The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is pleased to announce Autohome asOfficial Sponsor of the Liebherr 2019 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships just as the sport’s biggest event of the year gets under way in Budapest Hungary.   The partnership includes category exclusivity in the Automobile Digital Marketplace representing the first deal of its kind for the ITTF.   Today’s news comes as the latest proof of Autohome’s strong commitment to table tennis having signed world no. 1 player Fan Zhendong as their very first brand ambassador.   Collaborating with Fan Zhendong naturally enhanced the brand awareness of Autohome by leveraging the enormous fanbase of the Chinese superstar.   Likewise by sponsoring the biggest table tennis event in the annual calendar – the Liebherr 2019 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships – Autohome is further strengthening its image and appeal to the hundreds of millions of fans following the action from around the globe.   Autohome boasts a very strong position in the Automobile Digital Marketplace sector with 300 million users registered on the Autohome App.   The deal with the ITTF was signed through Autohome’s agency  Charm: an entertainment and sporting agency.   The ITTF would like to express its excitement at teaming up with Autohome – a leading brand in its field – for its most prestigious event of the year and can’t wait to see the positive results achieved by both parties.   Quick Links: About Autohome Liebherr 2019 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships

LIEBHERR ITTF World Championships   The top seeded player in the Group phase of the Men’s Singles Event at the LIEBHERR ITTF World Championships Poland’s Jakub DYJAS easily prevailed in his opening match in Budapest. He overcame Emiliano RIOFRIO of Ecuador in straight games (11-9 11-4 11-4 11-4).   Seeded at the position no. 3 in Group 18 Konstantinos KONSTANTINOPOULOS of Greece overcame top seeded NG Pak Nam of Hong Kong in seven games (11-8 11-7 4-11 9-11 4-11 11-7 8-11). Also in Group 37 another player from Mediterranean country Cyprus’ Marios YIANGOU overcame Olajide OMOTAYO of Nigeria 3:4 (11-7 7-11 11-7 12-10 5-11 9-11 1-11).   “Konstantinos did not start well but after the second game we saw where is the key for Nigeria’s player. The good footwork and change of the rhythm of the game proved as a right tactic ” said Greek national coach Konstantinos VATSAKLIS.   Marios YIANGOU said he decided to come to Budapest in last minute due some hard moments at home.   “I had very good season this year with my club but for the last three weeks I am not practiced well due to some personal difficulties. I had the worst days of my life. I came here only with hope “said YIANGOU.   What was the key to success then?   “In the beginning of the match I was not comfortable I was not self confident with my strokes. But my coach made me believe that I can turn the course of the match; he gave me the confidence and I didn’t give up. I believed that in one moment I can play my game and I could feel my strokes and eventually I believed that I can win the match. I feel good now getting more used game by game ” said Marios.   Romania’s Hunor SZOCS beat Owen CATHCART of Ireland by same margin but in much closer encounter (12-10 11-5 12-10 11-7). Bastian STEGER of Germany overcame Andrei PUTUNTICA of Moldova (11-6 11-4 11-9 11-4) whilst Andrej GACINA showed no mercy against Viktor YEFIMOV of Ukraine (11-2 11-7 11-8 11-6). Samuel WALKER of England warmed up against Artus REINHOLDS of Latvia (11-6 11-3 11-5 11-6). Andres LIND needed five games to overcame Zeyad ALDMAISY of Jordan (11-3 10-12 11-6 11-9 11-2).   In Group 13 Csaba ANDRAS of Hungary overcame Zaid Abo YAMAN of Jordan (13-11 11-6 8-11 11-8 3-11 11-6) in the opening game.   “He played some quite unbelievable points in the fifth game; I felt I could win points playing wide to his forehand. Throughout the match I tried to stay calm and of course the support of the crowd helped ” said ANDRAS.   However he failed to repeat the success against top seed in his group Robin DEVOS of Belgium 4-2 (9-11 6-11 11-8 4-11 12-10 11-8). DEVOS was one of very few Group leaders who needed to play more than five games.

