European Games 2019 Minsk   Sweden is in the final of the Men’s Team’s Event at the European Games 2019 in Minsk. They halted the progress of fantastic Danish team and they will meet Germany on their way to the top spot at the medal rostrum.   Jon PERSSON and Kristian KARLSSON overcame Anders LIND and Tobias RASMUSSEN in the opening doubles match (11-5 12-10 11-6) to give Sweden the lead.   “We moved very good. We were very aggressive. In second game they had 10-8 lead but we were better in the finish ” explained PERSSON.   Jonathan GROTH beat Mattias FALCK (11-9 11-6 10-12 11-7) to put Denmark back on tracks. He played like he is in fire which he did every time in past eight days.   “I felt I could beat him in the opening game I had a good chance but he was very aggressive and very confident. He is playing unbelievable table tennis here ” said FALCK   KARLSSON overcame RASMUSSEN (11-6 11-8 11-7) in great style.   “I am very happy with the outcome of the game also with the level of my performance. I was also in good shape yesterday but PUCAR had remarkable recovery. Today everything was right ” said KARLSSON.   FALCK concluded the match by beating LIND (11-5 8-11 11-5 11-5).   “LIND has very difficult spins and I prepared well for him. He is not easy player to beat. I was aggressive from the beginning ” explained FALCK.

European Games 2019 Minsk   In the semi final of the Men’s Teams Event at the European Games 2019 in Minsk Germany overcame Portugal in three matches.   In the opening doubles Timo BOLL and Patrick FRANZISKA overcame Joao MONTEIRO and Tiago APOLONIA in straight games despite very good performance of Portugal’s pairings (12-10 11-7 16-14). In next match Dimitrij OVTCHAROV overcame Marcos FREITAS in straight games (11-8 11-2 11-6).   “This is all about team work and as a team we proved as a stronger one. I am also happy with my performance. I know Marcos very well and in my case sometimes is not very good option. I played my best table tennis since we arrived and I hope I will keep this level tomorrow in the final ” said OVTCHAROV.   Patrick FRANZISKA overcame Tiago APOLONIA after he was two games to null in reverse (7-11 7-11 11-8 11-5 11-6).   “We stared with the excellent performance of Timo and Patrick in doubles; OVCHAROV was perfect against Marcos the player withy whom he is playing in the same club. Only in the opening game he was 2-4 down and from then he always had advantage. I am also happy with Patrick’s performance. It is very important for the team that he could recover from such hard moments and that he is ready to fight until the last point. I can resent nothing about his game because at the opening APOLONIA played at his best. His level of game was unbelievable. Patrick managed to adjust and the level of his game before the end of second set was very high. After that I just advised him to slightly adjust his tactics and to keep on fighting ” explained coach Jorg ROSSKOPF.   There was no need for BOLL to play his singles match.   “It is good that I had only to watch singles games but it is more important that Patrick got into the right rhythm. We need everybody ready for tomorrow’s final ” said BOLL.  

Women’s Teams Event European Games Minsk   In the final of the Women’s Teams Event at the European Games in Minsk Germany will play against Romania. It will be the re-run of the 2017 European Team’s Championships.   The semi final duel between second and third seed in the Women’s Event went in favor of higher ranked Romania. European champions prevailed after full five matches thriller against Hungary.   In the opening doubles match Szandra PERGEL and Dora MADARASZ overcame Daniela DODEAN MONTEIRO and Elizabeta SAMARA (11-9 6-11 11-6 9-11 12-10).   “In the doubles we had a chances but the unfortunately we faced same faith as at the Portugal Open. We lost the decisive game by narrow margin ” said SAMARA.   In the singles Bernadette SZOCS beat Georgina POTA (11-9 11-7 11-9) to level the match.   “I was well prepared for all players but I hoped it will be POTA first. Mentally it was easier for me ” said SZOCS.   SAMARA suffered by the hands of MADARASZ (11-7 6-11 11-9 7-11 8-11). Dora managed to recover from being 2-1 down.   “I should not lose that one but it happened. I was just not good enough today and she was better. The good thing is that we have very strong team and if one of us make mistake we have great support and enough quality from the others. Dana was a real hero today ” said SAMARA.   Bernadette SZOCZ justified her status and overcame Szandra PERGEL (7-11 12-10 11-9 11-4) before Daniela DODEAN MONTEIRO overcame Georgina POTA (11-6 7-11 12-14 11-6 12-10).   “I played only two doubles at the whole tournament before that singles. It was very stressful. Good news is I am still very fast. I managed to answer on her heavy spins. She is very fast and dangerous it was very difficult to keep the ball in the game. I had to play on the middle at sometimes it worked and sometimes did not. The key was to take the risk to be aggressive after service ” said DODEAN.

