Second semi-final game: Berlin – Bursa 3:1 (1st leg 0:3). Turkish club reaches its very first final Actual ETTU Cup Women winner Bursa Buyuksehir Belediyespor reached very first Seamaster ECLW final in its history after second semi-final leg against TTC Berlin Eastside held in Germany. Defending ECLW champion won 3:1 thanks to two points of Georgina POTA but Bursa progressed by 4:3 score on aggregate after 3:0 victory in first leg. As both coaches emphasized prior to the second clash the winner was decided in the first game held in Turkey when Bursa won 3:0 (9:3). In spite of that Berlin like real champion showed big fight (without two players from the last season`s line-up SHAN Xiaona and Petrissa SOLJA) and led 2:0 (6:2). But Yana NOSKOVA beat Berlin`s coach-player Irina PALINA in the third encounter to secure the place in the final. Seamaster ECLW semi-finals second leg TTC Berlin Eastside – Bursa Buyuksehir Belediyespor 3:1 (1st leg 0:3) Georgina POTA – HU Melek 3:2 (7:11 11:7 11:8 8:11 11:2) Shiho MATSUDAIRA – Simay KULAKCEKEN 3:0 (11:8 11:9 11:9) Irina PALINA – Yana NOSKOVA 0:3 (5:11 8:11 10:12) Georgina POTA – Simay KULAKCEKEN 3:0 (11:9 11:2 11:4)
ITTF Celebrates 2018 World Table Tennis Day at Za’atari Refugee Camp
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) together with Peace & Sport brought table tennis to the Za’atari Refugee Camp at the Jordan border with Syria in celebration of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) and World Table Tennis Day today 6 April 2018. World Table Tennis Day which is in its fourth edition in 2018 is the celebration of the joy to play Table Tennis. On 6 April table tennis fans from all around the world will show that Table Tennis is a sport for everyone everywhere. This year the ITTF held its main celebration event at the Za’atari Refugee Camp using table tennis as a tool for promoting peace. ITTF President Thomas WEIKERT who is at the Za’atari Refugee Camp with ITTF Foundation Director Leandro OLVECH and Olympic Champion RYU Seungmin shared “6 April 2018 marks a significant stepping stone in the history of the ITTF and we are glad to share this date with Peace & Sport one of our strongest partners of our Development Program since 2008.” He added “Today we celebrate the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace and the World Table Tennis Day but also this marks the launch of the ITTF-Nittaku Dreambuilding with Refugees Project as well as the soft inauguration of the ITTF Foundation which aims to promote solidarity through table tennis. All these initiatives use sport for positive social outcomes. As an international organization it is our task to lead by example and also to motivate others to include acts of integration into their daily lives.” President and Founder of Peace and Sport Joel BOUZOU stated “We are very happy to team up with ITTF in the celebration of the April 6th the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace in the Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan. On this day Peace & Sport will bring together high level athletes international sport federations and local NGO’s committed to stand for refugees. Today more than ever sport can be used as a vehicle to heal bring a sense of normalcy and support social inclusion programs for refugees in host communities and camps.” Other than the main World Table Tennis Day event at the Za’atari Refugee Camp table tennis enthusiasts from all over the world are taking their rackets to enjoy the sport. Together with National Associations and table tennis fans 443 events are being held in 93 countries across the globe including large mass participation table tennis fun parks and playing a game of table tennis on a boat sailing out to the black sea in Turkey! Social media today was also flooded with well wishes from top table tennis stars around the world such as Quadri ARUNA Bernadette SZOCS and Paralymic Champion Anna-Carin AHLQUIST wishing table tennis fans Happy World Table Tennis Day. Find more information on the World Table Tennis Day and events happening around the globe on TT4All.com!
