KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL TARNOBRZEG is one stage away from claiming their fourth crown in the Champions League Women the third in a row. Tonight they overcame the two-time winners and three-time runners-up LINZ AG Froschberg. After a 3-0 victory in the away match in Austria Poland’s champions were pushed to the limit tonight. In the opening duel Xiaoxin YANG managed to withstand Sofia POLCANOVA’s spirited comeback from 0-2 to 2-2 ultimately winning the decisive game. In another closely contested match FU Yu held a 2-1 advantage against Suthasini SAWETTABUT before the player from Thailand recovered to win the match nullifying TARNOBRZEG’s advantage. Elizabeta SAMARA won the key duel against Anastasia STERNER RADZIONAVA. With a 2-1 and 3-0 victory in the opening leg the champions secured their spot in the final. “We expected that they would challenge us fiercely; they were fighting for every ball. The key match was the opening one between Xiaoxin YANG and Sofia POLCANOVA. Xiaoxin showed incredible mental strength winning the first two games 13-11 each. Even when Sofia managed to level the score Xiaoxin performed fantastically. I had a slow start but after the opening set I got into the rhythm and secured the victory for the final. We won and now we are very happy to reach another final in the Champions League ” said Elizabeta SAMARA. In the final KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL TARNOBRZEG will meet the winner of the match between SKST Plus Hodonín and ETIVAL ASRTT. Second leg KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL TARNOBRZEG – LINZ AG Froschberg 3-2 Xiaoxin YANG- Sofia POLCANOVA 3-2 (13-11 13-11 8-11 8-11 6-4) Fu YU- Suthasini SAWETTABUT 2-3 (9-11 11-4 11-5 8-11 3-6) Elizabeta SAMARA – Anastasia STERNER RADZIONAVA (9-11 11-4 11-8 11-7) Xiaoxin YANG- Suthasini SAWETTABUT 2-3 (5-11 9-11 11-8 11-7 4-6) Fu YU- Andrea PAVLOVIC 3-0 (11-8 11-5 11-7) Opening leg LINZ AG Froschberg- KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL TARNOBRZEG 0-3 Sofia POLCANOVA – Fu YU 0-3 (7-11 8-11 8-11) Ivana MALOBABIC – Xiaoxin YANG 0-3 (3-11 4-11 4-11) Suthasini SAWETTABUT – Elizabeta SAMARA 2-3 (13-11 8-11 7-11 11-6 5-6)
KS DEKORGLASS DZIAŁDOWO Advances to Europe Cup Men’s Final in superb style
The winners of the Europe Cup men’s title in 2018 semi-finalists in 2019 and runners-up last year KS DEKORGLASS DZIAŁDOWO have once again reached the final. After securing a 3-1 victory in the opening leg in Austria against Felbermayr Wels today’s return leg played in Poland saw KS DEKORGLASS DZIAŁDOWO succeed by the same margin. Once again Jonathan GROTH proved to be the key player winning both of his matches against Felix WETZEL and Andreas LEVENKO boosting his record to 13 wins in 14 matches this season in Europe. His only loss came in November against Jin UEDA during Stage 2 in Group C of the Champions League in the match against SolexConsult TT Wiener Neustadt. In later stages of the Europe Cup GROTH remains unbeaten. Jakub DYJAS who lost his encounter in the opening duel three days ago against Andreas LEVENKO avenged his defeat in furious style tonight. Similarly Austria’s club player Jiri MARTINKO prevailed against Kaii KONISHI after an opening leg defeat. In the final the Polish side awaits the winner of the duel between KS DARTOM BOGORIA Grodzisk Mazowiecki and A.S PONTOISE-CERGY TT. “It was a very good match. The away duel was much more challenging. They played very well in their venue so we knew it was going to be a tough battle. We were very happy to clinch a 3-1 away victory which gave us the