The quarterfinal phase of the Men’s and Women’s ETTU Cup will bring the clubs from the Table Tennis Champions League Men and Seamaster European Champions League Women’s Event on the stage. The club’s which concluded the Group stage of the Event at the position no. three joined the ETTU Cup Fourth Stage winners. This weekend’s first leg quarterfinal starts on Friday with three matches. SG Stockerau welcomes French Chartres ASTT in Austria whilst Czech’s SF SKK El Nino Praha awaits K.S. Dekorglass Dzialdowo in Men’s ETTU. In Women’s there will be only one match tomorrow – French Metz TT will meet SKST Mart Hodonin – Stavoimpex. The remaining two matches in Men’s ETTU Cup will be played on Saturday: Vaillante Sports Angers TT will meet TTC Ostrava 2016 and Istres Tennis de Table will play against AS Pontoise Cergy. In women’s: TMK-TAGMET TAGANROG will meet TuS Bad Driburg and GIRBAU-VIC TT will play against UCAM Cartagena TM. The last match of the weekend is scheduled for Sunday when ETIVAL CLAIREFONTAINE ASRTT meets ALCL TT Grand-Quevilly.
Madeira Island welcoms European coaches and young players
ETTU NA’s Assistance Program 2018 Seminar and Training Camp in Madeira Island (Funchal February 11th-17th 2018) Madeira Island Table Tennis welcomed experienced coach Neven CEGNAR. Between 11th and 17th February 2018 he will organize a Seminar for a group of 30 coaches representing the 28 clubs of this Island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Before the the presentation filled with important topics about the work and development of young talents a group of 30 young players U12 to U15 participated in a Training Camp under the coordination of this master coach. The dynamic was very intensive as well as the enthusiasm of Marcos FREITAS (n. 12 in the World Ranking) who works there aiming new goals on the national and international level. Sessions are held in Funchal City in Bartolomeu Perestrelo Sport Hall with 16 tables and a lot of learning.”
First Director of UMMC Alexander ZAKHAROV passes away at 65
ETTU President Ronald KRAMER has expressed his condolences to UMMC and ZAKHAROV`s family Alexander ZAKHAROV passed away at the age of 65 stated Russian club UMMC. He was founder of Verkhnaya Pyshma`s club and its longtime Director as well as widely recognized table tennis contributor. ETTU President Ronald KRAMER has expressed his condolences to UMMC and ZAKHAROV`s family”: “A very sad day for table tennis in Russia and in Europe. Alexander ZAHAROV held an ETTU badge of honor and has been an important driving force behind the successes of table tennis in Yekaterinburg. I personally will miss him for his charm his friendship and dedication. A great loss.”
Borussia vs. Ochsenhausen game without secrets
Two opponents from the 2009 TTCLM final also met one another in the last year`s quarter-final After all-German TTCLM quarter-finals finished last weekend in the next two months (14-16 March – 4-6 April) will see all-German semi-finals! TTF Liebher Ochsenhausen eliminated Saarbrucken in the very tense and close quarter-final clash which provided them new challenge and chance for revenge bearing in mind that Borussia Dusseldorf beat them in the exciting last season`s quarter-finals (5:4 on aggregate score). Other semi-final pair is composed by two Group A clubs reigning champion Fakel Gazrom and the TTCLM newcomer Sporting Clube De Portugal. “It was a very tight game to make the semi-finals clear” stated Borussia`s Coach Danny HEISTER after second leg defeat 3:2 by UMMC (German side won 3:0 1st leg). “Anton has not brought his performance and conceded a clear defeat. Then it was really pressure on Timo (BOLL) but he mastered really well and with his victory got the missing point. Kristian (KARLSSON) also played really well made very good setbacks which made me very happy. With Stefan (FEGERL) I had hoped that he gets his performance from the training there he liked me a lot. In the last game Timo unfortunately had to give up and could not finish playing. I hope he gets fit for Sunday. I`m just so happy that we`ve reached the TTCLM