TTCLM semi-finals Leg 1: Vaillante Sports Angers – Fakel Gazprom Orenburg 2:3 French club Vaillante Sports Angers was very close to create big upset in the first semi-final leg of 2018/19 TTCLM but former four-time champions and current no. 2 seed Fakel Gazprom Orenburg managed to reverse the score from 0:2 to 3:2 in the game held tonight March 8th in the French city of Angers. Three out of five encounters have been extended to full distance. Actual world no. 60 Jon PERSSON prevailed against China’s YAN An 3:2 (9:11 12:10 11:7 13:15 11:6). Host showed one of his best TTCLM games in last couple of years playing against former world no. 7. Former world Top 20 player Jens LUNDQVIST (current world no. 265) upset last year’s world no. 1 Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (now no. 14) after full five games to set 2:0 lead for his side. Host had a chance to close the game in the fourth set but German has erased his 7:4 and 9:8 lead. Two lefthanders met in the third game Joao GERALDO vs. Marcos FREITAS two teammates from Portugal National Team who won team gold at the 2014 European Championships on home soil. FREITAS won in four games after two match-points saved by GERALDO (8:10 10:10). OVTCHAROV was extended to full distance by PERSSON in the fourth clash reversing the score from 1-2 to 3-2. The ultimate clash was the only one decided in straight games: LUNDQVIST vs. YAN 0:3 but it wasn’t so easy for Chinese as result speaks. 2018/19 TTCLM semi-finals Leg 1 Vaillante Sports Angers – Fakel Gazprom Orenburg 2:3 Jon PERSSON – YAN An 3:2 (9:11 12:10 11:7 13:15 11:6) Jens LUNDQVIST – Dimitrij OVTCHAROV 3:2 (11:9 4:11 11:8 9:11 11:7) Joao GERALDO – Marcos FREITAS 1:3 (9:11 12:10 6:11 10:12) Jon PERSSON – Dimitrij OVTCHAROV 2:3 (11:5 8:11 13:11 5:11 2:11) Jens LUNDQVIST – YAN An 0:3 (6:11 14:16 4:11)
Darko JORGIC in winning mode in Gondomar
BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships In the Men’s Singles Event at the BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships in Gondomar both no. one seed Andreas LEVENKO of Austria and reigning champion from Minsk Tomas POLANSKI of Czech Republic are out from the competition. They concluded the journey in the Second stage of the Groups event. In Group A LEVENKO failed to post a single victory. He suffered by the hands of Tomasz KOTOWSKI of Poland Uladzislau RUKLIATSOU of Belarus and Thibaut DARCIS of Belgium. Opposite to LEVENKO Darko JORGIC of Slovenia justified his high rankings and win the Group with ease. Comparing other favorites his path was trouble free. “The most difficult moment was the opening match today. It was my first in Singles and Mathan SIMON of Israel already played three rounds day earlier. Denis IVONIN of Russia was next adversary and I remember him from painful defeat from four years ago. Now I was mentally ready and I prevented any kind of upsets. In the last duel against Alexandru MANOLE of Romania I can only blame me for six games match. I had 3 game to 0 advantage when I lost my focus. I recovered on time to win the match ” explained JORGIC. With one defeat IVONIN booked second position and place in the Round of 16. In Group C Cristian PLETEA of Romania dominated. He recorded all three wins and one of them was against reigning champion Tomas POLANSKI of Czech Republic. He avenged his defeat in the final of U21 Championships in Minsk last year. “When I saw him in my group it put a great pressure on me. Match against POLANSKI was mentally very difficult but I prevailed. I had last year’s final on my mind. Also the duel against Vladislav URSU at the beginning of the day was a very challenging. It was my first singles match at the tournament; he is lefthander with very good style and he already played three matches day before… ” said PLETEA who finished ahead of Samuel KULCZYCKI of Poland. Cristian’s teammate Rares SIPOS is also in Round of 16. He finished second in the Group D behind Patrik KLOS of Czech Republic. Further to Round of 16 progressed Tobias HIPPLER of Germany Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS of Greece Artur ABUSEV of Russia Gerrit ENGEMANN of Germany Florian CNUDDE of Belgium Vladimir SIDORENAKO of Russia Luka MLADENOVIC of Luxembourg and Laurens DEVOS of Belgium. In the Men’s Doubles Event top seeds Romania’s Cristian PLETEA and Rares SIPOS will meet Vladislav URSU of Moldavia and Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK of Austria tomorrow. Seeded at the position no. two Florian CLUDE and Thiabaut DARCIS of Belgium will play against Tibor SPANIK and Adam BRAT of Slovakia. Watch LIVE 2019 #U21Euro Table 1 https://bitly.su/opxsH Table 2 https://bitly.su/VAPd Follow results here
