The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) announced that AIA has come on board as the official life insurance partner of the Seamaster 2018 World Tour Platinum China Open to be held in Shenzhen China on 31 May to 3 June 2018. AIA will also be activating the partnership through several Chinese cities through TTX events as well as other table tennis activities to promote its brand through table tennis. ITTF CEO Steve DAINTON stated: “We are happy to welcome AIA the largest public listed pan-Asian life insurance group as a partner of the China Open. Their support attests to the continued high profile of table tennis in China and the ITTF platform is ideal for AIA to promote their brand to a global audience through extensive TV broadcast local spectators and global social media.” CEO of AIA China ZHANG Xiaoyu shared “Table tennis is the national sport of China it’s one of the most popular and common sport amongst people here. Through partnering with the 2018 ITTF China Open AIA hopes to encourage people to pursue a healthier and active lifestyle and to work hand in hand to live healthier longer and better lives.” “Shenzhen has been the youngest and liveliest technological city since the reform and there’s always a special feeling and sense of mission towards table tennis. We hope that through the sponsorship of the China Open we can enjoy the glory that our national sport brings to witness its succession and achieve healthier longer and better lives together with the people here in Shenzhen ” added AIA Shenzhen’s General Manager CAI Wei Bing. The AIA deal comes on the back of a strong commercial start to the year for the ITTF after already announcing partnership deals with British Airways and GoDaddy with more to be announced in the upcoming weeks. The Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Platinum China Open is the third of six ITTF World Tour Platinum events in 2018 which is the top tier of the ITTF World Tour with the most prize money and world ranking points. Together with the six regular ITTF World Tour events players compete to earn World Tour Standings points to be one of top 16 to qualify for the one-million-dollar World Tour Grand Finals in December.
Gao Ning Claims Double Gold on the Final Day of the Commonwealth Games
2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast Singapore’s GAO Ning has made up for his devastating final losses at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games by winning the men’s singles gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. The 35-year-old faced the number one seed and the hot favorite for the gold medal Quadri ARUNA (NGR) in the hotly anticipated gold medal match in front of a capacity crowd. Despite the Nigerian superstar fighting hard with many amazing rallies the Singaporean’s experience and cool head proved the difference as he won the match 11-7 11-8 5-11 3-11 11-9 11-5. With the illusive gold medal around his neck GAO stated: “Winning the fifth game was important but it was very difficult to predict the outcome of the match until the last point had finished. It was one of those matches were sometimes you win sometimes you lose. It could have gone either way. Today I felt very calm. Twice I’ve been the runner up now the winner but at the Commonwealth Games I’ve won Men’s Team and Men’s Doubles gold medals; sure I’m happy to win I just did my best.” Sharath Kamal ACHANTA capped off a memorable Commonwealth Games for the Indian team with a hard-fought bronze medal. The 2006 Commonwealth Games Champion was too good for England’s Sam WALKER in the bronze medal play-off winning 11-7 11-9 8-11 11-6 12-10. Singapore added to their medal tally by breaking the English hearts in the Mixed Doubles gold medal match. The singles champion GAO Ning paired up with the women’s singles silver medalist YU Mengyu to show their experience by winning the key points to defeat Liam PITCHFORD & Tin-Tin HO 12-10 12-10 11-9 to clinch the title. Indians Sathiyan GNANASEKARAN & Manika BATRA teamed up to defeat their colleagues Sharath Kamal