semi-final”. After Andrej GACINA`s win over Anton KALLBERG in the opener Timo BOLL has defeated Alexander SHIBAEV who played excellent having 2:1 lead. After that it was clear that ten-time TTCLM champion secured its place among the best four clubs. Ochsenhausen and Saarbrucken played two very exciting games. Dubravko SKORIC`s side won 5:4 on aggregate score thanks to second leg win 3:1 (1st leg 2:3). They played without their best player Simon GAUZY who is still not fully recover after an injury. “Compliments to all our players for this great team performance and the confident play. But also a compliment to the coaching staff! Everything was fine this time. We deserve it after all our efforts and injuries this season” stressed Ochsenhausen`s President Kristijan PEJINOVIC and added: “I’m confident that we will show our real face in the semi-finals but it will certainly depend on whether Simon GAUZY is in good shape by then.” Two teams met also in the 2008/9 TTCLM finals. Borussia won 5:3 on aggregate score (2:3 3:0). German clubs in the second quarter-final leg of 2017/18 TTCLM FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 1:3 (1st leg 3:2) Tiago APOLONIA – Jakub DYJAS 2:3 (8:11 11:6 9:11 14:12 9:11) Patrick FRANZISKA – Hugo CALDERANO 3:2 (7:11 11:6 11:9 6:11 11:6) Patrick BAUM – Yuto MURAMATSU 1:3 (4:11 7:11 12:10 8:11) Bojan TOKIC – Hugo CALDERANO 2:3 (12:10 5:11 5:11 12:10 8:11) Borussia Düsseldorf – TTSC UMMC 2:3 (1st leg 3:0) Anton KALLBERG – Andrej GACINA 0:3 (4:11 4:11 6:11) Timo BOLL – Alexander SHIBAEV 3:2 (8:11 11:7 8:11 11:6 11:8) Kristian KARLSSON – Mahary YOSHIMURA 3:0 (11:7 11:7 13:11) Stefan FEGERL – Alexander SHIBAEV 0:3 (6:11 4:11 4:11) Timo BOLL – Andrej GACINA 1:3 (11:4 0:11 0:11 0:11)
Ryu Seungmin & Galia Dvorak to Mentor Table Tennis Youth Olympians at Buenos Aires 2018
Olympic Champion RYU Seungmin (KOR) and three-time Olympian Galia DVORAK (ESP) have been announced as the Table Tennis Athlete Role Model (ARMs) for the upcoming third Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires Argentina. RYU and DVORAK will be heading to Buenos Aires in October to support inspire and mentor young table tennis athletes through educational activities and workshops at the Games to offer advice on areas such as skills development healthy lifestyle and future careers. RYU made history after winning his Olympic Men’s Singles Gold at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games in Greece and moved on to claim a bronze and a silver Olympic medal in the team events in Beijing 2008 & London 2012 respectively. The three time Olympic medallist who is also a member of the IOC Athlete’s Commission shared “I’m very honoured to be appointed as an athlete role model. Thank you for giving me this great opportunity and I will put all my effort to share my experience with my young athletes. As an IOC member and Olympian I will do my best to give them inspirations.” “I am thrilled about being an athlete role model for the Youth Olympic Games and to be taking part in this amazing and inspiring programme ” stated DVORAK after the announcement. “I am looking forward to participate in the planned activities and to share my experiences with the goal of inspiring the young athletes to be the best they can both on and off the field of play. In the same way I believe that this experience and the contact with the young athletes will be a very enriching experience for me and I am sure that I will learn a lot from them.” Both DVORAK and RYU will be accessible to the athletes both in the Youth Olympic Village and in the competition venue to share their experiences and inspire young athletes to be the best they can both on and off the field of play. The Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games Table Tennis event in the Tecnópolis Park from 6-18 October 2018. The event will feature 32 boys and 32 girls who will battle for the 3 Gold medals available at the Games: Boy’s Singles Girls’ Singles Mixed International Teams event which will consist of one boy and one girl who have qualified for the singles event.
