French player upset no. 2 seed MATSUDAIRA to reach semi-finals The no. 10 seed Frenchman Andrea LANDRIEU caused the biggest upset in the quarter-finals of the Seamaster 2019 ITTF Challenge Series Thailand Open in Bangkok as he eliminated no. 2 seed Japan’s Kenta Matsudaira in straight games. He will play against no. 3 seed Ruwen FILUS of Germany who prevailed against Chinese Taipei’s YEH Chih-Wei after four sets. Korea’s SEO Hyundeok and Japan’s Yuta TANAKA are other two semi-finalists. Tomorrow Sunday 26th Ruwen FILUS will fight for the gold medal in the Men’s Doubles final playing alongside his compatriot Steffen MENGEL. They beat host pair Padasak TANVIRIYAVECHAKUL / Supanut WISUTMAYTHANGKOON 3:1 in the semi-final duel to secure final clash against Chinese Taipei’s FENG Yi-Hsin and WANG Tai-Wei. Women’s semi-finals will see two all-Japan clashes: Hitomi SATO vs. Honoka HASHIMOTO and Saki SHIBAT vs. Sakura MORI.
Portugal and Qatar to host #Rise2Tokyo World Olympic Qualification events!
With little over 14 months until Tokyo 2020 the world’s biggest ever sporting event countries have been submitting their proposals to stage two World Olympic Qualification events branded #Rise2Tokyo and today the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is pleased to confirm Portugal and Qatar as hosts. The World Team Qualification Event will be held in Gondomar Portugal between 22 – 26 January 2020. The World Singles Qualification Event will take place in Doha Qatar between 26 – 29 May 2020. The two countries’ successful bids are set to bring tens of thousands of fans through the gates to watch the world’s top athletes battle it out to qualify for Tokyo 2020 with many more benefits for the host cities outlined below. Why Portugal and Qatar? “Portugal’s standing in international table tennis has grown significantly with the development of several eye-catching talents in recent years and the Portuguese Table Tennis Association put forward a highly competitive bid to stage the 2022 World Table Tennis Championships with Chengdu China ultimately winning out as host city for that event. However hosting the #Rise2Tokyo World Team Qualification Event represents an opportunity for the country to place itself higher on the international events map and could provide them with the experience to ensure they stage more table tennis events of even greater stature in the future. “Qatar is one of the most established host countries of major international table tennis events with the ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open consistently on the ITTF World Tour map. We are therefore highly confident that the World Singles Qualification Event in Doha will be another resounding success ” explained Vicky Eleftheriade ITTF Competition Director. World Team Qualification Event – How it works? The World Team Qualification Event will see nine national teams qualify directly for the Tokyo 2020 Teams competition accounting for over half of the total 16 available spots. While the host country Japan will qualify directly the remaining six spots will be decided via Continental Team qualification and ultimately occupied by one team (three athletes) per National Olympic Committee. Once an NOC qualifies for the Tokyo 2020 Team Event they will be able to nominate the three athletes competing in the Team Event and among them which two will compete in the Singles Event. Given that nine countries qualify from the World Team Qualification Event this equates to 18 individual athletes booking their place for the Tokyo 2020 Singles competition. What about the World Singles Qualification Event? The World Singles Qualification Event will contribute between two and eight athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Singles competition which in turn will feature a total of 64-70 athletes the remainder of which will qualify through a variety of avenues explained in detail here. Big benefits for host cities! By hosting the Olympic Qualification events ahead of Tokyo 2020 cities are not merely attracting fans physically to the venues and benefitting from the added potential of tourism but also showcasing their landmarks on the world stage reaching huge worldwide TV and social media audiences while creating an iconic legacy event for the city as a whole. In terms of exposure cities will benefit from prime TV broadcasts around the world and the chance to connect with 3 million ITTF social media fans across the globe.