ACHANTA & Mouma DAS to take home the bronze medal. The best players in the Commonwealth Game’s attention now turns to the Liebherr 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships which will be held in Halmstad Sweden from 29 April to 6 May 2018. Full list of 2018 Commonwealth Games champions: Men’s Team: India Women’s Team: India Men’s Doubles: Paul DRINKHALL & Liam PITCHFORD (ENG) Women’s Doubles: FENG Tianwej & YU Mengyu (SGP) Mixed Doubles: GAO Ning & YU Mengyu (SGP) Class 6-10 Women’s Para: Melissa TAPER (AUS) Class 6-10 Men’s Para: Ross WILSON (ENG) Men’s Singles: Gao Ning (SGP) Women’s Singles: Manika BATRA (IND)
Panagiotis GIONIS wins Croatia Open
Greek player beat no. 1 seed Ricardo WALTHER in five games of the Men`s Singles final. Elizabeta SAMARA lost to Saki SHIBATA in the Women`s Singles final Panagiotis GIONIS from Greece and Saki SHIBATA from Japan are the winners of the singles events at the 2018 ITTF Challenge Croatia Open concluded tonight April 14th in Zagreb. Greek player beat two top seeds of the Men`s Singles event in last two stages first no. 2 seed Germany`s Benedikt DUDA then his compatriot and no. 1 seed Ricardo WALTHER. The 38-year-old was extended to full distance by DUDA turning the score from 2:3 to 4:3. Saki SHIBATA repeated her achievement from recently held 2018 ITTF Challenge Series Spanish Open in Guadalajara. In that occasion she defeated her compatriot Hitomi SATO in the gold medal contest but this time that clash has emerged in the semi-finals and again SHIBATA prevailed against no. 1 seed. Japan`s player beat Romania`s Elizabeta SAMARA in the six games of the final. SAMARA overcame Ni Xialian in the semi-finals. Hungary`s Nandor ECSEKI (HUN) and Adam SZUDI (HUN) are the winners of the Men`s Doubles event while Sweden`s Matilda EKHOLM and Hungary`s Georgina POTA lost to Honoka HASHIMOTO and Hitomi SATO from Japan in the Women`s Doubles final. Men`s Singles Semi-finals Ricardo WALTHER (GER) – Can AKKUZU (FRA) 4:2 (11:3 7:11 14:12 11:8 9:11 11:8) Panagiotis GIONIS (GRE) – Benedikt DUDA (GER) 4:3 (11:9 5:11 4:11 11:5 11:13 11:8 11:8) Final Panagiotis GIONIS (GRE) – Ricardo WALTHER (GER) 4:1 (11:13 11:9 11:8 11:5 12:10) Women`s Singles Semi-finals Saki SHIBATA (JPN) – Hitomi SATO (JPN) 4:0 (12:10 11:3 11:6 11:7) Elizabeta SAMARA (ROU) – NI Xialian (LUX) 4:1 (7:11 15:13 11:7 11:8 13:11) Final Saki SHIBATA (JPN) – Elizabeta SAMARA (ROU) 4:2 (11:9 11:5 10:12 6:11 11:4 11:8) Men`s Doubles final Nandor ECSEKI (HUN) / Adam SZUDI (HUN) – PENG Wang-Wei (TPE) / SUN Chia-Hung (TPE) 3:0 (11:6 11:3 11:5) Women`s Doubles final Honoka HASHIMOTO (JPN) / Hitomi SATO (JPN) – Matilda EKHOLM (SWE) / Georgina POTA (HUN) 3:1 (10:12 12:10 11:8 11:9)
Gold for Liam PITCHFORD & Paul DRINKHALL
Commonwealth Games England’s Liam PITCHFORD & Paul DRINKHALL held their nerve to win a gripping Men’s Doubles final at the Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast 2018. The English duo managed to come back from 1-2 to overcome a spirited Indian pair of Sharath ACHANTA & Sathiyan GNANASEKARAN 11-5 10-12 9-11 11-6 11-8 to secure England’s first gold medal of the games. The Indian pair of Harmeet DESAI and Sanil Shankar SHETTY defeated the Singaporean duo Koen PANG and Ethan POH to clinch the bronze. Melissa TAPPER (AUS) thrilled the capacity local crowd as she beat Faith OBAZUAYE (NGR) to claim the class 6-10 para gold 7-11 11-2 11-6 11-3 in an entertaining final. The Men’s class 6-10 para final was an all-England affair between Kim DAYBELL and Ross WILSON which WILSON won in four games 7-11 12-10 11-3 11-7 to take home the gold medal. The men’s singles final tomorrow will be an epic between veteran Singaporean GAO Ning and Nigerian superstar Quadri ARUNA and the mixed doubles a battle between Singapore and England. Manika BATRA has created more history by becoming the first ever Indian table tennis player to become the women’s singles champion after shocking the field at Gold Coast 2018. The 22-year-old who led India to their first ever women’s team gold medal earlier in the week continued