European Games The 2019 European Games will be held in Minsk Belarus from 21st to 30th June 2019 and feature 15 sports including table tennis. Table Tennis will be played from Saturday 22nd to Saturday 29th June. 3 events will be played: teams singles and mixed doubles. In the team event 12 men’s and 12 women’s team will participate: the best 11 teams according to the Special Team Ranking List as of 1 December 2018 and Belarus as the Home Association. Residents of any country in the world can arrange tickets for the main multisport event of 2019 in Europe through the website https://www.en.minsk2019.ticketpro.by/ and through official resellers in Europe. In Russia tickets can be bought through the website of the official ticket agent www.ponominalu.ru. There is the access to the sale system through the platform minsk2019.by either. Tickets’ sale takes place in three stages.The third stage will begin in May 2019 after the final approval of television platforms. The total number of seats in the stands during the II European Games will be 381 thousands with the possibility of increasing them to 535 thousands depending on the demand and popularity of the sport. The total number of sessions for which tickets will be sold is 120. Tickets of several categories have been developed: Standard VIP for the Opening Ceremony and the Closing Ceremony. The cost of tickets for table tennis competitions is from 10(5$)to 40(20$)BLR rubles. In March the sale of tickets for people with additional needs started. It is planned to sell about 3 thousands tickets for designated places.The Directorate has planned several categories of seats for people with disabilities. So on special platforms that are equipped as a part of the modernization of sports facilities for the Games places will be allocated for people in wheelchairs and their accompanying persons. Another category of places is designed for sports enthusiasts with sight disabilities.These places will be located as close as possible to the competition zones. For fans with disorders of the musculoskeletal system there are places as close as possible to the aisles.The price of tickets for people with additional needs will be 10% of the nominal value. As the organizers of the Games expect this factor will allow the largest number of sports fans of this social group to visit the multisportforum. The procedure of purchasing tickets by people with additional needs is protected from unfair actions of third parties. In particular a two-step application form is provided. The first step is to register it on the website of the official ticket operator of the II European Games – https://www.en.ticketpro.by/ specifying personal information contact details as well as sports events of interest. Then within 48 hours the fan will be contacted by mobile phone or email. In this case the reservation is confirmed and the date of the visit to the cash desk is agreed upon for the personal purchase of the ticket. To make a purchase a fan will need to carry with him the original passport and the original identity card of the disabled person. Tickets can be redeemed both in advance and on the day of the competition at the ticket office located in the immediate vicinity of the sports facility. Entertainment programs food courts and photo zones are organized on all sports facilities of the Games. There will also be a wide selection of souvenirs including toys in the form of the mascot of Lesik the Fox. Note that tickets to the II European Games 2019 automatically become a visa for foreign fans. Minsk European Games
PITCHFORD and SZOCS climb up to their highest position ever
ITTF World Rankings April 2019 England’s Liam PITCHFORD has moved two places up in the latest ITTF Men’s World Rankings to occupy his highest place so far no. 15. He also became the best placed player from his country surpassing Chester BARNES Denis NEALE and Ernie BUBLEY who all were world no. 16. Timo BOLL of Germany continues as the best ranked European player keeping no. 5 followed by his compatriot Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (no. 12) Liam PITCHFORD (no. 15) Sweden’s Mattias FALCK (no. 16) Germany’s Patrick FRANZISKA (no. 18) Belarus Vladimir SAMSONOV (no. 19)… Slovenian rising star Darko JORGIC jumped 13 places up from no. 54 to no. 41. World Top 4 places are unchanged and belong to three China’s players FAN Zhendong (no. 1) XU Xin (no. 2) and Lin GAOYUAN (no. 3) and Japan ’s Tomokazu HARIMOTO (no. 4). Regarding Women’s rankings Romania’s Bernadette SZOCS also reached her best ever spot no. 17 (4 places up) and became highest placed European player followed by Austria’s Sofia POLCANOVA (no. 19) Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA (no. 21) Germany’s Petrissa SOLJA (no. 23) Netherlands’ LI Jie (no. 27) Sweden’s Matilda EKHOLM (no. 30)… China’s DING Ning remains world no. 1 followed by her four compatriots ZHU Yuling CHEN Meng WANG Manyu and LIU Shiwen.