2020 ITTF Challenge Series: dates and locations revealed!
Fourteen events in fourteen cities across the world: an exciting schedule is in store for the 2020 ITTF Challenge Series. One of table tennis’ fastest-growing competitions the ITTF Challenge Series – which has already thrown up plenty of drama and had a positive impact on the game so far in 2019 – is set to get even better next year. The 2020 schedule will see an even split of seven Challenge Plus and seven Challenge events following this year’s successful implementation of the two-tier system. The Challenge Plus Series offers players higher world ranking points increased prize money and most importantly greater exposure to elite table tennis competition enabling them to raise their game and reach the next level in their careers. Furthermore the more flexible requirements of the ITTF Challenge Series allow a higher number of cities to get on board and stage an international table tennis event as is evident from the 2020 Challenge Series schedule below: Challenge Plus:12-16 Feb 2020 (Dates to be confirmed) ITTF Challenge Plus Portugal Open Lisbon11-15 Mar 2020 ITTF Challenge Plus Oman Open Muscat3-7 Jun 2020 ITTF Challenge Plus Belarus Open Minsk18-22 Aug 2020 ITTF Challenge Plus Nigeria Open Lagos9-13 Sep 2020 ITTF Challenge Plus Pyongyang Open Pyongyang27-31 Oct 2020 ITTF Challenge Plus Belgium Open De Haan1-5 Dec 2020 ITTF Challenge Plus Canada Open Vancouver Challenge:12-16 Feb 2020 (Dates to be confirmed) ITTF Challenge Spanish Open Guadalajara11-15 Mar 2020 ITTF Challenge Polish Open Gliwice1-5 Apr 2020 ITTF Challenge Italy Open Riccione22-26 Apr 2020 ITTF Challenge Slovenia Open Otocec28 Apr – 2 May 2020 ITTF Challenge Croatia Open Zagreb29 Apr – 3 May 2020 ITTF Challenge Thailand Open Bangkok9-13 Jun 2020 ITTF Challenge Mexico Open Cancun “Following a successful start the Challenge Plus competition will grow to seven events next year while we are also delighted to welcome Italy to the Challenge Series circuit for the very first time. Everything is set up for another series of exciting and unforgettable events ” said Zena Sim Head of World Cups & ITTF Challenge. Followers are reminded that they can enjoy this year’s ITTF Challenge Series live on the ITTF’s official Twitter account @ittfworld.
5.000-years patience to meet with table tennis
The Mount Nemrut National Park which is located in Adıyaman & Malatya cities and which is among the UNESCO World Heritage List has witnessed an historic table tennis activity in Turkey. The match is played in front of the presence of King-God I. Antiochos and Mythologic Persian & Hellenic God sculptures and this game has took attention of numerous tourists at the same time. The Holy God&Goddess sculptures seen as the bridge set between Western and Eastern civiliziations has finally met the olympic sport table tennis after five thousands years! This activity has also been recorded as “Table tennis activity ever played in the highest place” played by Malatya Credit&Dormitories Institution women table tennis team & city’s U-15 teams in the Mount Nemrut which has 2.150 m altitude. The activity which was held in front of the monument statue of Antiochus I of King of Commagene which reigned in 3 thousand BC also made history in the oldest historical area. The mastermind of the activity Mr. Orhan Altay said “We’re really happy and proud to have such a different original and unique event here in Turkey. We love table tennis we try our best to promote it and we can proudly say that this activity is just the beginning for our future ideas.”