her devastating form in the singles event to win gold against all the odds. BATRA who is currently ranked number 58 in the world started off her dream day by beating world number four FENG Tianwei (SGP) who she also beat in the women’s team final in the semifinals. She then faced another Singapore in YU Mengyu in the battle for gold. After a tough opening game when she trailed 6-1 BATRA blasted the Singapore legend off the court to claim gold 11-7 11-6 11-2 11-7 to add another gold to her collection. A beaming BATRA said after the match: “I feel very proud to have won and even more proud to have won for India. My aim was to win a gold medal for India and I did it! Here at the Commonwealth Games it is the best table tennis I have ever played. I have never played better. in the first game I was down 6-1; I said to myself I can recover and win and I did.” The 2010 and 2014 gold medalist FENG Tianwei recovered from her shock loss against BATRA to defeat Mo ZHANG (CAN) in the bronze medal to ensure she added to her gold from the women’s doubles and silver from the women’s team event.
Croatia Open: NI Xialian inspired by Zagreb
Luxembourg`s player gold medalist at the 2002 ITTF European Championships secures her place in the Women`s Singles semi-finals Sixteen years after her gold medal at the 2002 ITTF European Championships 54-year-old NI Xialian proves that she likes to play in the city of Zagreb reaching semi-finals of the Women`s Singles event at the 2018 ITTF Challenge Croatia Open. Luxembourg`s player beat two strong opponents today April 13th to set up her clash against 2015 European champion Elizabeta Samara. First she beat actual ITTF-Europe Top 16 winner Bernadette SZOCS in straight games then she overcame Russia`s Polina MIKHAILOVA. Four representatives of Old Continent will play in the Men`s Singles semi-finals two top seeds from Germany Ricardo WALTHER (no. 1) and Benedikt DUDA (no. 2) France`s Can AKKUZU and Greece`s Panagiotis GIONIS. WALTHER and DUDA beat Mizuki OIKAWA and Kenji MATSUDAIRA respectively in the two Germany-Japan clashes. One of most thrilling matches was one between AKKUZU and Finland`s Benedek OLAH decided after full seven games. Men`s Singles quarter-finals Ricardo WALTHER (GER) – Mizuki OIKAWA (JPN) 4:1 (11:7 11:6 6:11 11:8 11:7) Can AKKUZU (FRA) – Benedek OLAH (FIN) 4:3 (8:11 11:6 8:11 11:8 9:11 11:9 11:9) Panagiotis GIONIS (GRE) – Mohamed EL-BEIALI (EGY) 4:2 (11:8 8:11 9:11 11:3 12:10 11:4) Benedikt DUDA (GER) – Kenji MATSUDAIRA (JPN) 4:3 (7:11 7:11 6:11 11:6 11:7 11:6 11:6) Women`s Singles quarter-finals Hitomi SATO (JPN) – Maki SHIOMI (JPN) 4:3 (8:11 11:2 11:6 9:11 11:8 7:11 11:8) Saki SHIBATA (JPN) – Honoka HASHIMOTO (JPN) 4:2 (9:11 11:9 11:4 11:2 6:11 11:5) Elizabeta SAMARA (ROU) – Georgina POTA (HUN) 4:2 (5:11 11:6 7:11 11:7 14:12 11:8) NI Xia Lian (LUX) – Polina MIKHAILOVA (RUS) 4:3 (11:8 10:12 11:4 3:11 11:7 10:12 11:9) Men`s Doubles semi-finals Nandor ECSEKI (HUN) / Adam SZUDI (HUN) – Andrea LANDRIEU (FRA) / Romain LORENTZ (FRA) 3:1 (11:7 3:11 11:9 11:5) PENG Wang-Wei (TPE) / SUN Chia-Hung (TPE) – Benedikt DUDA (GER) / Ricardo WALTHER (GER) 3:1 (9:11 11:4 11:9 11:6) Women`s Doubles semi-finals Honoka HASHIMOTO (JPN) / Hitomi SATO (JPN) – Barbora BALAZOVA (SVK) / Hana MATELOVA (CZE) 3:0 (11:8 11:9 11:8) Mirela DURAK (CRO) / Mateja JEGER (CRO) – Matilda EKHOLM (SWE) / Georgina POTA (HUN) 3:1 (8:11 11:2 11:8 11:7)
Walker marches into last four
Commonwealth Games Sam WALKER beat world No 46 Sathiyan GNANASEKARAN to move into the men’s singles semi-finals at the Commonwealth Games today while Liam PITCHFORD & Paul DRINKHALL made it through into the men’s doubles final and Kim DAYBELL and Ross WILSON will meet in the men’s para final. WALKER set down an early marker against his Indian opponent by marching out to a 7-1 lead in the first and he was never behind as he went on to take a 4-0 victory. Not that it was easy – far from it – as he took it 11-8 11-8 13-11 17-15. That fourth was a real tussle as WALKER saved several game points but saw his opponent save two match points. The