The Dragon is breathing fire once again
Cometh the hour. Cometh the man. Or should we say superman? Arguably the greatest player ever to grace the sport of table tennis Ma Long completed his stunning return from a seven-month knee injury nightmare with silverware on Sunday. If that wasn’t remarkable enough his victory at the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open also saw the Chinese superstar rewrite the record books equalling the 27 ITTF World Tour titles attained by Belarusian legend Vladimir Samsonov. Furthermore today’s victory in Doha comes exactly three weeks before the World Table Tennis Championships kick off in Budapest the sport’s main event of the year which everyone had thought Ma Long would be missing. Doubts even surrounded his participation at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Not anymore. Ma Long is back in business and how! Nicknamed ‘The Dictator’ and ‘The Dragon’ for his ruthless natural-born winning ability Ma Long showed that he has not lost an ounce of his champion class quality and competitiveness. In Qatar he truly was the ‘Comeback King’ and not only for returning from seven lonely months out in the wilderness. THE DRAGON DICTATES IN DOHA In the final itself Ma Long had to haul himself back from two games down against fellow Chinese star and second seed Lin Gaoyuan who looked on course to ruin the Dictator’s dream return to the international stage. Give up hope Ma Long certainly did not. The 30-year-old reigning World and Olympic Champion called upon all of his big-match experience to stage an inspirational fightback winning four consecutive games to complete a victory that meant so much. “In the context of my longstanding injury to come back the way I have done this is the happiest ITTF World Tour title victory of my career. Winning here provides the perfect boost ahead of next month’s World Championships and of course aids my long-term preparations for next year’s Olympic Games.” Ma Long. Following confidence-boosting 4-0 wins over Timo Boll (GER) and Jun Mizutani (JPN) the Dictator overcame his two highest-ranked compatriots Xu Xin and Lin Gaoyuan each by the 4-2 scoreline. Indeed Ma Long’s story in Qatar has been about raising the intensity when it matters most a characteristic of all true champions. His final flourish provided a fitting ending to proceedings in Doha and the perfect launchpad for preparations ahead of the World Championships which will take place between 21-28 April in Budapest. REVENGE FOR WANG MANYU The Women’s Singles final was a repeat of last year’s match-up as Wang Manyu once again went head to head with Liu Shiwen; only this time there would be a role reversal in terms of result. Coming into the contest off the back of an imperious 4-0 victory over top seed and World no. 1 Ding Ning in Sunday morning’s semi-final Wang Manyu cut the figure of a woman on a serious mission here in Doha. It was mission complete later in the afternoon as the 20-year-old rising star defeated the reigning Qatar Open champion Liu Shiwen. 4-2 was the final score and in all honesty the trophy always looked like ending in the embrace of a delighted Wang Manyu who had this to say after the final: “This win gives me a big confidence boost ahead of the World Championships. It proves to me that I have been working in the right way in recent weeks and months while I still have some time to tweak other aspects of my game before heading to Budapest.” Wang Manyu DRAMATIC DOUBLES FINALS The Mixed Doubles final was a stunning show of free-flowing table tennis. Liu Shiwen and Xu Xin (CHN) rose highest to the occasion seeing off Mima Ito and Masataka Morizono (JPN) in three straight games to clinch gold. The Men’s Doubles final was a hard-fought affair. Timo Boll and Patrick Franziska (GER) made it tough for Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting (HKG) levelling the scores at 1-1 but the experienced pair then pushed on to win 3-1 and bring the gold medals to Hong Kong. An all-Chinese showdown in the Women’s Doubles final saw Ding Ning and Wang Yidi take the match to a fifth game but Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu managed to get over the line and leave the court as champions. SPECIAL MENTIONS GO TO… Naturally all beaten finalists played key roles in the dramatic narrative to unfold in Doha over the past six days. Lin Gaoyuan came ever so close to adding to his ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open title earlier this year the ‘Dark Knight’ edging arguably the most epic match of this year’s Qatar Open: Saturday night’s marathon semi-final against Mattias Falck (SWE) which finished 4-3. Falck’s breath-taking battling performances provided Europe’s brightest light not least after the 12thseed defeated last year’s ITTF World Tour Grand Finals champion Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN) in the quarter-finals. In the women’s draw Liu Shiwen played comfortably her best table tennis in nearly a year to reach the final while beaten semi-finalist Sun Yingsha (CHN) leaves Qatar with plenty more credit added to her burgeoning reputation following her selection for the World Championships off the back of stunning displays at the Chinese ‘Marvellous 12’ qualification tournament. NEXT STOP: BUDAPEST The biggest event in the international table tennis calendar will kick off in three weeks’ time as the world’s greatest stars gather in the Hungarian capital to battle for the sport’s major prizes. Until then stay up to date on all news and build-up on ITTF.com and the ITTF’s social media channels: Facebook Instagram Twitter Weibo Youtube LinkedIn. QUICK LINKS: 2019 Qatar Open Results Highlights Live Blog Photos Quotes 2019 World Championships