Matilda EKHOLM secures victory for Berlin
ECLW semi-finals Leg 1: TTC Berlin Eastside – Dr. CASL 3:2 Former four-time ECLW winner TTC Berlin Eastside beat reigning ECLW champion Dr. CASL 3:2 in the first semi-final leg held tonight March 8th in the German city of Berlin. Sweden’s player Matilda EKHOLM secured two points for the host side including decisive one against LI Jie. Berlin had convincing start thanks to fast wins of SHAN Xiaona and Matilda EKHOLM. Both won their matches in straight games: SHAN vs. LI Jie and EKHOLM vs. LIN Gaoyang. FU Yu well experienced Portugal’s player pushed guests in the right directions as she overcame actual German champion Nina MITTELHAM in the third clash. LIN levelled at 2-2 after her victory against SHAN. In the decisive fifth clash actual world no. 30 Matilda EKHOLM prevailed against no. 30 LI Jie in four dames. Second leg will be held on March 24th in the Croatian city of Zagreb. 2018/19 ECLW semi-finals Leg 1 TTC Berlin Eastside – Dr. CASL 3:2 SHAN Xiaona – LI Jie 3:0 (11:3 11:3 11:8) Matilda EKHOLM – LIN Gaoyang 3:0 (11:5 11:8 13:11) Nina MITTELHAM – FU Yu 1:3 (7:11 10:12 11:9 7:11) SHAN Xiaona – LIN Gaoyang 1:3 (11:8 4:11 6:11 9:11) Matilda ELHOLM – LI Jie 3:1 (11:9 15:13 5:11 11:9)
Christina KALLBERG caused the biggest upset by beating reigning champion
BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships The reigning champion from Minsk 2018 Maria TAILAKOVA of Russia seeded no. 3 in Gondomar exited from the Singles Event at the BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships after only two rounds of the Second stage. TAILAKOVA was free on the opening day of the competition and today she lost first match of second stage against Nadezhda BOGDANOVA of Belarus seeded at position no. 19. On second return to the table seeded at the position no. 30 Christina KALLBERG of Sweden sealed TAILAKOVA’s faith. Last match Franziska SCHREINER of Germany won without the fight. TAILAKOVA suffered from injury and withdrawn. Player who created biggest upset KALLBERG was excited after the victory. “I am shaking now ” admitted Christina after the victory over TAILAKOVA.” I had two really good wins today against good player from Germany and TAILAKOVA. Against Russia’s player I was two games down before I leveled to win. It was very hard match. However in both duels it was important that I kept my focus clear and had cold head.” In the last round in the Group Nadezhda BOGDANOVA beat KALLBERG but both players progressed to the Round of 16 after long and firce seven games duel for first position in the group. Adina DIACONU of Romania showed no mercy today. She overcame Lisa LUNG of Belgium Ema LABOSOVA of Slovakia and Raquel MARTINS of Portugal in superb style. “I was not happy with the way I was playing yesterday but today everything came together ” said DIACONU who suffered unexpected first round exit last year in Minsk. Lisa LUNG is second with two victories. In Group A Sophia KLEE of Germany ranked only at the position no. 49 at the seedings recorded all three victories in the Group and clinched top position. To the Round of 16 she progressed by beating the top seeded Valeria SCHERBATYKH of Russia Oceane GUISNEL of France and Ozge YILMAZ of Turkey. GUISNEL joined her with two victories. Audrey ZARIF of France justified her rankings and finished first in Group D. Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania is second. To the Top 16 also progressed Marie MIGOT of France Maria MALANINA of Russia Daria TRIGOLOS of Belarus Leonie HARTBRICH of Hungary Tin Tin HO of England Karoline MISCHEK of Austria Tania PLAIAN of Romania and Tatiana KUKULKOVA of Slovakia. The Women’s Doubles Event continues tomorrow with the top seeds entering the scene. Belgium’s Lisa LUNG and Margo DEGRAEF will meet Germany’s Sophia KLEE and Anastasia BOPNDAREVA whilst on the lower half of the draw Romania’s Adina DIACONU and Andreea DRAGOMAN will play against Airi AVEMERI of Estonia and Julia SLAZAK of Poland. Watch LIVE 2019 #U21Euro Table 1 https://bitly.su/opxsH Table 2 https://bitly.su/VAPd Follow results here