Medals of 2nd European Games Presented in Mir
The prize and commemorative medals of the 2nd European Games were presented in Mir Castle exactly a month before the start of the multi-sport event. The location of the medal presentation was not chosen by chance. The presentation is taking place on the same day as the torch relay for the “Flame of Peace” has reached Mir. The relay symbolises the core principles of the Olympic movement: understanding friendship an atmosphere of solidarity and global unity as well as the harmonious development of the human body and soul. The main symbol of the Games – the magical flower “Paparats Kvetka” – was incorporated into the medal design which was conceived by Brama Branding company. Medal legend The shape of the medal is a classical circle in the middle of which there appear to be sunbeams with fuzzy outlines. This is exactly how the sun looks on a bright summer day – a nod to the season when the 2nd European Games will be held. The end of June is the hottest time during the Belarusian summer when the sun seems to be melting in the sky. A design without any sharp edges also symbolises the main characteristics of the Belarusian people: softness friendliness heartiness and a closeness to nature. The diameter of the medal – 9.5 cm – comes about from the 9.5 million people who live in Belarus. The case for the medals made from wood will add to the cozy feel and warmth of the prize. It brings forth associations with traditional Belarusian crafts Belarusian nature and in part with forests. It is here in the very heart of Europe as legend claims that the magical flower Paparats Kvetka blooms and makes dreams come true. George KATULIN CEO of Minsk European Games Organising Committee noted: “The medals presentation for any multi-sport event of this level is one of the key moments not only for the organising team but also for the participating countries of the Games and most importantly for the athletes themselves. It is at this moment that the goals for which they have trained so hard for such a long time acquire a concrete form. The first medals will reach their owners exactly a month from now.” The body of the medals is made from a special alloy – tompack. Precious metals are also used for making the medals including 24K gold pure silver and bronze depending on the level of the prize. Nano-diamonds are used for strengthening the precious coating of the medals – this is a patented technology developed by Belarusian scientists. A quadrillion (1015) of nano-diamonds is needed for making one gold medal. The production process for one medal which includes traditional embossing technology and nano technologies takes about 20 hours. The weight of one medal is about 540 grams. Its diameter is 9.5 cm and its width is around 1 cm. A total of 1 084 medals will be made for the 2nd European Games including 329 gold and silver medals as well as 426 bronze medals. The name of the sport and the discipline in which the medal is awarded will be engraved on the back of each medal. Each medal will be packed in a wooden case made from hardwoods which will have the logo of the Games embossed on the top in a colour that corresponds with the medal (first place – gold second place – silver third place – bronze). In addition to the medals awarded for top results in the Games competitions there will be commemorative medals which will be awarded to all participants of the 2nd European Games and officials that make up the sports delegations from different countries. They will be smaller copies of the medals given to competition winners. The 2nd European Games will take place in Minsk from 21 to 30 June 2019 across 12 sporting venues. More than 4 000 athletes from 50 countries will compete for 200 sets of medals in 15 sports. Competitions in eight sports will double as qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Tickets to the competitions of the 2nd European Games will be available through the kiosks of the official ticket seller Ticketpro as well as the website minsk2019.ticketpro.by. Tickets range in price from 5 Belarusian rubles (equivalent to 2 euros) to 50 Belarusian rubles (equivalent to 20 euros). Tickets to the Opening Ceremony cost from 150 to 300 Belarusian rubles depending on the seat category. The price of tickets to the Closing Ceremony is slightly less from 70 to 150 Belarusian rubles. Tickets sold in kiosks cost the same as those sold on the website minsk2019.ticketpro.by. #
Two Croatian Olympic athletes works with European youth
ETTU Development Camp II U-13 (Sveti Martin na Muri Croatia May 19th – 26th) In Croatia’s Sveti Martin na Muri 14 players from 23 nominated works in second ETTU Development Camp U-13. They enjoy great conditions to work and good accommodation in Terme Life Class Hotel with all facilities on their disposal. “Two Croatia’s former Olympic players Redjep RONALD and TIAN Yuan with the help of fitness trainer Mario STAREK are in charge for training process. In addition six sparing partners from TTC Starr the reigning Croatian Champion are helping in work ” said ETTU Development Manager Neven CEGNAR. Players are from Slovakia Italy Croatia Netherlands Belgium Romania Turkey and Hungary.
Thailand Open: Tobias HIPPLER and Kilian ORT top seeding list in Men’s Doubles event
Seamaster 2019 ITTF Challenge Thailand Open May 22-26th Seamaster 2019 ITTF Challenge Thailand Open will commence tomorrow May 22nd by the Group stage events. Eight out of 21 European men’s players are selected for the main draw with Germany’s Ruwen FILUS (world no. 87) as the best ranked out of them. World no. 26 Jin UEDA of Japan the 2017 winner tops seeding list followed by his compatriot actual world no. 44 Kenta MATSUDAIRA. Tobias HIPPLER and Kilian ORT from Germany are no. 1 seed in the Men’s Doubles event. Under 21 event commences on May 23rd by group stage games and will see six European talents in the action: Germany’s Cedric MEISSNER Italy’s Gabriele PICIULIN France’s Louis LAFFIENUR and Belgian trio – David COMELIAU Nicolas DEGROS and Adrien RASSENFOSSE. Three promising French women’s players are going to compete in both senior and Under 21 tournaments. They are Isa COK Camile LUTZ and Prithinka PAVADE. Two Japan’s players Hitomi SATO (world no. 14) and Saki SHIBATA (no. 13) are clear favourites in the Women’s Singles event.