capacity to play more relaxed and have a much better performance at home ” explained Jakub DYJAS. The atmosphere in DZIAŁDOWO was fantastic. “We had great support here. More than 400 people were here tonight and made us very happy. Everyone from the team did a great job. It’s amazing that we moved to the final once again ” said Jakub DYJAS. Second leg KS DEKORGLASS DZIAŁDOWO – Felbermayr Wels 3-1 Jonathan GROTH – Felix WETZEL 3-1 (8-11 11-6 11-5 11-4) Jakub DYJAS – Andreas LEVENKO 3-0 (11-8 11-8 11-4) Kaii KONISHI – Jiri MARTINKO 0-3 (8-11 7-11 10-12) Jonathan GROTH – Andreas LEVENKO 3-1 (7-11 13-11 11-1 15-13) Opening leg Felbermayr Wels – KS DEKORGLASS DZIAŁDOWO 1-3 Andreas LEVENKO – Jakub DYJAS 3-1 (14-12 11-9 8-11 11-5) Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK – Jonathan GROTH 0-3 (8-11 5-11 9-11) Jiri MARTINKO – Kaii KONISHI 1-3 (6-11 11-8 12-14 9-11) Andreas LEVENKO – Jonathan GROTH 1-3 (11-9 9-11 8-11 8-11)
Maria XIAO and Rafael De Las HERAS Win National Titles in Tarragona
María XIAO and Rafael De Las HERAS have claimed victory at the Absolute Spanish Table Tennis Championship held at the Palau d’Esports Catalunya in Tarragona. For Rafael De Las HERAS it marks his first national title a moment he celebrated by looking up to the sky dedicating the win to a fundamental figure in his life who introduced him to the world of table tennis. XIAO’S triumph marks her fourth overall title solidifying her status as a dominant figure in the national sport. This victory adds to her previous wins in 2014 2015 and 2016 consecutively. UCAM Cartagena TM player XIAO demonstrated her superiority throughout the 79th edition of the championship which was presided over by Carlos BRULL president of the Tourist Board of the Provincial Council of Tarragona; Isabel MASCARÓ 5th deputy mayor; RFETM president Miguel Ángel MACHADO; and RFETM events director Daniel VALERO. These officials presented the awards to the winners finalists and semi-finalists. In the final XIAO faced off against the young María BERZOSA who reached her first final in the Spanish Absolute Championship after a year of notable achievements including representing the Spanish senior team in European and world competitions. However XIAO emerged victorious with a resounding 4-0 win reaffirming her dominance in the championship. De Las HERAS staged a comeback in the final against Carlos FRANCO. After losing the first set 9-11 De Las HERAS rallied to win the next two sets 11-8 and 11-9 taking the lead. Franco claimed the fourth game 6-11 leveling the final at 2-2. Ultimately De Las HERAS triumphed with scores of 11-3 and 11-6 lifting his arms to the sky covering his face with a towel and celebrating with his family—a moment marking the most significant victory of his career. In the women’s doubles event the pair of Marija GALONJA and Natalya PROSVIRNINA secured their first victory overcoming their semifinal elimination in the individual competition. GALONJA and PROSVIRNINA defeated the Vic TT pair MOSCOSO/COLL 3-2. The defending champions CRISTÓBAL/SASTRE settled for bronze along with MIRAMONTES/RAMÍREZ. On the men’s side the duo of Álvaro GAINZA and Juan PÉREZ clinched their first doubles title defeating Miguel Ángel VILCHEZ and Carlos FRANCO 3-0. Semifinalists VILARDELL/PONS and NUÑEZ/LILLO completed the podium. Additionally the mixed doubles title went to the duo of Jana RIERA and Juan PÉREZ securing their first victory by defeating Albert VILARDELL and Silvia COLL 3-1 in the final. The bronze medalists were the pair of Iker MARTÍNEZ and Ángela RODRÍGUEZ as well as María BERZOSA and Daniel BERZOSA.