ECLW semis: Berlin vs. Dr. CASL Linz vs. Tarnobrzeg
First semi-final leg of 2018/19 ECLW will be held this Friday (March 8) and Sunday (March 10) Three ECLW champions – one actual (Dr. CASL) and two with six titles between them (Berlin and Linz) as well as one ECLW runner-up (Tarnobrzeg) will be involved in the upcoming semi-finals of the 2018/19 European Champions League Women: TTC Berlin Eastside – Dr. CASL (March 8th Friday 18:00 CET) Linz AG Froschberg – KTS Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg (March 10th 15:00 CET). First out of two semi-finals is scheduled for March 8th in Berlin where four-time ECLW winner hosts reigning ECLW champion Dr. CASL. German side managed to survive in the quarter-finals in spite of losing first leg 3:1 against Czech Republic team Hodonin. Nina MITTELHAM won crucial point as she beat GUO Ruichen. The 22-year-old confirmed her good shape at the German National Championships winning her very first title. “Of course we are very happy with our in this situation unexpected 3:0 victory against Hodonin. The fantastic concentration of girls and their desire made almost impossible. And of course Nina (MITTELHAM) was the “cherry on the cake” with her winnings of the last match. We have a very difficult opponent for semi-final match they are favourites but ‘nothing is impossible’…” stated Berlin’s coach Irina PALINA. President of Croatian club Martin-Tino CASL expects very exciting first leg: “We are looking forward playing in Berlin as it will be the clash between two world class teams: actual ECLW winner against four-time champions! Real table tennis spectacle! There are no secrets between players of both sides as they use to play one against another at the international tournaments. Hence should not be any uncertainty in terms of knowing each other.” 2018/19 ECLW semi-finals Leg 1 TTC Berlin Eastside – Dr. CASL (March 8th Friday 18:00 CET) Linz AG Froschberg – KTS Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg (March 10th 15:00 CET)
UMMC beats reigning TTCLM champion
The 2018/19 TTCLM semi-finals Leg 1: UMMC – Borussia Dusseldorf 3:1. KUTERGINA: “My big gratitude to GROTH who managed to beat BOLL” The 2012 TTCLM runner-up UMMC provided big advantage in the first semi-final leg as they beat at home reigning champion 11-time TTCLM winner Borussia Dusseldorf 3:1. FANG Bo won both his games while Timo BOLL suffered two defeats from Chinese player and Denmark’s Jonathan GROTH. “Obviously we didn’t expect such a big victory as we faced the hardest possible opponent” stated UMMC coach Tatiana KURETGINA speaking after the clash. “I just want to express my big gratitude to Jonathan GROTH who managed to beat Timo BOLL. It was for sure his best performance in our team. Regarding FANG Bo my compliments to him for being able to reverse the score from 0-2 to 3-2 against Timo BOLL. All our players showed strong team spirit and provided me the best possible present for the March 8th (Women’s Day). I would thank as well to our fans for their huge support.” FANG Bo former World Top 10 player overcame Anton KALLBERG in straight games of the opener. GROTH lifted up his side to 2-0 as he prevailed against BOLL in four close sets. In that moment German side was in very hard situation and their chances for the second leg depended of Kristian KARLSSON. Sweden’s player beat Alexander SHIBAEV to set the clash between two biggest stars: FANG Bo vs. Timo BOLL. Recently crowned 13-time German champion BOLL won first two sets but FANG responded by three games in a row to secure big victory for Russian club. “We expected hard game though Timo BOLL had a chance to turn the game in the different direction. But it was very hard to fight against FANG Bo this time. We lost first leg 3:1 but we’ll give everything in the second match in Dusseldorf to make success but now UMMC has better chances to progress in the final” explained Borussia’s coach Danny HEISTER TTCLM semi-finals Leg 1 UMMC – Borussia Dusseldorf 3:1 FANG Bo – Anton KALLBERG 3:0 (11:5 11:8 11:2) Jonathan GROTH – Timo BOLL 3:1 (12:10 12:10 9:11 12:10) Alexander SHIBAEV – Kristian KARLSSON 1:3 (6:11 11:9 9:11 9:11) FANG Bo – Timo BOLL 3:2 (11:13 7:11 11:4 11:6 11:4)