European Games 2019 Minsk   First team to book the place in the final of the Women’s Teams Event at the European Games 2019 in Minsk this morning was Germany. Against the odds they overcame Poland 3-2 and continued toward their goal – gold and the place for the Olympic Games 2020 in Japan. HAN Ying won her both matches but the brave effort of Nina MITTELHAM in the decisive match pushed the team to the ultimate stage.   Germany was the favorite for the gold until yesterday when the team was shattered by the injury of no. one player Petrissa SOLJA. She got injured in the quarterfinal match against Britt EERLAND. In absence of SOLJA SHAN got her chance. Today was her first appearance at the tournament.   Natalia BAJOR and Natalia PARTYKA overcame SHAN Xiaona and Nina MITTELHAM in the opening doubles match in straight games (8-11 2-11 12-14).   The expedite rule was introduced already from the finish of the first game between HAN Ying and LI Qian at 8-7 and immediately it was HAN who took the better of it (11-9 11-7 11-3) to level the match.   On her second return to the table today PARTYKA overcame SHAN with only two opening games being close (8-11 8-11 11-5 4-11). HAN won another point for Germany against BAJOR (11-2 11-6 11-8).   Young Nina MITTELHAM (22- years old) faced European champion LI QIAN (11-4 5-11 8-11 11-8 9-11) and she showed her brave face.   “In the doubles I do not have much often chance to play with SHAN so it was very difficult for us. It was also her first match here and it did not end up well for us. Luckily HAN played two amazing matches. She won it quite easy and it opened the chance for us. I am happy I seized the opportunity that had been given to me ” said Nina.   In the decisive game of the decisive match she was 6-9 down but she recovered to win.   “I did not think she is the European champion. What really was on my mind is the thought that I can play well against the player with the defensive style of play. I was shaking before the match but as it started I felt well; I felt the ball and my confidence rose. I believed I could win. In fifth game she was up and I thought I am tired but I realized she is tired too. I kept on attacking and I was thinking only about the next ball ” explained Nina.   HAN praised the effort of her young teammate.   “I am so happy for Nina. This was amazing game for her. She deserved this win ” said HAN.

European Games Minsk 2019   In the semi final of the Men’s Teams Event at the European Games 2019 in Minsk top seeds Germany will meet Portugal whilst Denmark will play against Sweden.   Timo BOLL joined Patrick FRANZISKA in doubles to open the quarterfinal match against Romania. They prevailed in straight games against Hunor SZOCS and Cristian PLETEA. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV overcame Ovidiu IONESCU.   “He played very good here. I saw him beating SAMSONOV this morning. On the other side I was not very confident in the opening game. I was down 4-9 but I kept on trying and the play get better and better ” said OVTCHAROV.   Patrick FRANZISKA beat Cristian PLETEA to add another point to Germany’s record.   “Timo and I had not played together for a month so we started the doubles match with caution. We were focused from the start so we did not face any difficulties. We moved fine and I really felt good playing in doubles. PLETEA put me under pressure in singles match. We are together at the trainings often and he will be in the same club with me next season; he knew me well. He is very talented young player and he played without stress here ” said FRANZISKA.   Denmark exceeded their rankings once again. This time it was Austria who suffered 3-1. European champions in Doubles from 2012 Daniel HABESOHN and Robert GARDOS won the opening duel against Tobias RASMUSSEN and Anders LIND but after that it was Jonathan GROTH who took the control. He beat Stefan FEGERL in straight games and overcame Daniel HABESOHN in fourth match. GROTH’s achievement can not been denied but young Anders LIND in the match against Robert GARDOS caught most of the attention. They went full distance.   “Almost every game I was in reverse but I managed to win. I kept playing the game he expected. I played on his backhand and I was going nowhere with that tactics. Then I changed it changed the service and played to the middle; I forced him to move more. I saved myself from being 4-9 in reverse in decisive game to win the match 13-11 ” explained LIND.   Croatia had a better start against Sweden with Andrej GACINA and Frane KOJIC beating Kristian KARLSSON and Jon PERSSON in doubles. Mattias FALCK overcame Tomislav PUCAR to level the match whilst Jon PERSSON gave Sweden the lead in the match against KOJIC. PUCAR forced to the decider with win over KARLSSON. In the decisive match Mattias FALCK sealed the victory with win over Andrej GACINA.   After exciting battle Portugal overcame Great Britain 3-1. Joao MONTEIRO partnering Tiago APOLONIA overcame Paul DRINKHALL and Liam PITCHFORD in doubles 3-1. By same margin Marcos FREITAS beat Sam WALKER. Tiago APLONIA failed to finalize the match after he lost against PITCHFORD full distance thriller. In the last match MONTEIRO overcame WALKER.    

