev KATS and Maksym NIKOLENKO overcame Emil ANDERSSON and Daniel GUSTAFSSON of Sweden. Belgium and Hungary are third. In Men’s Teams Class 10 Polands Patryk CHOJNOWSKI and Igor MISZTAL overcame Mateo BOHEAS and Gilles DE LA BOURDONNAYE in the final. Montenegro and Great Britain suffered defeats in the semis. In Men’s Teams Class 11 France added another gold to the record. Lucas Edouard CREANGE and Antoine ZHAO overcame Florian HARTIG and Dirk HARTMANN in the ultimate stage. Previoussly they overcame Poland and Russia. In Women’s Teams Classes 1-3 Croatia won gold Turkey silver and Italy is third. In Women’s Teams Classes 4-5 the final order is Serbia first Sweden second and Great Britain third. In Women’s Teams Classes 6-8 final Germany’s Stephanie GREBE and Juliane WOLF overcame Poland’s Dajana JASTRZEBSKA and Katarzyna MARSZAL. Norway and Russia are third. In Women’s Teams Classes 9-10 Umran ERTIS and Merve DEMIR of Turkey beat Poland’s Natalia PARTYKA and Karolina PEK. Russia and Germany are third. In Women’s Teams Class 11 Russia is first followed by Poland and France.
Russian Cup: Double prize for Moscow
Both Men’s and Women’s teams of Moscow won domestic cup Both Men’s and Women’s teams of Moscow won Russian Cup concluded this Friday (Sept 20th) in the Olympic city of Sochi repeating their achievements from 2017. Men’steam beat in the final Moscow Region 3:0 while Women’s one overcame Republic of Tatarstan 3:1. Yulia PROKHOROVA and Yana NOSKOVA justified their status against Republic of Tatarstan side as they won their matches in straight games. PROKHOROVA beat both Dariya SHADRINA and Ekaterina OKHOTNIKOVA while Elena ABAIMOVA was extended to full distance by Anna RYAZANOVA reversing the score from 1:2 to 3:2. Current world no. 47 Kirill SKACHKOV and Russian rising star 18-year-old Lev KATSMAN won their encounters in straight games in the Men’s final whilst Alexey LIVENTSOV prevailed against Ramil MUTIGULIN after full five games. Women’s final Moscow – Republic of Tatarstan 3:1 Yana NOSKOVA – Ekaterina OKHOTNIKOVA 3:0 (11:7 13:11 11:8) Yulia PROKHOROVA – Dariya SHADRINA 3:0 (11:5 11:8 11:9) Anna RYAZANOVA – Elena ABAIMOVA 2:3 (7:11 13:11 13:11 4:11 6:11) Yulia PROKHOROVA – Ekaterina OKHOTNIKOVA 3:0 (11:5 11:2 11:8) Men’s final Moscow – Moscow Region 3:0 Kirill SKACHKOV – Andrey SEMENOV 3:0 (11:4 11:5 11:6) Lev KATSMAN – Alexey ZHUKOV 3:0 (11:9 11:8 11:8) Alexey LIVENTSOV – Ramil MUTIGULIN 3:2 (10:12 9:11 11:7 11:9 11:9)