Worksop man saved another game point at 14-15 and then took his next chance to set up a clash with Singapore’s GAO Ning. However Liam PITCHFORD will not repeat his singles medal heroics from Glasgow 2014 after losing a tight match to India’s Sharath Kamal ACHANTA. It was close throughout the quarter-final against the world No 48 with only one of the six games having more than two points between the athletes. ACHANTA twice came from a game down to level and just kept himself in front for most of the last two games to win 4-2 (9-11 13-11 10-12 11-9 11-7 11-9) and go through to the last four. But PITCHFORD will have the chance to go for gold in the men’s doubles as he and Drinkhall came through two matches today. They took a third match point against Harmeet Desai & Sanil Shetty of India to win 3-0 (11-7 13-11 13-11) and it is ACHANTA & GNANASEKARAN – who earlier beat WALKER & David MCBEATH – who await in the final tomorrow.
ITTF looking for Equipment Manager
ITTF are seeking a Consultancy Services. The ITTF wishes to retain the selected person on a non-exclusive basis to act as an independent consultant to provide to the ITTF the services described below. The ITTF Equipment Manager will be paid a remuneration based on skillset experience and place of residency. The Consultant undertakes to respect all fiscal and social legislation particularly those in force in his/her country of residence. In particular the ITTF will not pay any social charges as the Consultant is acting in an independent capacity. The position will be preferably based in one of the ITTF offices in Switzerland or Singapore but other flexible arrangements will be considered. Applicants should be willing to work as required rather than regular office hours. The ITTF Equipment Manager will report to the ITTF CEO and General Secretary. The successful applicant will operate under the direction of the ITTF CEO and General Secretary. This position will liaise with the Chairman and all the members of the Equipment Committee with the Executive Committee Vice President in charge of Equipment and other ITTF staff. The Equipment Manager shall perform the duties assigned by the Executive Committee or the CEO as prescribed from time to time and shall concentrate his/her work on the following duties and responsibilities: DUTIES: Equipment General Duties 1.1. Acts as the ITTF co-ordinator for the invoicing of all equipment approval/authorisation and testing fees and follows up on payments. 1.2. Acts as the main ITTF contact with equipment manufacturers (replying enquiries publishing announcements sending mass e-mails etc.) 1.3. Co-ordinates the applications and testing of balls nets tables and floors and liaises with the Equipment Committee Members in charge. 1.4. Liaises with the Testing Institutes for the administration of mainly the balls nets tables and sports floors testing. 1.5. Checks and approves invoices from testing institutes for payment. 1.6. Manages and administrates the applications for all ITTF Approved equipment and supports the Equipment Coordinator with the applications for ITTF Authorised Racket Coverings. 1.7. Prepares and maintains all List(s) of ITTF Approved Equipment and supports the Equipment Coordinator to prepare the LARC. 1.8. Produces the Lists of ITTF Approved Equipment. 1.9. Maintains the Manufacturers’ ITTF database updated. 1.10. Maintains and updates all Equipment sections of the ITTF website (including lists documents images etc). 1.11. Follows up on illegal uses of the ITTF logo and use of non- approved equipment at ITTF events. 1.12. Issues and delivers equipment certificates and supports the ITTF Marketing Staff to distribute the equipment sponsor certificates. 1.13. Co-ordinates accreditation of FIT members for the WTTC and provides support to FIT members on side. Equipment Committee Support 2.1. Provides support to the Equipment Committee Members as requested. 2.2. Provides support to the Equipment Committee in updating the Technical Leaflets (currently mainly T1 T2 T3 T5 T6) preparing resolutions to the AGM/BoD and other documents. 