Italina Cup for Apuania Carrara Tennistavolo
From the left side: Mihai Bobocica Mattia Crotti Sadi Ismailov Alessandro Merciadri (president) Lorencio Lupulesku Claudio Volpi (coach) Renato Di Napoli (Italian Table Tennis Federation’s President) Apuania Carrara Tennistavolo won 2018 Italy Cup. It was both physically and mentally very demanding task with 5 matches in three days: “We managed to win this trophy with respect for the opponents and determination and so we are very happy of the final success. That it’s the summary for having diligently done step by step a lot of small details. We have been good at managing the critical phases.” Said coach Claudio VOLPI. President Alessandro MERCIADRI added “A new trophy gives us even more prestige in our society founded in 1968 and the city”. This victory is addition to the trophy won in Italian Championship 2017 the third one in the history of the club from the city of Carrara (the others two had been won in 2013 and in 2014).
Actual ETTU Cup Women winner reaches Seamaster ECLW semi-final
Second quarter-final leg of Seamaster ECLW: Bursa – Saint-Quentiois 3:0 (1st leg 3:1) Actual ETTU Cup Women winner Bursa Buyuksehir Belediyespor became the second Turkish club ever to reach the semi-final of Seamaster ECLW. They booked their place today February 10th by winning TT Saint-Quentionis 3:0 in the home`s second quarter-final leg (6:1 aggregate score). Istanbul`s side Fenerbahce 2015 champion played twice in the final (2014 runner-up). After 3:1 away win Bursa faced an easy task on its soil but World no. 13 LEE Ho Ching lost the opening set to Aurore LE MANSEC. Hong Kong`s player was extended to full distance but provided first point to home side. Current individual European champion HU Melek defeated actual World no. 11 from Chinese Taipei CHENG Hsien-Tzu also after full five games while Yana NOSKOVA overcame Audrey ZARIF in the third encounter. Seamaster ECLW quarter-finals 2nd leg Bursa Buyuksehir Belediyespor – TT Saint-Quentinois 3:0 (1st leg 3:1) LEE Ho Ching – Aurore LE MANSEC 3:2 (5:11 11:4 11:7 9:11 11:7) HU Melek – CHENG Hsien-Tzu 3:2 (11:7 6:11 8:11 11:8 11:6) Yana NOSKOVA – Audrey ZARIF 3:1 (11:5 9:11 11:6 11:4)
Sporting joins big names in the TTCLM semis
Second leg: Saarbrucken – Ochsengausen 1:3 Stella Sport La Romagne – Sporting 3:2 Borussia – UMMC 2:3. Ochsenhausen Sporting and Borussia will play in the semi-finals Actual TTCLM runner-up and 10-time champion Borussia Dusseldorf the 2009 finalist TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen and the 2017/18 newcomer Sporting Clube de Portugal have joined reigning TTCLM champion Fakel Gazprom Orenburg in the semi-finals. Ochsenhausen lost to Saarbrucken 3:2 two weeks ago but tonight won 3:1 away. Hugo CALDERANO who provided both points for Ochsenhausen in the first leg again played main role as he beat Bojan TOKIC in the fourth encounter. Slovenian player did his best to secure the fifth match for his side but CALDERANO recorded his third victory in two legs. Host managed to survive in the fourth set (9:10 12:10) and had 6:5 lead in the fifth but guest responded by three points in a row (7:7 7:10) to