Save the Date – Finlandia Open 2024
The 33rd edition of the Finlandia Open is scheduled to take place from December 5th to December 8th 2024 at the Kisakallio Sports Institute in Lohja. This competition is officially recognized by the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) and holds ETTU ranking status. The tournament will feature Men’s and Women’s Singles events as well as Under 21 events for both men and women. Deadlines: Preliminary entries: October 1st 2024 Final entries: November 1st 2024 Travel details: November 20th 2024 Finnish Table Tennis Association e- mail: info@sptl.fi
SH-ITB Budaörsi St Club clinched opening leg win in Portugal
Two-time runners-up in the Europe Cup Women Hungarian SH-ITB Budaörsi St Club are on track to secure a spot in the final for the third time. In the opening leg of the penultimate stage of the Europe Cup the Hungarian team defeated Clube Ténis de Mesa de Mirandela in Portugal. SH-ITB Budaörsi needed four matches to overcome their opponents and the two opening matches were very close. In the first match Annamaria ERDELYI pushed Georgina POTA to the full distance and similarly in the duel between Jingyi ZHOU and Dora MADARASZ the guests demonstrated better nerves in the close finishes. Despite facing severe pressure POTA and MADARASZ managed to create a gap that was difficult for the hosts to overcome. Ines MATOS scored the only point for the hosts in the duel against Maria FAZEKAS winning in three games while in the fourth match Dora MADARASZ needed one more game to overcome ERDELYI. Clube Ténis de Mesa de Mirandela- SH-ITB Budaörsi St Club 1-3 Annamaria ERDELYI – Georgina POTA 2-3 (9-11 15-13 11-4 6-11 1-6) Jingyi ZHOU – Dora MADARASZ 2-3 (11-4 5-11 5-11 11-9 1-6) Ines MATOS – Maria FAZEKAS 3-0 (11-6 11-7 11-9) Annamaria ERDELYI – Dora MADARASZ 1-3 (7-11 8-11 11-4 8-11)
Dominant Performance by Reigning Champions in Champions League Women
Reigning champions in the Champions League Women KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL TARNOBRZEG were in the fast lane tonight. In the opening leg of the semi-final the Polish champions beat LINZ AG Froschberg in straight matches. Unlike the very close quarterfinal and two legs that ended in five matches and required a gold match the opening leg of the penultimate stage was finished in the express lane. “The team was fantastic tonight. We were very motivated ” said Elizabeta SAMARA. “Fu Yu performed at the top level tonight. She was superb. Xiao Xin was also at a high level.” SAMARA was forced to go the full distance. She beat Suthasini SAWETTABUT by the death point. “In the key moments I was more focused but I have to give credit to SAWETTABUT for a very tough fight.” The return leg will be played in Poland on Saturday. In the other semi-final SKST Plus Hodonín will meet ETIVAL ASRTT. LINZ AG Froschberg- KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL TARNOBRZEG 0-3 Sofia POLCANOVA – Fu YU 0-3 (7-11 8-11 8-11) Ivana MALOBABIC – Xiaoxin YANG 0-3 (3-11 4-11 4-11) Suthasini SAWETTABUT – Elizabeta SAMARA 2-3 (13-11 8-11 7-11 11-6 5-6)
First Eurotalents Development Camp in 2024 commenced in Bucharest
The first Eurotalents Development Camp of the year has officially started running from February 28th to March 6th 2024 in Izvorani Bucharest. This event brings together 44 Under 13 athletes with 20 girls and 24 boys from 14 associations to engage in a week of intensive training. The camp is guided by Head Coach Anamaria SEBE and the ETTU Assigned coach Zoltan BATORFI Assistant Coach Andreea ZANFIR and Physical Trainer Andrei GHERASE. The Romanian Table Tennis Federation in collaboration with the European Table Tennis Union is proud to host this gathering at the Romanian Olympic Centre “Sydney2000” a facility renowned for its world-class amenities and conducive training environment. The following players have been selected to be part of the Eurotalents 2024 Program: Yaghmur MAMMADLI Azerbaijan Temperance TANG Belgium Laura MARSICKOVA Czechia Esther HASEK Spain Eloisa BARREDA Spain Eva LAM France Albane ROCHUT France Lisa ZHAO France Emilia PSCOLOVSKA Lithuania Andreea DELEV Moldova Maria Joana RUIVO Portugal Nadalia IONASCU Romania Alexandra STOIAN Romania Teodora HORVAT SRB Siri BENJEGARD Sweden Ela Su YONTER Türkiye Buse KOCAK Türkiye. Boys: Daniel GSCHANES Austria Onur GULUZADE Azerbaijan Miroslav SCHMID Bulgaria Ondrej MORAVEK Czechia Ladimir MAYOROV Spain Alexander MALOV Spain Roger QUESADA Spain Jimi KOIVUMÄKI Finland Nolan JOHNSTON France Simon CLIN France Marin JEAN France Noah TESSIER France Stefan BONCHEV IRE Peadar SHERIDAN Ireland Andrei MISCISIN Moldova David TORO Romania Alexandru POP Romania Emil ELLERMANN Sweden Ali Enes SEREN Türkiye Kuzey GUNDOGDU Türkiye Ocal GORKEM Türkiye Volodymyr NEVIZHYN Ukraine.