2.3. Attends the Equipment Committee meetings and provides administrative support or assigns to the Equipment Coordinator to provide support such as to preparing the agenda minutes and reports under the for approval of the Equipment Committee Chairperson. Technical Area and Research 3.1. Implements equipment policies following the Equipment Committee and EC guidelines: new system of approvals/authorisations changes in Technical Leaflets etc . 3.2. Supports the Equipment Committee to define the methods of control and testing for table tennis equipment according to the ITTF standards and the guidelines of the Equipment Committee and the Executive Committee. 3.3. Assists solving all problems related to ITTF Approved Equipment. Other responsibilities 4.1. To undertake all other tasks as may reasonably be delegated by the Executive Committee or the CEO. SELECTION CRITERIA: Candidates for the position of ITTF Equipment Manager should demonstrate: Essential Criteria University Degree in a relevant field i.e. Sport Equipment Technology Materials Engineering etc. Experience in sport equipment or equipment technical projects. Experience in table tennis industry will be considered an advantage. Command of English language written and spoken. Other languages like Chinese Japanese French or German will be considered an advantage. Project management skills. Ability to work with volunteers. Ability to travel internationally if requested. Desirable Criteria Professional capacity to work in English. Experience within the sport of Table Tennis. DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 15th May 2018 Please forward your CV with a cover letter addressing the selection criteria to Vicky Eleftheriade at vicky@ittf.com.
OVTCHAROV vs. BOLL for the 6th TTCLM title
Two German players actual World no. 3 and 2 will lead their sides in the final face-off between Fakel Gazprom Orenburg and Borussia Dusseldorf (both legs in May) Fourth time in last eight years Fakel Gazprom Orenburg and Borussia Dusseldorf will decide the winner of the Table Tennis Champions League Men. German team record holder with 10 crowns beat Russian side reigning champion and 4-time winner in the 2010/11 finals while Orenburg was better last year and in 2014/15. Upcoming finals will be held in May (9-13th in Dusseldorf and 16-20th in Orenburg). Unlike Borussia Orenburg had an easy job in the semi-finals beating Sporting Clube De Portugal 6-0 on aggregate. Dusseldorf`s side has defeated TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen in all-German clash by a narrow margin: with just 23 points in their favor (5-5 in matches 22:22 in games). Orenburg is going to play for its fifth title in last seven years while Borussia hopes to improve its record to 11. Last year Russian club has lifted the trophy by 6-2 on aggregate after decisive 3:0 away win in the first leg. Both sides kept their line-ups. Coach Vladimir ENDOLOV plays mostly with three same players – Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (actual World no. 3) Jun MIZUTANI (no. 11) Vladimir SAMSONOV (no. 37) – while Borussia`s Danny HEISTER combines with four – Timo BOLL (no. 2) Kristian KARLSSON (no. 19) Stefan FEGERL (no. 45) and Anton KALLBERG (no. 62). Defending champion still has two unbeaten players Japan`s Jun MIZUTANI (10-0) an Belarus Vladimir SAMSONOV (8-0). Other finalists win-loss records are following: Dimitrij OVTCHAROV 8-1 Alexey LIVENTSOV 2-2 Denis IVONIN 0-1 Fedor KUZMIN 0-1 (all four from Orenburg) Timo BOLL 13-3 Kristian KARLSSON 9-3 Anton KALLBERG 5-5 Stefan FEGERL 1-5. Vladimir SAMSONOV and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV have won all four Orenburg`s titles. Belarus player is all-time record holder with 12 TTCLM crowns taking first three with Borussia Dusseldorf (1997 1998 2000). OVTCHAROV also commenced his winning collection in Borussia`s jersey (2009) playing beside Timo BOLL. Now both stand on five apiece – BOLL (2005 2006 – Gonnern 2009 2010 2011 – Borussia) OVTCHAROV (2009 – Bourssia 2012 2013 2015 2017 – Orenburg).