LIEBHERR ITTF World Championships   Leading names in the Group phase of the Women’s Singles Event at the LIEBHERR ITTF World Championships in Budapest concluded the day in winning rhythm.   No. one seed in Group one Laura GASNIER of France overcame Katsiaryna BARAVOK of Belarus (6-11 11-4 11-8 14-12 9-11 11-4). In the fourth game Laura GASNIER was 8-10 down eventually recovering to establish a 3-1 lead.   “I thought I’d lost the fourth game but I was able to find a rhythm to me play play fast from the backhand close to the table and play with a lot of top spin. However the most important factor was to fight keep a good attitude ” said GASNIER.   Rachel MORET of Switzerland overcame Celia BAAH-DANSO of Ghana 4-0 (11-9 11-6 11-5 11-9) whilst Maria TAILAKOVA of Russia succeeded against Jinnipa SAWETTABUT of Thailand 4-1 (11-2 11-7 11-8 9-11 11-8). Top seed in Group 4 Izabela LUPULESKU of Serbia beat WONG Xin Ru of Singapore 4-1 (6-11 11-9 119 11-8) but Izabela admitted that she spent two days in agony.   “I could not sleep when I saw the draw. The very first day first match in the main hall against Asian player…I was terrified. However at the end my experience prevailed. She had advantage in two games but could not finish it ” said Izabela.   Kristin LANG of Germany overcame Marta SANTOS of Portugal 4-0 (11-9 14-12 11-9 11-6); Matea JEGER of Croatia beat Gulchekhara KHUSSEINOVA of Kazahstan 4-1 (11-2 11-5 11-9 5-11 11-6).    

LIEBHERR ITTF World Championships Two preliminary rounds of the Mixed Doubles Event at the LIEBHERR ITTF World Championships concluded without major surprises. Tomorrow top 32 seeds will meet best 32 pairings from the opening day of the competition in the Hungexpo Budapest Fair Center.   Kristian KARLSSON and Christina KALLBERG of Sweden recorded two straight games win. In the opening round they overcame Olegs KARTUZOVS and Sabina MUSAJEVA of Latvia whilst in next they beat Aliaksandr KHAQNIN and Daria TRIGOLOS of Belarus. They were free in the first round.   Cristian PLETEA and Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania also had to play two rounds and they succeeded in both matches. They beat Estonia’s Aleksandr SMIRNOV and Reelica HANSON before they overcame Dutch pairings Rajko GOMMERS and Kim VERMAAS.   Swiss pairings Lionel WEBER and Rachel MORET overcame Emmanuel LEBESSON and Pauline CHASSELIN in full distance encounter in the second round of the preliminary phase. Also Denmark’s Tobias RASMUSSEN and Stefanie CHRISTENSEN upset the favorites Gustavo GOMEZ and Judith MORALES of Chile. Experienced NI Xia Lian and Luka MLADENOVIC of Luxembourg beat Samuel WALKER and Tin Tin HO of England.   Luxembourg’s Eris GLOD and Sarah DE NUTTE Germany’s QIU Dang and Nina MITTELHAM Italy’s Niagol STOYANOV and Giorgia PICCOLIN Russia’s Denis IVONIN and Yana NOSKOVA Serbia’s Szolt PETO and Andrea TODOROVIC Belarus Pavel PLATONOV and Nadehzda BOGDANOVA Ukraine’s Yaroslav ZHMUDENKO and Solomiya BRATEYKO Turkey’s Abdullah YIGENLER and Ozge YILMAZ Poland’s Marek BADOWSKI and Natalia BAJOR all reached main draw.   Among the winners were Mihai BOBOCICA and Debora VIVARELI of Italy Tomas POLANSKY and Hana MATELOVA of Czech Republic Samuel KALUZNI and Tatiana KUKULKOVA of Slovaki Jakub DYJAS and Natalia PARTYKA of Poland.     2019 World Table Tennis Championships 