Fakel Gazprom reaches its 7th TTCLM final in 8 years
TTCLM semi-final second game: Orenburg – Sporting 3:0 (1st leg 3:0) Reigning TTCLM champion and four-time winner Fakel Gazprom Orenburg secured its seventh TTCLM final in last eight years. Russian team beat Sporting Club De Portugal 3:0 at home as they did three weeks ago in Lisbon. Jun MIZUTANI has defeated Diogo CARVALHO in four games of the opener to confirm Orenburg`s place in the final. Vladimir SAMSONOV reversed the score from 0:2 to 3:2 against the best Sporting`s player Joao MONTEIRO while Alexey LIVENTSOV overcame Francisco SILVA in straight sets. Both MIZUTANI and SAMSONOV are continuing their winning streak. Japan`s player now has 10-0 win-loss record while Belarus legend stands at 8-0. Orenburg will play in the final against the winner of the clash between two German clubs Borussia Dusseldorf and TTF Liebherr Ochsenhaisen (1st leg 2:3). TTCLM semi-finals second match Fakel Gazprom Orenburg – Sporting Club De Portugal 3:0 (1st leg 3:0) Jun MIZUTANI – Diogo CARVALHO 3:1 (11:9 12:14 11:4 11:4) Vladimir SAMSONOV – Joao MONTEIRO 3:2 (7:11 8:11 11:8 11:8 12:10) Alexey LINETSOV – Francisco SILVA 3:0 (11:9 11:3 11:3)
ETTU Eurotalents HOPES Selection Camp gathered 31 players
Luxembourg 2 – 9 April 2018 The ETTU Eurotalents HOPES Selection Camp in Luxembourg gathered 16 girls and 15 boys from 14 European countries. Head coaches LI Xiaodong and ZHANG Yining (CTTC) and 16 national coaches taking care of trainings in Luxembourg. In addition Chinese players are also on duty to help European youth to develop their skills. The best 3 boys and 3 girls from this camp will be selected for ITTF Hopes Week & Challenge (Alicante July 30th – August 5th). The organisers are CTTC-E and FLTT in cooperation with ETTU Eurotalents Programme (TI&S) and Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) China Table Tennis College (CTTC) ITTF and Tibhar.
ITTF Confirms 12 Host Cities for 2019 ITTF World Tour
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has confirmed the 12 host cities for the 2019 ITTF World Tour. The ITTF World Tour is the highest level professional tour for table tennis athletes around the world and is split into two tiers six ITTF World Tour Platinum events (top tier) and six ITTF World Tour events. The six ITTF World Tour Platinum events will have higher prize money and be of a higher level of presentation which will ensure the attendance of the world’s best players and more TV distribution. On the announcement ITTF Head of World Tour Vicky ELEFTHERIADE stated “The ITTF World Tour has grown from strength to strength over the past few years especially after the rebranding in 2017 and with the support from our title sponsor Seamaster. We are pleased to see more interest in the World Tour from hosts and other partners each year and we will continue to push the tour forward to ensure growth in terms of popularity and commercially.” The 12 host cities were chosen out of 16 bidding cities with Japan upgrading from a regular event in 2018 to a Platinum event in 2019 in Sapporo in the lead up to Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The six cities that have won the hosting rights for the 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum events are: Doha (QAT) : 26 – 31 Mar 2019 Shenzhen (CHN) : 28 May – 2 Jun 2019 Sapporo (JPN) : 12 – 16 Jun 2019 Geelong (AUS) : 09 – 14 Jul 2019 Bremen (GER) : 08 – 13 Oct 2019 Linz (AUT) : 12 – 17 Nov 2019 The six host cities for the ITTF World Tour events are: Budapest (HUN) : 22 – 27 Jan 2019 Hong Kong (HKG) : 04 – 09 Jun 2019 TBC (KOR) : 02 – 07 Jul 2019 Panagyurishte (BUL) : 13 – 18 Aug 2019 Olomouc (CZE) : 20 – 25 Aug 2019 Stockholm (SWE) : 01 – 06 Oct 2019 The 12 2019 ITTF World Tour events will all offer World Tour Ranking points that will be used to determine the top 16 players in Singles & top 8 doubles pairs who will qualify for the year-ending World Tour Grand Finals from 12 – 15 December 2019 in a city to be determined. The bids for the ITTF Challenge Series the ITTF’s development tour for up and rising stars of the sport to challenge themselves and earn international recognition and experience will be coming out soon. The Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour is now in full swing with three events – Hungarian Open Qatar Open (Platinum) and German Open (Platinum) organized in the first quarter of 2018. The ITTF World Tour continues action in Hong Kong from 24 – 27 May after the biggest table tennis event on Earth the Liebherr 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad Sweden from 29 April to 6 May 2018.