RENNER: We as a club must be satisfied with the ECLW season
ECLW semi-finals post-game comments (Linz AG Froschberg) Former two-time ECLW champion Linz AG Froschberg from Austria was eliminated in the 2018/19 semis by Poland’s KTS Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg but Linz president Gunther RENNER is not disappointed: “We as a club must be satisfied with the ECLW season semi-final is always our minimum goal on one side we lost more matches than expected but we had also massive problems with injuries on the other side. We had to accept that Sofia POLCANOVA was at no point 100% fit starting with the European Championships in Alicante 2018 where she had success for Austria but three events at one tournament are too much. We as a small table tennis club are happy that we fixed her physical problems with the genius Franz LEBERBAUER (physiotherapist RB LEIPZIG and Red Bull Salzburg Academy) and we hope next season will also be her top season for the club of LINZ AG FROSCHBERG ” stated RENNER. Linz president praised Sweden’s player Linda BERGSTRÖM: “The most impressive player this year was Linda BERGSTRÖM third year in LINZ who proved her quality to her sceptic she showed that with determination and hard work everything is possible. As a complete team we never competed at our best this season but we reached the minimum goal. The spectators helped us a lot this year we had some sold out events what is not a matter of course. We are sure that our club proved again its value for the European women table tennis in general for the league and for the future of it also.”
MA Long clinched title in Doha
Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open China’s MA Long clinched the title in the Men’s Singles Event at the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open in Doha. All Chinese affairs the final of the men’s singles event alongside the penultimate round and title deciding contest in the women’s singles competition closed the curtain in Doha. Ma Long the no.11 seed beat LIN Gaoyuan the no.2 seed to secure the top step of the podium (9-11 8-11 11-5 11-5 11-9 11-9). In Women’s Singles DING Ning suffered one of the biggest defeats of her international career; at the semi-final stage the top seed she was soundly beaten by WANG Manyu the no.4 seed (11-6 11-1 11-6 11-4).
Silver for Timo BOLL and Patrick FRANZISKA
Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open In the Men’s Singles final of the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open MA Long of China will meet his compatriot LIN Gaoyuan. LIN beat Swede Mattias FALCK in the semifinal by narrow margin 4:3 (11:7 11:9 9:11 9:11 9:11 11:9 10:12). In the quarterfinal FALCK overcame Tomokazu HARIMOTO of Japan also in seven games. In the same Round XU Xin overcame Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany 4:1 before MA Long halted his progress. HO Kwan Kit and WONG Chun Ting of Hong Kong overcame Timo BOLL and Patrick FRANZISKA in Men’s Doubles final 3:1. In semis pairings from Germany beat Jakub DYJAS of Poland and Cedric NUYTINCK of Belgium 3:0. In the Women’s Singles semifinal all four players are from china; DING Ning will meet WANG Manyu whilst LIU Shiwen will meet SUN Yingsha. SUN Yingsha and WANG Manyu of China clinched the gold in Women’s Doubles.
Dmitrii BALACHENKOV: Credit goes to our players
TTCLM semi-finals post-game comments (TTSC UMMC) Two Russian clubs Fakel-Gazprom Orenburg and TTSC UMMC will meet in the 2018/19 TTCLM final May 4th and 8th in the reprise of the 2011/12 final when Oreburg won its first out of four titles. UMMC beat reigning champion Borussia Dusseldorf in the recent semi-finals (5:4 aggregate) while Fakel-Gazprom eliminated Vaillante Sports Angers (6:3). Team manager of UMMC Dmitrii BALACHENKOV praised his players for successful semi-finals: “We are very happy that we managed to show our strength and advanced to the final. Borussia Dusseldorf is a very strong rival and our players did their best in both first and second leg. I would like to tell thanks to each player. Especially Andrej GACINA performed very well in Dusseldorf match. Also FANG Bo and Jonathan GROTH contributed to the victory winning games one after another” BALACHENKOV expects fantastic ending of the TTCLM season: “Final matches won’t be easy probably Fakel – is our most principle rival. But many times we were on the winning side there is a plenty of time for practice. We will do our best for the victory in TTCLM.”
