LIEBHERR 2019 European Championships in Nantes (September 3-8) – Men’s Team Preview The LIEBHERR 2019 European Championships in Nantes (Sep 3-8) will be opened tomorrow September 3rd by Round 1 games gathering for the very first time 24 teams in each of Men’s and Women’s events. Regarding Men’s Team competition Germany defends the title after victory against Portugal 3:0 two years ago in Luxembourg. It was Germany’s revenge for defeat in the gold medal contest in the 2014 European Championships in Portugal when host side won 3:1. All eight Round 1 matches are schedulled for the opening day: Portugal vs. Turkey (Group H 10:00) Slovakia vs. Spain (Group C 10:00) Belgium vs. Serbia (Group G 13:00) Romania vs. Hungary (Group B 13:00) Croatia vs. Netherlands (Group E 16:00) England vs. Luxembourg (Group F 16:00) Russia vs. Czech Republic (Group A 19:00) Denmark vs. Ukraine (Group D 19:00). Eight top seeds will play their first games on September 4th and they are: seven-time European champion Germany (no. 1 seed Group A) record holder with 14 titles Sweden (no. 2 Group B) host nation and three-time winner France (no. 3 Group C) 2015 European champion Austria (no. 4 Group D) 2017 bronze medallist Slovenia (no. 5 Group E) 2003 ECH gold medallist Belarus (no. 6 Group F) two-time runner-up and 3-time bronze medallist Poland (no. 7 Group G) and 2013 runner-up Greece (no. 8 Group H). Starting from 2018 the European Teams Championships has been playing over a period of two years and be concluded with the final stage with 24 men’s teams and 24 women’s teams in odd numbered years. The European Teams Championships has commenced in the preceding year with stages one and two which lasted 18 months. The winner of the previous European Championships and the host for the final stage of the Championships didn’t participate in Stage One instead they proceeded directly to the final stage of the Championships. A total of 24 Men’s teams make eight groups of three teams each in the final stage playing a complete round robin (2 matches per team). Teams finishing in 2nd and 3rd positions in the groups have completed their matches. Group winners proceed to the quarter-finals. From the quarter-finals the knockout system will be used. The winner will be the European Champion. Facebook Instagram Twitter Tickets Event’s web site TV Schedule
Timo BOLL: “We want to win the title”
LIEBHERR 2019 European Championships in Nantes (September 3-8) Reigning Men’s Team winner Germany is going to fight for its 8th gold at the LIEBHERR 2019 European Championships in Nantes (France Sept 3-8). Their most decorated player Timo BOLL enters the upcoming championships with six titles (2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2017) and his aim is to have same number of gold medals in both singles and team events when he leaves Nantes (he is 7-time individual European champion). Expectations and goal? „We are favorite and we are able to beat every team. We want to win the title.” Comments about Group opponents? “It is a dangerous group with Russia and Czech Republic. Especially Russia has got a strong team with SHIBAEV. But we want to win and so we have to beat Russia and the other teams.” Plan of preparations? “I had a short preparation so I am not at 100% but I played on a very good level in Czech Open.” Your best memories from Team European CH? “Luckily I had many.” How did you spend your holiday this summer? “It was the first time for many years that I had a long break of six weeks in summer. This was very good to refresh my body for a long season with Olympic Games at the end of it in 2020.” Facebook Instagram Twitter Tickets Event’s web site TV Schedule
KARLSSON: We want gold
LIEBHERR 2019 European Championships in Nantes Last time Sweden has clinched gold medal at the Men’s Teams European Championships in Zagreb 2002; it was their 14th title in men’s Teams Event in 61 years long history of Continental championships. For LIEBHERR 2019 European Championships in Nantes (France Sept 3-8) their aspirations are high again. “Our expectations as number two seeded team is of course the gold medal. We know that Europe is a very strong Continent now for table tennis but that will not change our goal ” said Kristian KARLSSON. In the Groups stage Sweden will play against Hungary and Romania. “Those are two difficult adversaries. As they both have good players we have to play at a high level to finish at the top of the group.” At the list of participants there are five names from Sweden. Beside KARLSSON at the list are: Mattias FALCK Jon PERSSON Anton KALLBERG and Truls MOREGARD. However they are not together now “We are having a training camp in Sweden which I cannot attend to due to my foot injury. I am getting very good treatment in Düsseldorf so we decided that I should stay here to have the best chances of playing next week in France. What are your best memories from Team European Championships? “My best moment is when we won bronze in Portugal a couple of years ago. We played very good and where underdogs for a medal.” Where did you spend your holiday this summer? “I was in Crete for one week holiday and in Riga for a Rammstein concert!” said KARLSSON. Facebook Instagram Twitter Tickets Event’s web site TV Schedule