K.S. Dekorglass Dzialdowo seeks for the win at home soil
ETTU Cup penultimate stage Three matches in ETTU Cup semi final will be live on http://www.laola1.tv this weekend. You will be able to follow live action from Poland in the match between K.S. Dekorglass Dzialdowo and Vaillante Sports Angers TT. In Women’s ETTU Cup both matches will be live: Metz TT vs. TMK-Tagmet Taganrog and ETIVAL CLAIREFONTAINE ASRTT vs. Girbau-VIC TT. K.S. Dekorglass Dzialdowo forced French side to go full distance in the opening leg when they have played away match and that could proved as valuable advantage on Saturday. In the other match Istres Tennis de Table lost their encounter against Chartres ASTT in straight matches at home soil. The odds are not on their side in the return leg on Sunday. In Women’s ETTU Cup semi final the winner of the opening match Girbau-VIC TT travels to France. ETIVAL CLAIREFONTAINE ASRTT awaits guests after 1:3 defeat from the opening leg. Metz TT is in much better position. They will play in France after they overcame TMK-Tagmet Taganrog 3:0 in Russia. Match in Metz are scheduled for Friday whilst ETIVAL CLAIREFONTAINE ASRTT play on Sunday.
Seamaster ECLW semis: For Berlin second leg is a formality
“The dream to play in the final we will leave for next year with Matilda (EKHOLM) and Nina (MITTELHAM)” stated Berlin`s Coach Irina PALINA speaking about game against Bursa Actual ETTU Cup Women winner Bursa Buyuksehir Belediyespor travels to Berlin with a huge advantage 3:0 (9:3) secured in the first semi-final leg of the 2017/18 Seamaster European Champions League Women. Second match will be held this Friday April 6 (19:00) on the soil of the reigning ECLW champion. “It’s difficult something to say… Maybe if we had luck and played better could be another result but now it’s 0:3 and we have just to play second match and try to play nice for our Berlin spectators. The dream to play in the final we will leave for the next year with Matilda (EKHOLM) and Nina (MITTELHAM)” stated Berlin`s Coach Irina PALINA whose side signed two strong players for the next season. Bursa`s Coach Mehmet ASLAN is aware how close his team is to the historic result first ever Seamaster ECLW final: “Securing 3:0 win against the best team of Germany was even better that our expectations. We have secured serious advantage and it is time to use it in second round and qualify to the final”. Seamaster ECLW semi-final second match TTC Berlin Eastside – Bursa Buyuksehir Belediyespor (April 6 19:00) 1st leg 0:3 KTS Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg – Dr. Casl (April 7 18:00) 1st leg 3:2
TTCLM semis 2nd leg: Timo BOLL sees Ochsenhausen`s young players as a huge inspiration
“GAUZY and CALDERANO are two players I do not really like to play against. I really have to fight against both even if I am very fit” stated Borussia`s player. Second legs to be held this Friday April 6th Borussia Dusseldorf and TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen will meet in another Table Tennis Champions League Men classic after many great clashes in the past. This time they are going to fight in the second leg of the 2017/18 TTCLM this Friday (April 6th 19:00) in Dusseldorf after 3:2 win of Ochsenhausen in the first game held three weeks ago. Host side is determined to repeat last year`s score (Borussia lost 3:2 in the first quarter-final leg but won 3:1 at home) while Ochsenhausen promises big fight aiming its first TTCLM final after 2009 (Borussia won the title). Borussia`s Manager Andreas PREUSS puts pressure on the opposite side giving them role of favorite: “Of course it would be much better to have a victory on the back. Ochsenhausen is the favourite because of the first leg. I think our chance to progress at 30 percent. On the other side we already turned much different results. Everybody in the team knows his job and we are able to win this game as high as we have to. Especially in front of our own fans it is not easy to win against us. The ARAG CenterCourt will be on fire on Friday.” Coach Danny HEISTER believes that Timo BOLL is ready to collect two points in spite of having 1-1 score in the first leg (lost to Simon GAUZY and was extended to full distance by CALDERANO): “We already said that we saved Kristian (KARLSSON) on last Thursday in TTBL. He practiced the whole week and worked with our physiotherapist on his injury too. He is as fit as the others. Of course a lot depends on Timo (BOLL). If he is fit enough to get two points we would have good chances. But we also have to be prepared in case he´s losing one of these matches as in Ochsenhausen. If this happens the others have to be on top top level.” Timo BOLL is aware what he must do in order to provide his team`s place in the TTCLM final: “GAUZY and CALDERANO are two players I do not really like to play against. I really have to fight against both even if I am very fit. I hope I will get two points on Friday so we move into the final.” Ochsenhausen`s Sport Manager Daniel ZWICKL looks forward to two