secure semi-final berth for his side. Other two Ochsenhausen`s points have provided Jakub DYJAS (vs. Tiago APOLONIA) and Yuto MURAMATSU (vs. Patrick BAUM) while Patrick FRANZISKA (vs. CALDERANO) was unique winning player of Saarbrucken. Sporting was better in the newcomer`s duel in spite of the final score of tonight`s clash 3:2 for Stella Sport La Romagne (Portugal`s team won 1st leg 3:1). Joao MONTEIRO once again was fantastic winning the opener against SHIAHO Wei. Portugal`s player improved his season`s win-loss record to 8-2 paving the way to the semis. CHEN Tianyuan brought new hope for Stella Sport as he leveled the score against Quadri ARUNA but Diogo CARVALHO decided the winner by beating Adrian CRISAN. The 2012 TTCLM runner-up UMMC showed a strong character in Germany in spite of losing first home leg 3:0. After Andrej GACINA`s fast win against Anton KALLBERG Alexader SHIBAEV led 2:1 in his clash with Timo BOLL but recently crowned Europe Top 16 champion managed to reverse the score at 3:2. BOLL`s 10th victory in the 2017/18 season (10-1 w-l) was enough for the semi-final spot hence other three games have played without pressure. TTCLM quarter-finals second leg FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 1:3 (1st leg 3:2) Tiago APOLONIA – Jakub DYJAS 2:3 (8:11 11:6 9:11 14:12 9:11) Patrick FRANZISKA – Hugo CALDERANO 3:2 (7:11 11:6 11:9 6:11 11:6) Patrick BAUM – Yuto MURAMATSU 1:3 (4:11 7:11 12:10 8:11) Bojan TOKIC – Hugo CALDERANO 2:3 (12:10 5:11 5:11 12:10 8:11) Stella Sport La Romagne – Sporting Clube De Portugal 3:2 (1st leg 1:3) SHIAHO Wei – Joao MONTEIRO 0:3 (9:11 8:11 12:14) CHEN Tianyuan – Quadri ARUNA 3:2 (8:11 11:4 10:12 11:6 11:4) Adrian CRISAN – Diogo CARVALHO 0:3 (9:11 4:11 7:11) SHIAHO Wei – Quadri ARUNA 3:0 (11:2 11:0 11:0) Brice OLLIVIER – Joao MONTEIRO 3:0 (11:3 11:0 11:0) Borussia Düsseldorf – TTSC UMMC 2:3 (1st leg 3:0) Anton KALLBERG – Andrej GACINA 0:3 (4:11 4:11 6:11) Timo BOLL – Alexander SHIBAEV 3:2 (8:11 11:7 8:11 11:6 11:8) Kristian KARLSSON – Mahary YOSHIMURA 3:0 (11:7 11:7 13:11) Stefan FEGERL – Alexander SHIBAEV 0:3 (6:11 4:11 4:11) Timo BOLL – Andrej GACINA 1:3 (11:4 0:11 0:11 0:11)
Seamester ECLW: Tarnobrzeg Berlin and Dr. Casl into semis
Second quarter-final leg: KTS Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg – Linz AG Froschberg 3:1 Dr. Casl – CP LYSSOIS LILLE METROPOLE 3:1 TTC Berlin Eastside – Szekszard AC 2:3 Top three seeds have booked their places in 2017/18 Seamaster ECLW semi-finals: no. 1 and actual runner-up KTS Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg no. 2 and reigning champion TTC Berlin Eastside and no. 3 Dr. Casl. Polish champion beat two-time ECLW winner Linz AG Froschberg with the same score as they did two weeks ago in Austria 3:1. Canada`s ZHANG Mo upset Elizabeta SAMARA in the opener after full five games but LI Qian managed to tie the score at 1:1 beating Sophia POLCANOVA in straight games. Viktoria PAVLOVICH prevailed against Linda BERGOSTROM while SAMARA overcame POLCANOVA in the concluding encounter. Croatian champion Dr. Casl recorded its 72nd consecutive victory in all competitions defeating Lille Metropole 3:1 (1st leg 