Patience paid of for Filip RADOVIC
Butterfly Under 21 European Championships In Men’s Event at the BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships in Portugal’s Gondomar favorites were not safe from upsets. There are only few opportunities for young players to play at U21 Events so the rankings do not give the real picture as their positions predicted. Most of the players who received wild cards and played as the last seeds in their groups progressed to the second stage of the event. European junior champion Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS of Greece was among them. Seeded only at he position three in Group one he booked second position and progressed to next group stage. Maciej KUBIK of Poland is at position no. one whilst top seeded Nils HOHMEIER of Germany failed to go through. Andrei PUTUNTICA of Moldavia won both his matches and he is safely through with Samuel KULCZYCKI of Poland. Denis IVONIN of Russia and Daniele PINTO of Italy in group 3 and Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia and Peter HRIBAR of Slovenia in Group 4 also preserved standing order. Artur ABUSEV of Russia joined them from group 5 but surprisingly Aviv BEN ARI of Israel failed to do the same. In the direct clash for second position Filip RADOVIC of Montenegro prevailed. “I never played against BEN ARI before but I kept my head cold and I had a lot of patience. That was the crucial thing for all three matches today. My game was good in two opening matches but it was not at the best level against Aviv. However it proved that good service and patience can be sufficient for win ” said RADOVIC. Tomasz KOTOWSKI of Poland and Patrik KLOS of Czech Republic moved to second styage from Group 6 but in Group 7 Medardas STANKEVICIUS of Lithuania upset the rankings order. From the position no. 4 he booked the top place. Thibaut DARCIS of Belgium finished second. Tomas POLOANSKI of Czech Republic and Alexandre MANOLE of Romania fought fot the top position in group 8. Undefeated POLANSKI concluded the day at the top of he standings. “Although Patric JUHASZ was the last in our Group my opening match against him was toughest for me today. I was three games up then he won two next games and put me under severe pressure. In sixth game I prevailed by narrow margin 14:12. Next two matches supposed to be harder but it was opposite. I felt good especially against MANOLE ” said POLANSKI. Luka MLADENOVIC of Luxembourg win group 9 whilst Uladzislau RUKLIATSOU of Belarus is second. Further Antonino AMATO of Italy Mathan SIMON of hIzrael Laurens DEVOS of Belgium Gerrit ENGEMANN of Germany Vladislav URSU of Moldova and Simon SODERLUND of Sweden booked their places in tomorrows stage 2. Watch LIVE 2019 #U21Euro Table 1 https://bitly.su/opxsH Table 2 https://bitly.su/VAPd Follow results here
Raquel MARTINS shines in front of home crowd in Gondomar
Butterfly Under 21 European Championships There were a lot of upsets in the opening rounds of the Women’s Singles Event but after first day of the competition at the BUTTERFLY Under 21 European Championships hosts can look forward second stage. Raquel MARTINS of Portugal received wild card to be present; seeded only at the position no. four in her qualifying group she beat the odds and finished second. MARTINS qualified for the second group stage in Gondomar tomorrow. MARTINS overcame Sarah MEYER of Luxembourg and Aleksandra VOVK of Slovenia. Hungary’s Leonie HARTBRICH was the only player to stop her but not before Raquel was 2:0 up. HARTBRICH recovered to win that match and concluded the day with all three wins at the position no. 1. “It is so good to play in your home town. This is the venue where I play every week and I feel comfortable playing here. I did not have enough points to