ZEN-NOH announced Title Sponsor of 2019 ITTF Team World Cup in Tokyo
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) announceed that ZEN-NOH will be the Title Sponsor of the 2019 ITTF Team World Cup taking place between 6th – 10th November in Tokyo Japan. ZEN-NOH otherwise known as the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations is headquartered in Japan and one of the world’s largest agricultural cooperatives in terms of trading volume. At the 2019 ITTF Team World Cup ZEN-NOH has exclusivity to the Food & Beverage category. ZEN-NOH has already built a strong track record in the sport of table tennis including having been Title Sponsor of the 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo. Now as Title Sponsor of the 2019 ITTF Team World Cup ZEN-NOH will be partnering one of the most prestigious international table tennis events held every two years in which the best 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams in the world will lock horns in search of some of the sport’s most highly coveted silverware. Japan hosted the very first ITTF Team World Cup event in 1990 in the city of Chiba. Twenty-nine years later the tournament returns to Japanese shores at a crucial moment in the nation’s sporting history. Indeed the 2019 ITTF Team World Cup serves as a test event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. “We are delighted that ZEN-NOH returns as Title Sponsor of a major ITTF event in Japan. We look forward to working with the Japan Table Tennis Association (JTTA) and ZEN-NOH to present an exciting and memorable Team World Cup paving the way to more extensive cooperation in the future at further ITTF events globally.” – Kimberly Koh – ITTF Head of Sponsorship. “We at ZEN-NOH have had a great opportunity in the past to support ITTF events and through that experience we are proud to be Title Sponsor of the 2019 Team World Cup. We look forward to welcoming people from around the world with our Japanese food!” – Jinde Genichi then ZEN-NOH President & CEO Board of Directors. “As you all may know since the beginning of this year both male and female Japanese players have been making great progress around the world. Table Tennis is a hugely popular sport throughout Japan and I look forward to seeing our players putting in proud performances and our fans providing strong support for the success of this event.” – Sadayoshi Fujishige JTTA President.
GACINA is back on tracks and ready for challenge
LIEBHERR 2019 European Championships Nantes France Sept 3-8 The final preparations before the start of the LIEBHERR 2019 European Championships in Nantes team of Croatia is conducting in Zagreb. The bronze medalists from Portugal in 2014 had shorter preparations than it was planned. “Unfortunately we had a little set back ” explained Andrej GACINA.”Tomislav PUCAR Frane KOJIC and I got sick at the Bulgaria Open. We had to make a break. Everything is all right now even before we finished with antibiotics therapy we were back in the training hall.” That is why GACINA is cautious about his shape but still optimistic. “I played only three matches in August so I cannot say much about the shape but I think that I am in good form and I am ready to give my best at the upcoming European Championships.” Croatia is the second seeded team in Group E with Slovenia on the top and Netherlands at position no. three. “It is really hard to talk about favorites. The essence of quality teams will be in Nantes. Everyone can win. The only team that stands out high above the rest is Germany and there is at least 7 or 8 others who can reach the medal rostrum. We can only promise we will give our best.” Remembering the best moments at the European Championships Andrej explained why Portugal was so special. “We celebrated the bronze with special dinner. We were together with the people from the federation my family was there as well as my girlfriend at that time Ana ” said GACINA whilst he was cuddling with his 1 7 years old son Adrian in his home in Zagreb. Andrej Ana and Adrian spent their holidays in family home in Primosten at the Adriatic coast. Facebook Instagram Twitter Tickets Event’s web site TV Schedule