3:0) in the small Croatian city of Donji Kraljevac. FU Yu secured two points improving her season`s win-loss record to 7-0. Portugal`s player overcame both Agnes LE LANNIC and Tamolwan KHETKHUAN while third win for the host side provided ZHOU Xintong who beat KHETKHUAN. Third game has brought reprise of the recent China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup gold medal contest and again Bernadette SZOCS was better than LI Jie – 3:0 (11:8 12:10 11:8). Hungarian Szekszard managed to defeat reigning champion away 3:2 but Berlin won first leg 3:0. Polina MIKHAILOVA has recorded two wins first against Georgina POTA in the opener and Shiho MATSUDAIRA in the fifth encounter. Dora MADARASZ added one more point for Hungarian side as she defeated MATSUDAIRA. Berlin`s points came from SHAN Xiaona (vs. Ruta PASKAUSKIENE SHAN now has 6-0 w-l record) and POTA who prevailed against her compatriot MADARASZ. Seamaster ECLW quarter-finals second leg KTS Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg – Linz AG Froschberg 3:1 (1st leg 3:1) Elizabeta SAMARA – ZHANG Mo 2:3 (11:5 8:11 11:5 5:11 8:11) LI Qian – Sophia POLCANOVA 3:0 (11:5 12:10 11:9) Viktoria PAVLOVICH – Linda BERGSTROM 3:0 (13:11 11:9 11:9) Elizabeta SAMARA – Sophia POLCANOVA 3:0 (11:6 13:11 11:7) Dr. Casl – CP LYSSOIS LILLE METROPOLE 3:1 (1st leg 3:0) FU Yu – Agnes LE LANNIC 3:0 (11:7 11:8 11:6) ZHOU Xintong – Tamolwan KHETKHUAN 3:0 (11:7 11:8 11:5) LI Jie – – Bernadette SZOCS 0:3 (8:11 10:12 8:11) FU Yu – Tamolwan KHETKHUAN 3:1 (11:8 9:11 11:7 11:6) TTC Berlin Eastside – Szekszard AC 2:3 (1st leg 3:0) Georgina POTA – Polina MIKHAILOVA 2:3 (11:7 12:10 8:11 9:11 6:11) Shiho MATSUDAIRA – Dora MADARASZ 1:3 (7:11 9:11 11:9 4:11) SHAN Xiaona – Ruta PASKAUSKIENE 3:1 (11:7 6:11 11:5 11:6) Georgina POTA – Dora MADARASZ 3:1 (11:7 8:11 11:7 11:6) Shiho MATSUDAIRA – Polina MIKHAILOVA 2:3 (7:11 11:9 11:3 6:11 9:11) Feb 10 16:00 BURSA BÜYÜKŞEHİR BELEDİYESPOR – TT SAINT QUENTINOIS (1st leg 3:1)
Reigning TTCLM champion reaches its 8th semis in a row
Second quarter-final leg: TTC Fakel Gazprom – Roskilde Bordtennis BTK61 3:0 Reigning champion of Table Tennis Champions League Men TTC Fakel Gazprom has reached its 8th consecutive semi-final after two comfortable wins against Denmark`s Roskilde Bordtennis BTK61. Four-time winner repeated the score of the first quarter-final leg 3:0 playing today (Feb 9) second game in front of its fans. In spite of having big advantage from Denmark Russian champion played in its best line-up: Jun MIZUTANI Dimitrij OVTCHAROV Vladimir SAMSONOV. Each of three encounters is decided in straight games. MIZUTANI and SAMSONOV have improved their winning streaks Japanese to 8-0 and “Mr. TTCLM” to 6-0. Former Asian champion beat 2005 European Team champion Allan BENTSEN in the opener OVTCHAROV prevailed against ZHAI Yujia while SAMSONOV concluded the quarter-final clash against Laurens TROMER. TTCLM quarter-finals second leg TTC Fakel Gazprom – Roskilde Bordtennis BTK61 3:0 (1st leg 3:0) Jun MIZUTANI – Allan BENTSEN 3:0 (11:9 11:8 11:4) Dimitrij OVTCHAROV – ZHAI Yujia 3:0 (11:6 11:6 11:7) Vladimir SAMSONOV – Laurens TROMER 3:0 (11:6 11:6 11:4)