ITTF Signs Three-Year World Championships Partnership Deal with TATA Wooden Door
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is excited to announce the signing of a three-year partnership with TATA Wooden Door as a Major Sponsor and Official Door of the World Table Tennis Championships from 2018 to 2020. The signing ceremony and press conference was held in Beijing China where ITTF CEO Steve DAINTON and TATA Wooden Door Deputy General Manager ZHANG Yan formalized the deal for the world’s biggest table tennis event for the next three years. ITTF CEO Steve DAINTON stated during the signing ceremony “On the back of a very successful 2017 World Championships we are proud and happy to welcome TATA Wooden Door as a Major Partner and Official Door company of the 2018 2019 and 2020 World Table Tennis Championships. In 2017 we spoke about opening doors to global markets for TATA through the World Championships platform and the 2017 World Championships was broadcasted in China and globally exposing the TATA Wooden Door brand to over 350 million audiences worldwide.” DAINTON added “TATA and ITTF share common qualities and values which will ensure this partnership will continue to be a huge success. It takes incredible technical prowess to master the sport of table tennis just as it takes incredible technical prowess to produce quality products like TATA does. Of course we also would like to thank everyone that made this possible including our hosts last year the German Table Tennis Association our important partners in China including the CTTA and all our table tennis fans.” TATA Wooden Door first came on board for the Liebherr 2017 World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf as the Major Sponsor where they created a series of trickshot videos with the ITTF featuring top players trying various trickshots around a miniature TATA Door. TATA Wooden Door Deputy General Manager ZHANG Yan added that “Our first partnership with ITTF at the 2017 World Championships was a great success seeing our logo being shown on the center court throughout the tournament was a proud moment for our company. We also had many interesting videos from the World Championships such as the trickshot videos from the world’s best table tennis players. In fact we still receive a lot of engagement on social media because of the videos and fans sending through their versions of the trickshot videos and tagging us online even in October.” “The coming three years is a crucial period for TATA and we hope that the ITTF will lead TATA Wooden Door to the international stage through this partnership and let friends outside China that our doors encompasses a lot of thinking and wisdom behind it and we hope to push our Chinese products worldwide. This is the vision of TATA Wooden Door and the future we envision for the “Made in China” label.” As part of the partnership TATA Trickshot Challenge will return at the Liebherr 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships that will be held in Halmstad Sweden from 29 April to 6 May 2018. As part of the 2018 challenge TATA has invited Grand Slam Champion LIU Guoliang and former World Team Champion FENG Tianwei to film a series of trick shot videos to encourage and challenge fans to submit their own trickshot videos to win cool prizes.
President KRAMER visited Zagreb during Croatia Open
ETTU President Ronald KRAMER visited Zagreb during on the opening day of the competition at the 2018 – ITTF Challenge Series – Croatia Open. “This event is another proof of the organisational qualities of the Croatian Table Tennis Association. The overall level of this ITTF Challenge event is very good” was KRAMER’s conclusion after this first day. “CTTA President Zlatko POSPIŠ and me had an encouraging exchange of views i.a. preparing for the Extraordinary Congress in Halmstad.” Presidents KRAMER and POSPIŠ attended a presentation of a new project of the Croatian Parkinson Association in cooperation with CTTA using table tennis as a very health pastime for people suffering from Parkinson disease. CTTA President POSPIŠ: “We are happy that the ETTU President took some time to visit the Croatian Open. It has been a very fruitful visit which received much positive attention for our sport!”