Women’s Teams Event quarterfinal at the European Games 2019 in Minsk   Romania had a special supporter at the stands; Legendary Nadia COMANECI visited Tennis Olympic Center in Minsk and watch Romania’s match against Sweden 3:1. Daniela DODEAN and Elizabeta SAMARA commenced good and won the opening match against Filippa BERGRAND and Matilda EKHOLM. Bernadette SZOCS showed no mercy against Linda BERGSTROM but SAMARA suffered by the hands of Matida EKHOLM.   “Our tactics was to win the opening doubles match and count on Bernadette in both singles. My match against Matilda was very open. It is difficult for me to play against lefthanders and especially difficult to play against Matilda. However when we won the double we were not under pressure. We were sure Bernie will be successful ” said Elizabeta SAMARA.” I am very proud that Nadia COMANECI came to see us. It is great honor.”   Hungary overcame Ukraine in straight matches. Szandra PERGEL and Dora MADARASZ beat Tetyana BILENKO and Hanna GAPONOVA in doubles whilst Georgina POTA and MADARASZ prevailed against Margaryta PESOTSKA and GAPONOVA in singles.   “It is my first match here and I was nervous. Victory in doubles helped me boost my confidence. In addition when I entered the arena to play singles it was much easier because it was 2-0 already. It is hard to play against GAPONOVA. I lost against her at the World Championships but it was valuable lesson. I did not rush this time. I put more power to my first spin. She managed to adapt but it was too late ” saide MADARASZ.   Poland overcame Austria 3-1. Natalia BAJOR and Natalia PARTYKA overcame LIU Jia and Amelie SOLJA in doubles. LI Qian beat Sofia POLCANOVA who also suffered by the hands of BAJOR. LIU Jia was the only to score in the match against PARTYKA.   Germany overcame Netherlands 3-1. Britt EERLAND overcame Petrissa SOLJA to gain the only point for Dutch team. Nina MITTLEHAM and SOLJA overcame Kim VERMAAS and EERLAND in the doubles whilst HAN Ying was at the top of the game against LI Jie and VERMAAS.   “I feel much better then in Singles Event. I am happy with my performance but we all worry about the condition of Petrissa’s injury. She has problem with her elbow ” said HAN.

Men’s Teams Event European Games 2019 Minsk     Seeded at the last position Denmark upset the packing order beat Slovenia and booked the place in the quarterfinal of the Men’s Team’s Event at the European Games 2019 in Minsk. Romania Portugal and Croatia joined them.   Tobias RASMUSSEN and Anders LIND lost their doubles match against Darko JORGIC and Deni KOZUL but Jonathan GROTH leveled the match by beating Bojan TOKIC. LIND prevailed against JORGIC whilst TOKIC overcame RASMUSSEN. In decisive match GROTH accounted for KOZUL.   “It is great that we win here and reached quarterfinal. No one expected that. Our team is very young and we faced much better ranked Slovenia ” said GROTH.   Portugal overcame France 3:1 with Marcos FREITAS being backbone of team’s success. He overcame Simon GAUZY and Can AKUZZU. Tiago APOLONIA and Joao MONTEIRO beat CAN and LEBESSON I the doubles at the start of the match.   “We were two games down against them but we recovered. It was important that we gave good start for singles. Generally Portugal was much stronger today as a team ” said APOLONIA.   Marcos also praised Tiago’s and Joao’s effort.   “It makes great difference when you start after the lead ” said FRAITAS. “Speaking of duel against GAZY I think I had a better focus today. Both players know me very well it was very difficult to0 play against them.”   Romania also created upset by beating host nations favorites. Ovidiu IONESCU won both his encounters against Vladimir SAMSONOV and Aliaksandr KHANIN. Cristian PLETEA and Hunor SZOCS opened the match with the victory over Aliaksandr KHANIN and Pavel PLATONOV.   Croatia prevailed against Belgium 3-1. Tomislav PUCAR lost against Cedric NUYTINCK and beat Robin DEVOS. Andrej GACINA prevailed against Florent LAMBIET. KOJIC and GACINA beat DEVOS and LAMBIET in doubles.  