ITTF-European Championships Teams Stage 2
ITTF-European Championships Teams Stage 2 Women’s Event – Third Round In the Final Stage of the ITTF-European Championships Teams in Women’s Event will play winners and runners up from the Stage 2 played this weekend. Among ten teams are: Russia Turkey Spain Belgium Serbia Italy Slovakia Greece Bulgaria and Slovenia. Previously winners and runners up in Stage 1 Germany Luxembourg Netherland Croatia Sweden Belarus Hungary Czech Republic Portugal Austria Ukraine Poland joined hosts France and titleholders Romania. In Group one Russia finished their job yesterday. Today Turkey’s Sibel ALTINKAYA Ozge YILMAZ and Betul Nur KAHRAMAN overcame Lithuania with Ruta PASKAUSKIENE to secure second position and trip to Nantes. In Group two Spain also secured top position yesterday so today England and Belgium fought for the remining place. In Harlow Tin HO was the only player to score for England whilst Lisa LUNG showed great performance for Belgium and secured two wins. In Group three Serbia is at the top of the Group with the victories over Italy and Estonia. Andrea TODOROVIC Tijana JOKIC and Aneta MAKSUTI overcame Estonia today. Italy is second. They lost against Serbia yesterday and beat Estonia. In Group five Bulgaria is unbeaten followed with Slovenia with one defeat. Bulgaria’s Maria YOVKOVA Polina TRIFONOVA and Ivet ILIEVA overcame Azerbaijan whilst Slovenia’s Katarina STRAZAR Aleksandra VOVK and Ana Tofant prevailed against Israel.
After two years of battles all places for Nantes are booked
ITTF-European Championships Teams Stage 2 Men’s Event – Third Round After two days of matches in the ITTF-European Championships Teams Stage 2 10 teams booked their places among top 24 teams in the Final Stage in Nantes in September. From Stage two in France will play Romania Serbia Denmark Netherlands England Ukraine Czech Republic Hungary Turkey and Luxembourg. They will joined host: France titleholders Germany and Stage one winners and runners up Austria Portugal Slovenia Belgium Sweden Spain Poland Croatia Belarus Slovakia Greece Russia. In Group one Romania beat both teams Lithuania yesterday and Serbia today. Ovidiu IONESCU made spectators in TV Studio and in front of the screens proud with two wins over Zsolt PETÖ and Dimitrije LEVAJAC. For Serbia only experienced Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC managed to score against young Cristian PLETEA. In Group two Denmark finished their job yesterday with two wins over Switzerland and Netherlands so it was up to those two teams to decide who will travel to Nantes. Ewout OOSTWOUDER beat Lars POSCH Laurens TROMER overcame Lionel WEBER and Rajko GOMMERS beat Dorian GIROD on their way to Final stage. England toping the Group three. They are undefeated after three Rounds. Today Samuel WALKER Paul DRINKHALL Liam PITCHFORD and Tom JARVIS overcame Italy. Ukraine has one win less. Yevhen PRYSHCEPA Yaroslav ZHMUDENKO and Viktor YEFIMOV overcame Estonia today. In Group four Czech Republic proved too strong for all three adversaries. They overcame Ireland Hungary and Israel. In the last match Lubomir JANCARIK Tomas POLANSKY and Tomas TREGLER showed no mercy against Israel – 3:0. Hungary is second with only one defeat. Adam SZUDI Nándor ECSEKI and Tamás LAKATOS beat Ireland today. In last Group Turkey’s Ibrahim GUNDUZ Abdullah YIGENLER and Batuhan ULUCAK beat Bulgaria today to preserve unbeaten status. At the second position Luxembourg is second. Eric GLOD Gilles MICHELY and Christian KILL overcame Finland today.