Poland is aiming medal again
LIEBHERR 2019 European Championships Nantes (FRA) 3- 8 Sep 2019 In Women’s Singles Event at the 2018 LIEBHERR European Championships Poland won two medals; LI Qian clinched gold whilst Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA-FRANC won bronze. Year earlier LI GRZYBOWSKA-FRANC and Natalia PARTYKA lost to Germany in the quarterfinal of the Team’s Championships. Reigning European champion LI Qian will come to Nantes to the LIEBHERR European Team’s Championships after short break. “I am not sure about my current shape. I was not playing much in recent time. I had a short break ” said LI. Where did you spend your holiday’s. “I was at home. I needed some time off some break from matches” explained LI. LI Qian also said that last days before the start of the competition she will spend with team. “Now it is all about training and regeneration.” Poland is in the group with Sweden and Turkey. They are seeded at position no. two in the group below Sweden. “Sweden’s team is the favorite but we are coming to Nantes to win the medal. Our aim is very high. Nevertheless we are aware that everyone can beat everyone there.” Surprisingly LI’s best memories from European Championships is not related to sport… “I remember Stuttgart during competition we visited ZOO there it was nice change.” Her teammate Natalia PARTYKA played last week at the 2019 ITTF World Tour Czech Open and recorded two wins in preliminary rounds. “ I was pretty good after Czech Open I hope results will be only better ” said PARTYKA. Like LI Natalia expects fierce battle in Nantes and highlighted the fact that the teams are very even. “The remain days I will spend in Budapest on training and I will play two League matches.” Natalia had a break in the USA. “I had Road trip on West Coast ” explained PATYKA who admitted that the best European Championships moment for her was the winning of the bronze medal in Portugal. Facebook Instagram Twitter Tickets Event’s web site TV Schedule
ETTU invites 49 players in Otocec
ETTU Eurotalents Selection Camp 2019 Slovenia’s Otocec will host ETTU Eurotalents Selection Camp from October 6th to 13th. ETTU Eurotalents (TI&S) invites 49 players selected from ETTU Hopes Selection Camp Pre-Selection Camp 2019 and Eurominichamp’s 2019 tournament At the list are: Uri ALMOR (ISR) Romi TILKIN (ISR) Natanel ABRAMOV (ISR) Elinor DAVIDOV (ISR) Kendra MOLNAR (HUN) Balazs LEI (HUN) Julian RZIHAUSCHEK (AUT) Edgar MORO (LUX) Enisa SADIKOVIC (LUX) Povilas MIKALAUSKAS (LUX) Maria SANTA COMBA (POR) Tiago ABIODUM (POR) Tiago OLHEIRO (POR) Julia LEAL (POR) Uros NINKOVIC (SRB) Adil AHMADZADA (AZE) Eylazov HUSEYN (AZE) Arzu ASLANOVA (AZE) Aylin ASGAROVA (AZE) Rares CUESDEAN (ROU) Adam MARTON (ROU) 22 Alesia SFERLEA (ROU) Cristina SINGEORZAN (ROU) Nikon SHUTOV (BLR) Maria BERZOSA (ESP) Jan SKALDA (CZE) Jedlicka KAREL (CZE) David SOCHOR (CZE) Jindrich MORAVEK (CZE) Lorenzo Simon DAVIDE (ITA) Sofia MINURRI (ITA) Konstantinos MILIKOUDIS (GRE) Konstantinos GKAINTATZ (GRE) Lemonia GAINTANTZI (GRE) Ioannis GAKIDIS (GRE) Anastasiia IVANOVA (RUS) Aleksei SAMOKHIN (RUS) Roman VINOGRADOV (RUS Anna PYATERIKOVA (RUS) Peter ALESTEDT (SWE) William BERGENBLOCK (SWE) Chandra Barath MADHU (SWE) Ivan KAHN (NED) Brent RONDE (NED) Gaetane BLED (FRA) Luca TRASCU (FRA) Nathan PILARD (FRA) Jakub PIWOWAR (ENG) Faustyna STEFANSKA (GER) Entries must be sent before September 25th to Slovenian Table Tennis Association (Celovska cesta 25 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia) e-mail address: info@ntzs.si. COACHES: ⦁ Jože URH (ITA) – Head Coach ⦁ Andreja OJSTERŠEK (SVN) – Assistant Coach ⦁ David PILARD (FRA) – Assistant Coach ⦁ Istvan KORPA (ETTU) – Head Coach Evaluation ⦁ Neven CEGNAR (ETTU) – Development Manager “It is extremely important that invited players attend the camp with their national team and/or personal coaches as this is the best opportunity to discuss future programmes for the players and establish regular communication among coaches and adequate ETTU bodies. The ETTU is also keen to increase the number of female coaches in Europe and therefore encourage the participation of female coaches. This is a great training opportunity for both male and female coaches to learn and grow together with the young players ” said ETTU Development Manager Neven CEGNAR.