LIEBHERR 2019 World Championships Defending World Champion MA Long faces potentially a number of big battles on the path to this year’s final. Arguably the most epic final in living memory that played at the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf MA Long (CHN) and FAN Zhendong (CHN) could meet again at the semi-final stage this year in Budapest at he LIEBHERR 2019 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships.   The prospect of a semi-final between one of table tennis’ all-time greats MA Long and the current World no. 1 FAN Zhendong tops the list of a number of interesting and exciting match-ups which could materialise over the course of the next eight days in the Hungarian capital.   Earlier in the round of 16 MA Long who is seeded 11th at the tournament following several months sidelined through injury before winning last month’s Qatar Open could face another big-name player in 7th seed Hugo CALDERANO (BRA).   Prior to that the reigning World Champion could well confront Vladimir SAMSONOV (BLR) the 18th seed and silver medallist in 1997 in Manchester. Furthermore for MA Long to reach the penultimate round a quarter-final meeting with either 3rd seed LIN Gaoyuan (CHN) or 13th seed Jun MIZUTANI (JPN) may await.   For FAN Zhendong there might be a round of 16 meeting with compatriot and 9th seed LIANG Jingkun (CHN). While in the quarter-finals the World no. 1 could well come across either 6th seed Koki NIWA (JPN) or 12th seed Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER). The German had lost to the Japanese back at the 2017 World Championships.   Meanwhile the lower half of the Men’s Singles draw would appear to open up nicely for 15-year-old star talent Tomokazu HARIMOTO (JPN). The 4th seed would not face a Chinese opponent until potentially the semi-final where he could face 2nd seed XU Xin. Prior to that in the quarter-final there is the very real possibility of a meeting between HARIMOTO and 5th seed Timo BOLL (GER).   In the Women’s Singles draw top seed and defending champion DING Ning could come up against 4th seed LIU Shiwen in the semi-finals four years after they met at the 2015 World Championships final in Suzhou. 14th seed Bernadette SZOCS (ROU) and 8th seed Miu HIRANO (JPN) are among the potential quarter-final opponents of the World no. 1.   A competitive lower half of the draw could see 6th seed Mima ITO (JPN) meet 24th seed and rising star SUN Yingsha (CHN) as early as the second round. Possibly lying in wait for either of them at the quarter-final stage would be 3rd seed WANG Manyu (CHN) who is fresh from her victory at the Qatar Open.   According to rankings 5th seed Kasumi ISHIKAWA (JPN) would be in line to face 2nd seed CHEN Meng (CHN) in the quarter-finals with the winner of this tie most likely going toe to toe with one of WANG Manyu Mima ITO or SUN Yingsha in the semi-finals.   The first matches of the LIEBHERR 2019 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships will take place today from 10.00 GMT+2 with qualification rounds set to get under way in the Men’s Singles Women’s Singles and Mixed Doubles competitions.   Qualification rounds in the Men’s and Women’s Doubles competitions will continue on Monday before the main knockout rounds kick off in earnest on Tuesday 23 April.   With as many as eight tables streamed live from the Hungexpo in Budapest make sure to stay tuned on itTV to watch all the action!

Liebherr 2019 Table Tennis World Championships Budapest April 21-28th   Actual ITTF-Europe Top 16 champion Dimitrij OVTCHAROV is considered as one of strongest European medal contenders at the Liebherr 2019 Table Tennis World Championships Budapest April 21-28th. The 31-year-old German arrived today April 20th in the capital of Hungary with a lot of confidence determined to surpass his best result at the World Championships (four times Round of 16 including previous edition on home soil in Dusseldorf).   What can you say about your current shape?   “I feel good at the moment. We trained very hard for almost 3 weeks straight. My victory at the Europe Top 16 motivated me a lot and will give me confidence for the World Championships.”   Who do you think are the favourites in Singles event?   “The top Chinese players MA Long and FAN Zhendong are the main favorites.”   How do you see chances of European players to get medals?   “Mattias FALCK seems to be in good shape and played really well at the Qatar Open. PITCHFORD won against MA Long last year. With the right amount of confidence We’d have many strong players in Europe and I hope that one European player can win a medal in singles.”   Regarding younger players who is able to upset favourites?   “Definately Tomakazu HARIMOTO LIN Yun Ju and from Europe Truls MOREGARD. All of them are very young and talented. Especially Tomakazu is already one of the best players of the world and LIN on the best way there.”

Liebherr 2019 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Budapest April 21-28   Portugal’s player Marcos FREITAS faces hard task to repeat his best result at the World Championships bearing in mind that his draw projection leads him to possible Round of 32 clash against one of the strongest medal contenders Tomokazu HARIMOTO of Japan seed no. 4. However actual no. 23 seed is well prepared and motivated to show his best at the Liebherr 2019 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Budapest April 21-28.   “My shape is good I have no injuries and I have done a good preparation camp in Sweden. I am looking forward to play in Budapest and do my final preparations for the singles event. At this moment I’m not thinking about any position I just want to start well and play game by game. I just try to focus on myself” stated Fakel-Gazprom player the 2015 European Championships runner-up.   The 31-year-old reached twice Round 4 at the World Championships. In 2013 Paris he managed to eliminate three Asian players on his way to the best 16 where he was beaten by then top seeded XU Xin from China. Two years ago in Dusseldorf he lost at same stage to Timo BOLL.   Speaking about favourites FREITAS stated:   “It’s very hard to say because there are many top players but if I had to choose two I would say MA Long and FAN Zhengdong. I think some European players have the chance to win medals we have good level and it’s not a surprise if it happens.”