be qualified for the Championships but I was confident and I gave my best. I am proud to have a chance to represent my country ” said MARTINS who clinched the medal last weekend at Portugal’s Nationals in team’s event. In Group one Oceane GUISNEL of France justified her position and finished at the top but not with the clear record. She suffered by the hand of Katarzyna WEGRZYN of Poland. Polish player seeded at position no. two however failed to justify her status she finished third after defeat against Maria YOVKOVA. Bulgaria’s player is second and she qualified for next round with Oceane. Maria MALANINA of Russia is yet to lose the game in the Championships. After three matches but Germany’s Franziska. SCHREINER beat the odds. From position no. 4 she cleared her way to the second stage. In the process she overcame Poland’s Anna WEGRZAYN – 4:3. Julia SLAZAK of Poland progressed to the next stage from position no. 2 in Group 3 but Anastasia BONDAREVA of Germany was in spotlight. She booked second position with two 4:3 wins against Fillipa BERGAND of Sweden and Rebekka CARLSEN on Norway and one 3:4 defeat. SLAZAK who lost against Filippa was the only player to overcame BONDAREVA. Christina KALLBERG of Sweden recorded all three wins. “I had rough time against Marta VUKELIC of Croatia in the opening round. Surprisingly match against top seeded MISCHEK was much easier than it was expected. I played tactically very good and beat her in straight games. Everything was easier after morning win ” said KALLBERG. Karoline MISCHEK of Austria finished second. Marketa SEVCIKOVA of Czech Republic and Erika FRONT of Norway will join her tomorrow in second stage. Also safely through are Adina DIACONU Andreea DRAGOMAN and Tania PLAIAN of Romania Sophia KLEE of Germany Margo DEGRAEF of Belgium Ozge YILMAZ of Turkey Andrea PAVLOVIC of Croatia Airi AVAMERI of Estonia Nadezhda BOGDANOVA of Belarus Ema LABOSOVA of Slovakia Tin Tin HO of England and Jamila LAURENTI of Italy. Watch LIVE 2019 #U21Euro Table 1 https://bitly.su/opxsH Table 2 https://bitly.su/VAPd Follow results here
LUNDQVIST: We are really looking forward to this challenge ENDOLOV: We believe in the victory of our team
TTCLM semi-finals Leg 1: Angers – Orenburg (March 8th 19:00 CET) French club Vaillante Sports Angers is going to play against four-time TTCLM winner Fakel Gazprom Orenburg in the first semi-final leg this Friday March 8th (19:00 CET). Angers already repeated its best TTCLM achievement securing its place among the best four teams while Russian club targets its eight TTCLM finals in last nine years. “We are really looking forward to this challenge! Of course Orenburg are huge favorite but we will try to use our big home crowd to reach a good result in the first leg. It will be the highlight of the season for us and we hope to give Orenburg a fight for the final spot” stated Angers player Jens LUNDQVIST. Coach of Fakel Gazprom Vladimir ENDOLOV emphasizes that his side is ready for the fight against another French club: “The second quarter-final leg with the French club AS Pontoise Cergy TT in Orenburg was held in a tense and interesting struggle but under the dictation of our team. Confident and powerful table tennis which demonstrated OVTCHAROV and SAMSONOV brought the club the planned victory. Our opponent in the semi-finals is another French club VS Angers TT. It is a very strong team with high-level table tennis players. All our players had very serious preparation for the upcoming matches. We believe in the victory of our team and will do everything to reach the finals of the European Champions League.” 2018/19 TTCLM semi-finals Leg 1 UMMC – Borussia Dusseldorf (Thursday March 7th 15:00 CET)Vaillante Sports Angers – Fakel Gazprom Orenburg (Friday March 8th 19:00 CET)
U 13 Development Camp in Ostrava
Ostrava in Czech Republic hosts first U13 Development Camp this year. 15 players from Lithuania Turkey Slovakia Czech Republic Spain Hungary Sweden Belgium Netherlands and Italy work in perfect conditions provided by the hosts. Coaches KORBEL DEMEK VACENOVSKA as well as PISKOR who is in charge for fitness work with the players who are qualified for the Eurotalents program.