Women’s Teams Event European Games 2019 Minsk   The day 6 of the competition in the Tennis Olympic center at he European Games 2019 in Minsk started with the Round one in the Women’s Teams Event. Top 4 seeds had morning off whilst eight teams fought for the four remaining places in the quarterfinals.   Host nation had a very tough draw. They faced Netherlands. Daria TRIGOLOS and Nadezhda BOGDANOVA lead by Viktoria PAVLOVICH failed to halt the progress of LI Jie Kim VERMAAS and Britt EERLAND   “It was hard to play in front of Belarus crowd. They were very enthusiastic. All three matches were close started with the doubles. I played with Britt EERLAND and it was tough start. Viktoria also had a chance against LI Jie but in finish we were better ” said Kim VERMAAS.   Ukraine’s Margaryta PESOTSKA Tetyana BILENKO and Hanna GAPONOVA prevailed against Luxembourg’s NI Xia Lian Danielle KONSBRUCK and Sarah DE NUTTE 3-1. Only NI overcame GAPONOVA. Spain also prevailed in for matches. Pairings Sofia ZHANG XUAN and Galia DVORAK overcame Filippa BERGAND and Matilda EKHOLM but after that Sweden took control. Linda BERGSTROM overcame Maria XIAO YAO. EKHOLM overcame DVORAK and BERGAND prevailed against XIAO.   “I waited few days here to play practicing with girls only. However when I started it was less difficult then I thought it would be. I was not under pressure ” said BERGAND.   Poland prevailed against Russia in straight matches. Natalia BAYOR Natalia PARTYKA and LI Qian played against Olga VOROBEVA Yana NOSKOVA and Polina MIKHAILOVA.   “It was much harder than the score predicts. In the last match NOSKOVA had two match balls against me. She was so fast. I had to change my style to adopt my game. I had to slow her down. I changed my service put first spin to the middle in order to make game less quick ” said Natalia PARTYKA.

European Games 2019 Minsk     Tomislav PUCAR overcame KOU Lei of Ukraine (11-2 9-11 11-9 11-7 11-2) in the match for the third position.    “Both of us were very tired. That is why the key points were on service and return game. In that department I was much better. We could not rely on longer rallies. I am so happy I will play at my first Olympic. I was at Youth Olympic games but this is ultimate dream in our sport ” said PUCAR.   In the penultimate stage Timo BOLL overcame Tomislav PUCAR in five games (11-4 11-9 11-5 10-12 11-4) whilst Jonathan GROTH needed one game less to overcame KOU Lei (13-11 11-5 11-5 12-10).   GROTH praised BOLL’s performance in the final.   “He proved once again that he could change his style in the middle of the game and win. He is true champion. I started better won opening game and 9-4 in second. Then Timo changed his service game. I could not find the answer for his service any more ” said GROTH.       Seven times European singles champion Timo BOLL of Germany will travel to Japan at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 as a crowned champion in Men’s Singles Event at the European Games 2019 in Minsk. He beat Dane Jonathan GROTH in the final of the European Games today (6-11 12-10 12-14 11-9 11-6 11-4). At the medal rostrum Tomislav PUCAR joined them with the bronze.   After individual events singles and mixed doubles four Germany’s players booked their place in Japan: Timo BOLL HAN Ying Patrick FRANCISKA and Petrissa SOLJA. It equals all other European countries combined. Portugal has YU Fu Luxembourg NI Xia Lian and Jonathan GROTH and Tomislav PUCAR will represent their respective countries Denmark and Croatia in Japan.   In the final it was GROTH who had a better start today. True to his character Timo BOLL remained resolute and responded immediately to level matters.   “Physically I was not 100 percent fit but mentally and tactically everything was perfect. It was strange game because I had to change my style; I had to play very passive very slow. It is good school for the future I might change something in my game and add some new weapons. However today it worked and it was also important that I can try something different that will work my way” said BOLL. “GROTH has the game to beat me he already did it in the semi final of the Champions League and do not forget he beat OVTCHAROV in the Round of 16 so he is very good shape here.”   Germany is aiming the tickets for the Team’s Event as well. The second part of the tournament commences tomorrow.   “I had a cramp this morning so I was a little bit worried. We have a good medical team here and I hope I will manage until the end. It is very hard tournament.”