First spots booked for the Final Stage
ITTF-European Championships Teams Stage 2 The Second Stage of the ITTF-European Championships Teams is playing in five groups each in Men’s and Women’s events. After two days of matches the best ranked two teams will book their positions in the Final Stage this September (3-8) in the French city of Nantes. Men’s Event – Second Round In Group 1 Serbia beat Lithuania 3:0 to secure one of the first two spots and place in Final Stage alongside Romania. Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC overcame Lesiv RIMAS in straight games Zsolt PETO prevailed against Medardas STANKEVICIUS after four sets while Marko JEVTOVIC concluded clash by clear win against Matias SKUCAS. In Group 2 Denmark recorded its second win to secure its place in the Final Stage. Danish side beat Netherlands 3:0 after all three victories in straight games: Anders LIND vs. Laurens TROMER Jonathan GROTH vs. Ewout OOSTWOUDER Kasper RASMUSSEN vs. Rajko GOMMERS. England improved its win-loss record to 2-0 in Group 3 as they beat Estonia 3:0. Each encounter has been decided in straight games. Samuel WALKER prevailed against Aleksandr LUSHIN recently crowned winner of Serbian Open Paul DRINKHAL beat Aleksandr SMIRNOV and Tom JARVIS overcame Oskar PUKK. Ukraine beat Italy 3:0 and now both sides have 1-1 win-loss record. Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA overcame Leonardo MUTTI in straight sets Viktor YEFIMOV was extended to full distance by Mihai BOBOCICA while Yaroslav ZHMUDENKO secured victory for his side by his win against Niagol STOYANOV. In Group 4 Czech Republic secured one of first two places after exhausting clash against Hungary 3:2. Fifth encounter brought tense clash between two rising stars Tomas POLANSKY and Bence MAJOROS but Czech player won after full five games 3:2 (11:3 8:11 12:10 8:11 11:6). Israel faced easy job against Ireland 3:0 as Michael TAUBER Omri BEN-ARI and Aviv BEN-ARI overcame Ryan FARREL Zak WILSON and Sasha GILLEN respectively. Turkey booked its place for the Final Stage thanks to second victory in full five games in Group 5. They beat Luxembourg 3:2 thanks to Ibrahim GUNDUZ who defeated both Christian KILL and Eric GLOD while Abdulah YIGENLER decided the winner by his win against Christian KILL. Finland prevailed against Bulgaria 3:1 after two wins of Benedek OLAH who was stretched to full distance twice by Teodor ALEXANDROV and Stanislav GOLOVANOV. Women’s Event – Second Round In Group 1 Russia booked its spot for the Final Stage as they beat Turkey 3:0. Polina MIKHAILOVA won the opener against Sibel ALTINKAYA in spite of losing first set. Olga VOROBEVA and Yana NOSKOVA beat Ece HARAC and Ozge YILMAZ respectively. In Group 2 Spain secured top spot and place in the Final Stage thanks to second consecutive win. They beat England 3:0 in the second round thanks to good team work: Galia DVORAK paved the way to victory by his win against HO Tin-Tin Maria XIAO overcame Maria TSAPTSINOS whilst ZHANG Xuan defeated Denise PAYET. Talented Serbian team overcame Italy 3:0 in Group 3. Sabina SURJAN beat Chiara COLANTONI in the opener while Andrea TODOROVIC and Izabela LUPULESKU prevailed against Debora VIVARELI and TAN Wenling respectively. Switzerland lost both games in Group 4 so Greece and Slovakia will travel to Final Stage. Slovakia beat Switzerland 3:1 in the second round thanks to Barbora BALAZOVA who recorded two wins against Celine REUST and Rachel MORET. Eva ODOROVA has provided third point for Slovakian side as she defeated Rahel ASCHWANDEN. Bulgaria secured its spot in Final Stage thanks to second win in Group 5 against Israel 3:0. Maria YOVKOVA defeated Vital KARLIN in straight games Polina TROFINOVA beat Nicole TROSMAN while Kalina HROSTOVA was better than Karina ADAMSKY. Slovenia overcame Azerbaijan 3:0 to keep chances for the second spot after three encounters in three games: Kristina STRAZAR vs. Nazakat QARDEVA Aleksandra VOVK vs. Maryam IMANOVA Ana TOFANT vs. Bilura EMINOVA.