Jonathan GROTH led KS DEKORGLASS DZIAŁDOWO to victory
In the opening leg of the Europe Cup played in Austria KS DEKORGLASS DZIAŁDOWO secured victory and gained a valuable advantage before the return leg to be played on Saturday. They are on a good path to compete in their third final of the Europe Cup in history. The backbone of the Polish club’s victory was Jonathan GROTH. The Dane defeated both Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK and Andreas LEVENKO tonight. Andreas LEVENKO scored against Jakub DYJAS to bring the only point to the hosts. In position no. 3 Kaii KONISHI beat Jiri MARTINKO. In the 2017/2018 season when Dekorglass triumphed in the European Cup they played in the semi-final against another French team Angers TT – with results of 2:3 and 3:1. So far Dekorglass Działdowo has played finals against other teams from France – in 2018 against Chartres ASTT (3:1 3:1) and in 2023 against GV Hennebont (3:2 1:3). Polish Dartom Bogoria is also in the semi-final facing the French team Pontoise Cergy. SPG Felbermayr Wels – KS DEKORGLASS DZIAŁDOWO 1-3 Andreas LEVENKO – Jakub DYJAS 3-1 (14-12 11-9 8-11 11-5) Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK – Jonathan GROTH 0-3 (8-11 5-11 9-11) Jiri MARTINKO – Kaii KONISHI 1-3 (6-11 11-8 12-14 9-11) Andreas LEVENKO – Jonathan GROTH 1-3 (11-9 9-11 8-11 8-11)
UCAM Cartagena TM and Real Cajasur Priego TM triumph in Tarragona
UCAM Cartagena TM extended its reign in the Iberdrola Queen’s Cup of table tennis adding the 18th title in its history. In the exciting final held this Tuesday at the Palau d’Esports Catalunya in Tarragona the Carthaginian team achieved a 3-2 victory over the Francisco Morales Almendra Museum. Real Cajasur Priego TM took the Copa del Rey trophy back to the Cordoba town after once again winning the title of champions and adding its ninth cup victory. The Prieguense team beat ASISA Borges Vall in the final by 3-1. The mayor of Tarragona Ruben VIÑUALES Councilor for Sports of Tarragona Berni ÁLVAREZ and Miguel Ángel MACHADO president of the RFETM were present at the awards ceremonies. On the women’s side the semi-finalist teams were Son Cladera TTC and Reus Ganxets Miró who completed the podium of the Copa de la Reina Iberdrola 2024. And on the men’s side El Tecnigen Linares and Irún Leka Enea A completed the podium obtaining the bronze medal.
Successful start of the Europe Youth Series new season: Croatia Open Sees Record Participation
https://www.ettu.org Last year the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) launched the Europe Youth Series aiming to provide young players with valuable tournament experience and ample match opportunities. Following its inaugural season the Series has garnered widespread acceptance as demonstrated by the impressive figures from the second edition of the Europe Youth Series – Croatia Open held in Osijek. The tournament in Osijek which took place last week set a new participation record with 149 players from 18 associations in attendance. One of the primary motivations behind the inception of this event was to offer players the chance to compete in numerous matches. ETTU has successfully achieved this objective with an average of 19.1 matches per player during the Croatia Open. You can see the complete document here. STATISTIC – 2024 EYS CROATIAN OPEN Osijek (21.-25.02.2024.) number of participating players 149 number of participating Associations 18 total number of matches played in Osijek 1271 matches average number of matches per player (all players) 19.1 matches average number of matches per players who played in all events 22.5 matches average number of matches per player who did not played in team events 8.3 matches average number of matches per player/U13 players who played in all events 25.4 matches average number of matches per player/U15 players who played in all events 19.7 matches Association participating players total number of played matches average matches per player AUSTRIA 16 311 19.4 AZERBAIJAN 8 174 21.8 BELGIUM 5 90 18.0 BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA 12 228 19.0 CROATIA 31 629 20.3 CZECHIA 10 154 15.4 DENMARK 5 107 21.4 GERMANY * 6 69 11.5 HUNGARY * 12 86 7.2 IRELAND 2 47 23.5 ITALY * 4 32 8.0 MONTENEGRO 1 26 26.0 POLAND 10 248 24.8 ROMANIA 8 222 27.8 SERBIA 3 65 21.7 SWITZERLAND 2 55 27.5 SLOVAKIA 10 197 19.7 SWEDEN 4 104 26.0 * participating only in singles and doubles (no team events)
