Matches will be held this Friday and Saturday Feb 9-10 All four favorites have confirmed their status away in the first quarter-final games of 2017/18 Seamaster ECLW held two weeks ago as KTS Enea Sairka Tarnobrzeg (no. 1 seed) defending champion TTC Berlin Eastside (no. 2) Dr. Casl (no. 3) and actual ETTU Cup Women winner Bursa Buyuksehir Belediyespor (no. 4) gained big advantages for the secong leg (Feb 9-10). Both Berlin and Dr. Casl won their encounters in straight games against Szekszard (no. 5) and Lille Metropole (no. 7) respectively whilst Tarnobrzeg and Bursa secured 3:1 wins against Linz AG Froschberg (no. 10) and TT Saint Quentinois (no. 8). “All three our players were highly motivated and went into the game with full concentration. Of course 3:0 and a set-ratio of 9:2 is surely big advantage. I know that I can rely on this team 100% and I am sure that we will confirm that on 9 February in front of our fans” stated Berlin`s Coach Irina PALINA after first match held in Hungary. Two days ago German club has announced that Matilda EKHOLM signed contract with them joining her long-time doubles partner Georgina POTA. Sweden`s player has started season in Spanish team UCAM Cartagena. French club Lille Metropole travels to well known table tennis city of Zagreb without big expectations in spite of having in their line-up newly-crowned champion China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup Bernadete SZOCS. There is a chance to see a reprise of the Montreux`s final as 2017 Europe Top 16 winner LI Jie plays for Dr. Casl. SZOCS lost to FU Yu 3:2 in the opening game of first leg while Maria XIAO and Agnens LE LANNIC were beaten in straight games by world no. 9 DOO Hoi Kem and no. 10 LI Jie respectively. Bursa secured clear victory in France thanks to actual world no. 13 Hong Kong`s LEE Ho Ching (beat no. 45 Chinese Taipei`s CHENG Hsieh-Tzu and Daniela MONTEIRO-DODEAN) and current individual European champion HU Melek who paved the way to the win as she defeated MONTEIRO-DODEAN in the opener. Sofia POLCANOVA is able to collect two points against any ECLW participant and that`s why two-time champion Linz still believes that can beat no. 1 seed Tarnobrzeg. Actual world no. 20 23-year old POLCANOVA prevailed against no. 35 LI Qian in the opening game in Austria and showed good fight against great defender HAN Ying but lost in four games. HAN provided two points for Tarnobrzeg while Elizabeta SAMARA bronze medalist from Europe Top 16 in Montreux has added one. Polish champion has completed one important agreement few days ago changing its name to KTS Enea Sairka Tarnobrzeg. “Thanks to our new sponsorship contract we`ll be able to be more focused on our table tennis goals hence we are very grateful to Enea” stated Tarnobrzeg`s Coach Zbigniew NECEK. Seamaster ECLW quarter-finalists individual win-loss records Tarnobrzeg: HAN 6-0 SAMARA 4-1 LI Qian 4-1 PAVLOVICH 1-0 Lille Metropole: KHETKHUAN 0-3 SZOCS 4-1 LE LANNIC 2-3 XIAO 1-3 Bursa: LEE 7-3 HU 5-1 NOSKOVA 3-2 Linz: POLCANOVA 4-4 ZHANG 2-4 HO 1-2 BERGSTROM 1-2 Dr. Casl: DOO 5-0 LI 3-1 FU 5-0 ZHOU 2-0 SREBRNJAK 0-1 Szekszard: MIKHAILOVA 1-4 MADARASZ 0-5 PASKAUSKIENE 0-1 CHENG 4-1 IMRE 0-1 PAYET 0-1 Berlin: SHAN 5-0 POTA 5-1 PALINA 1-1 MATSUDAIRA 1-2 MUHLBACH 0-1 Saint Quentinois: MONTEIRO-DODEAN 3-4 EERLAND 4-3 LE MANSEC 0-3 CHENG 1-2 ZARIF 0-1 Seamaster ECLW quarter-finals second leg Feb 9 18:00 KTS Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg – Linz AG Froschberg (1st leg 3:1) Feb 9 18:00 Dr. Casl – CP LYSSOIS LILLE METROPOLE (1st leg 3:0) Feb 9 19:00 TTC Berlin Eastside – Szekszard AC (1st leg 3:0) Feb 10 16:00 BURSA BÜYÜKŞEHİR BELEDİYESPOR – TT SAINT QUENTINOIS (1st leg 3:1)
Saarbrucken vs. Ochsenhausen – battle for each point!