Liebherr 2019 Table Tennis World Championships Budapest April 21-28th   The 2018 European Championships runner-up Ovidiu IONESCU of Romania will always remember Liebherr 2017 World Championships in Dusseldorf as he faced world champion MA Long in the Round of 32 in spite of losing that clash in five games. It was memorable experience for him as well as big motivation for the following international events including Liebherr 2019 Table Tennis World Championships in Budapest which commences tomorrow April 21st.   Post SV Muhlhausen’s player no. 34. seed in Men’s Singles should surpass two strong opponents in order to make his career best World Championships achievement. His draw projection leads him to no. 17 seed Germany’s Patrick FRANZISKA (Round of 64) and no. 6 Korea’s LEE Sangsu of Korea (Round of 32). He sees his chance in Mixed Doubles with Bernadette SZOCS (they are twice European bronze medallist 2012 and 2016) as well as in the Men’s Doubles playing alongside Alvaro ROBLES.   “We had a really good training camp with both men and women team in Romania. I feel good and I am looking forward to play at the World Championships” stated IONESCU. “I believe in my chances in mixed and men’s doubles. It depends on many things good draw and shape during the tournament days but I have proved myself I can be able to compete against the best ones.”   Regarding main medal contenders Romanian player stressed:   “Although MA Long was long time injured in my opinion he is alongside FAN Zhengdong the favorite to win it. Of course HARIMOTO can always challenge them and BOLL OVTCHAROV and why not SAMSONOV can as well be very dangerous for the Chinese. I do believe Europe can make some surprises at this championship especially in doubles.”

Liebherr 2019 Table Tennis World Championships Budapest April 21-28th   Netherlands’ player LI Jie showed steadiness at the last four World Championships reaching three times Round of 16. Each time she was halted by strong Chinese players: in 2011 Rotterdam she was beaten by then no. 2 seed GUO Yan in 2015 Suzhou – by 2013 bronze medallist ZHU Yuling in 2017 Dusseldorf – by reigning champion DING Ning. That result will be her goal at the forthcoming Liebherr 2019 World Championships which commences this Sunday April 21st in the Hungarian capital Budapest.   “I am in my usual shape and I will try to deliver my best in order to get the best result. Regarding favourites I think it’s the Chinese player DING Ning” stated LI Jie who won Women’s Doubles bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships playing alongside LI Qian of Poland. Two years ago in Dusseldorf they were forced to withdraw due to LI Qian’s injury.   LI Jie is actual no. 27 at the ITTF World rankings as the fifth best European player. Speaking about possible upsets in the Women Singles event at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships she explained:   “There are many young and talented players in Japan. I believe that some European players are able to get medals.”   One week after the World Championships in Budapest LI Jie and LI Qian will play one against another in the 2018/19 European Champions League final. Croatian Dr. CASL led by LI Jie is going to defend the title against LI Qian’s KTS Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg.  

Liebherr 2019 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Budapest April 21-28   Austrian player Daniel HABESOHN sounds very optimistic about Liebherr 2019 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Budapest thanks to recent results and climbing to his highest ever ITTF world rankings no. 29. Two years ago at the 2017 Liebherr ITTF World Championships in Dusseldorf he upset Japan’s Kenta MATSUDAIRA in the opening round but lost to China’s LIN Gaoyuan in the following encounter. Round of 64 is his best result so far (three times: 2013 2015 2017) but he believes that Budapest can mark new important chapter in his career.   “I had two weeks of preparation with the Chinese National Team so I am in a good shape and ready for the World Championships. I had a really good year and currently I am no. 29 in the world rankings. I want to show there my level and my goal is the last 16” stated player 32-year-old player of German club Post SV Muhlhausen actual no. 8 in Europe.   Regarding Men’s Doubles event 2013 quarter-finals in Paris still stands as Daniel HABESOHN/Robert GARDOS best achievement so far. It happened year after their gold medal at the 2012 European championships.   When he was asked to mark favorites in Budapest Austrian player stated:   “I think MA Long despite his injury in the past is still favorite”!   How do you see chances of European players to get medals?   “Asians are always hard to beat and especially at the World Championships but I think there are some Europeans who can surprise and win a medal”.   Regarding younger players who is able to upset favourites and why?   “I think LIN Jun-Yu and Tomokazu HARIMOTO can upset favorites because they are playing very aggressive and modern style.”