Patrick FRANZISKA and Mattias FALCK in quarters in Doha
Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany and Mattias FALCK of Sweden reached the quarterfinal of the Men’s Singles Event at the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open. In Men’s Double Patrick and Timo BOLL booked their place in the final. In the Round of 16 Patrick overcame Koki NIWA of Japan in seven games whilst FALCK beat Cedric NUYTINCK of Belgium 4:2. In the quarters FRANZISKA will meet top seed XU Xin and FALCK will play against Tomokazu HARIMOTO of Japan. Timo BOLL of Germany suffered by the hands of China’s MA Long 4:0 Jun MIZUTANI of Japan beat Pavel SIRUCEK of Czech Republic 4:0 and LIN Yun Ju of Taipei prevailed against Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany 4:2. In the Round of 16 HAN Ying of Germany suffered by the hands of top seed DING Ning of China in straight games. In Men’s Doubles Timo BOLL and Patrick FRANZISKA will meet HO Kwan Kit and WONG Chung Ting of Hong Kong in the final. Previously they overcame Jakub DYJAS of Poland and Cedric NUYTINCK 3:0.
Four players from Germany in the Round of 16 in singles
Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open Asia dominates at the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open. In The Men’s Singles Event in the Round of 16 there are 6 whilst in Women’ Singles there are only one European player. HAN Ying of Germany will face top seed DING Ning of China in the Round of 16. In Men’s Singles Germany is also most dominant European country. In the match for the quarterfinal Patrick FRANZISKA will play against Japan’s Koki NIWA Timo BOLL will meet MA Long whilst Dimitrij OVTCHAROV will play against LIN Yun Ju of Taipei. Mattias FALCK of Sweden will meet Cedric NUYTINCK of Belgium. Top seed XU Xin of China will play against Yuya OSHIMA of Japan. In Men’s Doubles Ovidiu IONESCU of Romania and Alvaro ROBLES of Spain will play against HO Kwan Kit and WONG Chun Ting of Hong Kong for the place in the semis. In the lower half of the draw Timo BOLL and Patrick FRANZISKA will meet Masataka MORIZONO and Yuya OSHIMA whilst Jakub DYJAS of Poland and Cedric NUYTINCK will face Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON of Sweden. In Women’s Doubles in quarter final matches Germany’s Nina MITTELHAM and Sabine WINTER will play against Honoka HASHIMOTO and Hitomi SATO of Japan whilst Barbora BALAZOVA of Slovakia and Hana MATELOVA of Czech Republic will play against SUN Yingsha and WANG Manyu of China. Tristan FLORE and Laura GASNIER of France halted in the quarterfinals.
ECLW: Tarnobrzeg puts pressure on reigning champion
“Dr. Casl is a favourite in ECLW final” emphasizes Zbigniew NECEK coach of KTS Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg Poland’s most successful women’s club KTS Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg established itself as one of the best European clubs in last 12 years. They are approaching their 8th finals in both ETTU cups ECLW and ETTU Cup Women since 2007/08 season: five times they fought for ETTU Cup crown and three times for ECLW title including the forthcoming final. Tarnobrzeg’s biggest successes so far is 2015 ETTU Cup title as well as 2016 and 2017 ECLW runner-up spots. Tarnobrzeg beat Linz AG Froschberg in the 2018/19 ECLW semi-finals (twice 3:1) to set up final clash against reigning champion Dr. CASL from Croatia. Coach Zbigniew NECEK is looking forward to the upcoming games to be held in May: “Semi-final matches were a duel of two teams on very similar level so that is why we are so happy that it is us who are in final. Dr. Casl is a favourite ECLW. They have a great five players origin of Asia with a various styles of play and it shows their strength as a team. We hope that final matches will be a great performance for spectators and a promotion of women’s table tennis.”