All four returning quarter-final games of 2017/18 TTCLM to be held this Friday February 9th This Friday February 9th semi-finalists of the 2017/18 TTCLM will be decided. Two top seeds and main candidates for the crown Fakel Gazprom Orenburg and Borussia Dusseldorf secured big advantage (3:0) playing away against Rosklide Bordtennis and UMMC respectively in the all-German quarter-final Saarbrucken beat Ochsenhausen by a narrow margin (3:2) while Sporting Clube De Portugal was unique successful team on home soil defeating Stella Sport la Romagne (3:1). It seems that one more exciting clash awaits Ochsenhausen and Saarbrucken bearing in mind the score in the first leg – 3:2 (9:10) for Saarbrucken thanks to good team work of Patrick FRANZISKA Patrick BAUM Bojan TOKIC and Tiago APOLONIA. “I am very happy that we managed to win away but both sides enter the returning leg with an equal chances” stated Saarbrucken`s coach Slobodan GRUJIC emphasizing that Ochsenhausen`s Hugo CALDERANO “played incredibly well”. CALDERANO won both Ochsenhausen`s points in straight games as team`s no. 1 Simon GAUZY was absent due to back injury. Frenchman has made his comeback at the recent China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top-16 Cup but he lost to Russia`s Alexander SHIBAEV in full seven games of the opening round. “Simon GAUZY has played on Saturday at the Europe Top 16 so is basically ready for action again. His presence depends of coach`s decision ” said Ochsenhausen`s President Kristijan PEJINOVIC adding that all five players are available for the Friday`s match.. The 2009 TTCLM runner-up Ochsenhausen and 2012 TTCLM semi-finalist Saarbrucken had already met three times in the ongoing season. Ochsenhausen won 3:0 away Bundesliga Round 5 game while Saarbrucken was better (3:1) in the German Cup semis. Just two days after TTCLM quarter-finals they will fight in the Bundesliga`s Round 14 (Feb 11). Saarbrucken is second placed Bundesliga`s team with 9-4 win-loss record Ochsenhausen is fourth with 8-5. Record holder with 10 TTCLM titles Borussia Dusseldorf has open way to the semi-final after 3:0 (9:4) win in Verkhnaya Pyshma. Coach of Russian side Tatiana KUTERGINA stated that her players “played below their capabilities” in the first leg but she hopes that “they will show their responsibility and professionalism in Dusseldorf”. Borussia awaits them in a good mood after Timo BOLL`s triumph at the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top-16 Cup. Another good news for this club is that African champion Omar ASSAR signed two-year contract (from 2018/19) with them. “Of course after 3:0 win the door to the semi-finals is wide open but we must to prove that. Do not forget that two out of three games in Yekaterinburg were close” explained Borussia`s Manager Andreas PREUSS. Borussia`s Coach Danny HEISTER confirmed that all his players are in a good shape. Reigning champion and no. 1 seed Orenburg welcomes no. 16 seed Roskilde without any pressure. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV wasn’t able to defend his Europe Top 16 crown as he lost from TIMO BOLL in the gold medal contest. BOLL also eliminated Vladimir SAMSONOV in six games of the semi-final. One of two TTCLM newcomers will reach semis and make best achievement in their history. Actual ETTU Cup winner Stella Sport La Romagne faces Sporting Clube de Portugal after 1:3 (6:10) defeat. If CHEN and WEI play their best French club can erase this advantage. TTCLM quarter-finalists individual win-loss records Fakel Gazprom: OVTCHAROV 6-1 MIZUTANI 7-0 SAMSONOV 5-0 LIVENTSOV 1-2 IVONIN 0-1 KUZMIN 0-1 Sporting: ARUNA 5-5 MONTEIRO 7-2 CARVALHO 4-3 Saarbrucken: APOLONIA 5-1 FRANZISKA 6-2 TOKIC 5-2 BAUM 3-1 UMMC: GACINA 7-2 YOSHIMURA 2-2 SHIBAEV 4-5 VLASOV 2-1 ZHIDKOV 0-2 KISELEV 1-0 TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen: GAUZY 6-2 CALDERANO 4-3 GERALDO 1-3 DYJAS 3-3 MURAMATSU 1-1 ZWICKL 1-0 Stella Sport La Romagne: SHIAHO 8-3 CHEN 7-3 CRISAN 0-2 OLLIVIER 1-4 Borussia: BOLL 9-1 FEGERL 0-3 KARLSSON 6-3 KALLBERG 5-2 Roskilde: ZHAI 5-5 MAZE 3-5 TROMER 2-5 TTCLM quarter-finals second leg (February 9th) 14:00 TTC Fakel Gazprom – Roskilde Bordtennis BTK61 (1st leg 3:0) 18:30 FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen (1st leg 3:2) 19:30 Stella Sport La Romagne – Sporting Clube De Portugal (1st leg 1:3) 20:00 Borussia Düsseldorf – TTSC UMMC (1st leg 3:0)
(ITTF) is offering media internship for young media professionals