important games in the last three days of this week (other match is Bundesliga`s semi-final against Fulda-Maberzell April 8th). “We’re just happy to have the opportunity to play two semi-finals in spite of having hard week with injured and sick players. It`s obvious that we`re facing two interesting and exciting games.The others might feel pressure but we just look forward to it. There is a positive mood in the team and attitude of all five players is great. “ Ochsenhausen`s President Kristijan PEJINOVIC stressed that his side enters the second leg “with optimal conditions”: “What will happen we will see. The guys are in a good mood and want to enjoy the upcoming games. Both teams know each other very well. Last time it was not enough because we lost return leg in Dusseldorf 1:3. This time we`ll see if the team is mature enough to master such a big challenge.” TTCLM semi-finals second games Fakel Gazprom Orenburg – Sporting Clube De Portugal (April 6 14:00) 1st leg 3:0 Borussia Dusseldorf – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen (April 6 19:00) 1st leg 2:3
Dr. Casl confident in its win in Poland
Second leg of Seamaster ECLW semi-finals will be held this Saturday (April 7 18:00) in Tarnobrzeg Seamaster ECLW no. 1 seed KTS Enea Sairka Tarnobrzeg won first semi-final thriller against Dr. Casl 3:2 (10:11) held three weeks ago in Zagreb but Croatian side has no doubt that the second leg belongs to them. “To be honest we were expecting a victory in the first match. Unfortunately one ball has been decided in their favor. However I am confident in our win in Poland” stated President of Croatian club Martin-Tino CASL. LI Jie lost both her games against Elizabeta SAMARA and LI Qian but CASL see her in a winning mode in Poland: „It’s not possible to see our best ranked European player LI Jie losing four encounters in the semi-finals. She lost her first two matches but now I am sure that she will take one at least. FU Yu showed that she’s able to beat HAN Ying in spite of being defeated in the close first tense clash in Zagreb. Regarding ZHOU I am expecting from her to continue her nice winning streak. If the host side change again positions of their players in the line-up no problem. It’s better for FU to play against LI Qian as well as for LI Jie against HAN Ying. She overcame Elizabeta SAMARA in the semis of the ITTF-Europe Top 16 hence I expect see her to repeat it in Poland”.
China’s Fan Takes World Number One Spot for the First Time
21-year-old FAN Zhendong (CHN) has overtook table tennis legend Timo BOLL (GER) to become the new world number one for the first time in his career on the new April 2018 ITTF World Ranking released yesterday. The 2017 World Championships silver medalist FAN who took the world number two spot since November 2015 won the prestigious title at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open earlier in March to earn him the world ranking points to top the chart this month. “It is an amazing feeling to become the word number one it has always been a big dream of mine. I hope I can keep this position for a very long time ” stated FAN after receiving the news that he will take over the top spot on the new World Ranking. BOLL who made history last month to become the oldest world number one at 36-years-old 22 months and 21 days old on 1 March after rolling back the years to reclaim the top spot settles at number two one place ahead of compatriot Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER). FAN’s teammate XU Xin and LIN Gaoyuan takes the fourth and fifth place respectively while reigning World & Olympic Champion MA Long whose ranking fell due to inactivity in 2017 makes his way back up the chart to number six this month after taking Gold at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open in Bremen last week. Brazil’s Hugo CALDERANO’s world ranking rose to a career new high at number 12 after a successful outing in Qatar upsetting several top stars to make the finals. In the Women’s ranking China’s CHEN Meng reclaims the world number one position from colleague ZHU Yuling after reaching semifinals at the Qatar Open while ZHU was knocked out of the tournament early in the Round of 32 by eventual Champion LIU Shiwen (CHN) whose ranking rose from 20 in March to 10 this month. Japan’s Kasumi ISHIKAWA & Singapore’s FENG Tianwei remains at three and four on the April’s World Ranking list while Qatar Open finalist WANG Manyu climbed two places up to settle fifth and round up the top 5 on the Women’s World Ranking. This comes under the effect of the newly developed ITTF World Ranking which will present a more accurate measure and realistic representation of the playing level of athlete’s current performance as well as to ensure that the World Ranking better supports ITTF events. The world’s top stars will now make full preparations for the biggest table tennis event of the year the Liebherr 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships to be held in Halmstad Sweden from 29 April to 6 May 2018.