Germany’s team fully prepared for the challenge
LIEBHERR 2019 European Championships Title holders members of Men’s team of Germany showed impressive shape in the eve of the LIEBHERR 2019 European Championships. A week before the start of the Continental gathering Europe’s player no. three Dimitrij OVTCHAROV beat China’s XUE Fei legendary Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus fellow compatriot Patrick FRANZISKA and Brazil’s Hugo CALDERANO to reach the final of the 2019 ITTF World Tour Czech Open in Olomouc. Eventually Chinese Taipei teenager LIN Yun-Ju halted his progress at the last hurdle. “ I am feeling really good at the moment. Of course I wanted to win the Czech Open but I am still happy with my performances and that I have reached the final. LIN Yun-Ju played an incredible tournament and deserved to win it. Because of my personal result in Czech Republic and the great shape of Timo BOLL and Patrick FRANZISKA I am confident for the European Championships” said OVTCHAROV. In the semifinal Timo currently ranked at the position no. two in Europe also suffered by the hands of LIN whilst FRANZISKA Continental’s no 5 lost to OVTCHAROV in the quarterfinal. “I think it would not be us if I would say that we are not the favorite team and do not want to win the gold medal. Our team is really strong. At the European Games we won the Mixed Doubles Men’s and Women’s team competitions. Timo also won the Men’s Singles and HAN Ying the silver medal at Women’s Singles. It will not be easy at all because every team wants to beat the titleholder. But we want to become the Champions again.” In the Group phase Germany will meet Russia and Czech Republic. “Russia and Czech Republic have some good players but in the end our goal is to win the group stage. Of course we will take every adversary and match seriously. These tournaments have their own rules and there always can happen some surprises. Same applies for our woman’s team.” What is the plan for last days of preparations? “After a long tournament at the Czech Open we will have one day off to recover. But then we will have some training sessions together and focus on our opponents.” What is your best memories from Team European Championships? “Definitely my first title with Germany! In 2007 I have been participating for the first time for the national team at Championships and we went straight to the title! That was unbelievable for me and a huge achievement in my career back at that time.” Where did you spend your holiday this summer? “My vacation have been really short this summer because I was training a lot to get in good shape again. But I had a few days off with my family and some friends on Ibiza at the beginning of August. We had a great time and I get some new energy ” concluded OVTCHAROV.
Busy end of the summer in Luxembourg
Eurotalents Development Camp III U-13 The third Eurotalents Development Camp U-13 is underway in Luxembourg. Until September 1st Asian experts CHEN Zhiming CHEN Chen LI Peng and MOK Ka Sha in cooperation with coaches XIA Cheng and Martin OSTERMANN works with 14 players from eight countries. The players from Eurotalents project has 18 top sparing partners; ten from Hong Kong; five from China; three from Luxembourg. “We have fantastic conditions for work. In last two days we will have tournament to test the players ” said ETTU Development Manager Neven CEGNAR. The organisers are CTTC-E and Luxembourg Table Tennis Federation in cooperation with ETTU Eurotalents Programme and China Table Tennis College Chinese Table Tennis Association supported by ITTF and Tibhar. Players in Luxembourg: Ignas SISANOVAS (LTU) Tom CLOSSET (BEL) Dursun UGURCAN (TUR) David BJORKRYD (SWE) Isak ALFREDSSON (SWE) Mia GRIESEL (GER) Jele STORTZ (GER) Giuseppe CALARCO (ITA) Giacomo ALEGRANZA (ITA) Gabrielius CAMARA (NED) Enisa SADIKOVIC (LUX) Povilas MIKALAUSKAS (LUX) Luca ELSEN (LUX) Edgar MORO (LUX)
Zhengzhou China to host 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) annonced that the 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals will be staged in China with this year’s showpiece event taking place in the city of Zhengzhou between Thursday 12th – Sunday 15th December 2019. Zhengzhou stood out from all of the candidate cities to win the hosting rights of the 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals. As one of the major metropolises of the central plain area in China Zhengzhou boasts a rich history large population and convenient transportation. Hosting world-class international events will present Zhengzhou to the rest of the world and at the same time bring the world to Zhengzhou. The ITTF World Tour Grand Finals will yet again provide the most spectacular stage to bring the curtain down on an unforgettable 12 months of action passion and drama as the world’s greatest table tennis stars battle it out for the much-coveted end-of-year titles and $1 million USD total prize purse – the highest on offer in the sport. The event will feature many of the biggest names in table tennis who accumulated the highest number of points over the course of the year’s ITTF World Tour among those eligible: 16 players in each of the men’s and women’s singles competitions and 8 pairs in each of the men’s women’s and mixed doubles categories. An extra special ingredient of the 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals is that the best 4 mixed doubles pairs in Zhengzhou will seal direct qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Never before have the stakes been raised so high! That’s not all! The glitz and glamour surrounding the event will be heightened by the annual ITTF Star Awards – set for its debut in China – when the world of table tennis will unite to celebrate several of the greatest achievements in the sport over the past year. The red carpet will be unfurled in Zhengzhou for table tennis’ finest to be presented awards in the Female & Male Star Female & Male Para Star Breakthrough Star Star Coach and Star Point categories. It’s sure to be a night to remember. “We are delighted to be staging the 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in China. Today’s announcement is the fruit of a flourishing partnership between the ITTF and CTTA with both parties fully committed to taking the sport of table tennis to unprecedented heights.” – Steve Dainton ITTF CEO. “I would like to thank President Liu Guoliang for his continued efforts and contributions to international table tennis. We are confident that the 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in China will be the best yet in the history of our sport.” – Thomas Weikert ITTF President Stay up to date on all the latest news from the world of table tennis on ITTF.com.