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is offering media internship for young media professionals to work as part of the ITTF media team at the upcoming Liebherr 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships to be held in Halmstad Sweden from 29 April to 5 May 2018. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for aspiring young media professionals to gain valuable experience at one of the world’s biggest events working for an International Federation. The candidate will have full access to all media facilities and players and be part a full member of the ITTF media team which will provide an exceptional rewarding experience for the selected candidate. Candidate The ITTF is looking for recent university undergraduates or graduates in the fields of media journalism broadcast film or sports management (or equivalent) who have an interest in sports table tennis and large sporting events. The candidate must have a good level of English proficiency (spoken & written). Additional languages are a plus. The candidate must feel comfortable completing the following tasks: Interviewing players and taking flash quotes; Writing feature articles on ITTF.com; Creation of daily summaries to be sent to fans and media; Organize creative video filming with the players; Assisting with the writing of press releases; Assisting with the running of ITTF’s social media platforms (Facebook Twitter YouTube and Instagram); Assisting with the creation of media documents in the lead up to the event; Assisting with the management of the media areas such as the mixed zone media centre and press tribune; Monitoring global media activity and providing daily reports. The Liebherr 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships will see the world’s best table tennis players battle for the honor to be crowned World Team Champions. The local and international media interest is going to be immense which will be a great experience for the selected intern. To understand the scope of the last event here are some statistics from Liebherr 2017 World Championships in Dusseldorf Germany which was followed by more than 355.6 million people: TV & OTT Broadcast : 122 Countries TV Viewership in China : 320.43 million Worldwide TV Viewership : 355.6 million ITTF.com Unique Visitors : 640 000 itTV Viewership : 810 000 Total Facebook Reach : 10.3 million Facebook Impressions : 34.7 million Facebook Engagement : 4.9 million Facebook Video Views : 4.3 million views 2.7 million minutes viewed Twitter Impressions : 3.3 million Instagram Impressions : 7.5 million Youtube Video Views : 2.4 million views 4.4 million minutes viewed Weibo Impressions : 240 million Media Articles : 12 400 Working Conditions and Accommodation The ITTF offers hospitality and accommodation on site in an official hotel of the Liebherr 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships as well as full airfare contribution. Application Process To apply for the ITTF media internship position please fill out this form: https://www.ittf.com/liebherr-2018-world-team-table-tennis-championships-media-internship/ Deadline Applications should be sent to the ITTF before 15 March 2018. If you have any questions please contact ITTF’s Promotions Manager Caifeng Yang at caifeng@ittf.com.
TEGLAS: If teamwork is effective at 9-9 you will win!
Interview with the Luxembourg`s national coach Peter TEGLAS Peter TEGLAS started working as the national coach for Luxembourg in 2017 after 20 years working with Hungarian teams. Peter built his career quickly winning many awards and titles from a fairly young age. We spoke with him about his impressive CV his current role and his overall thinking on coaching now and in the future in table tennis. How many years did you work with Hungarian cadets juniors and senior teams? -Difficult question…cadets and junior teams 1997-2005 senior team 2005-2017. So about 20 years. How did you get into table tennis? -When I was a child I didn’t want to play table tennis because I always wanted to play football. However my father was President of a table tennis club and he pushed me to play. It was a women’s club and I had to play only with girls and women. Of course for a boy it’s not the best solution to practice every day with women. So when I decided to be a table tennis coach I said I would never work with women. (Laughing) It’s very funny because it happened! How did you start coaching? -In Hungary after secondary school you have to go to the army. When I was 18 years I started to work in high school as table tennis coach so didn’t go to the army. After that I was a coach in the club. At the beginning I was a sparring-partner for girls. After 6 months the head coach asked me if I wanted to work as a coach. Therefore I worked with kids and step-by-step mini cadets cadets and after 4 years I started to work with a junior national team. When I saw Gina for first time she was 6 or 7 years old. Her mother was a player in my father’s club. What had been the best moment or title in your career? -It was my first European Championships [2007 Serbia] as a coach of the senior team the Hungarian team won gold medals. What is the most difficult aspect of coaching? -There are different people. Your role keeps them together. You have to be patient first of all. In 2007 we won the European Championships with Kriztina TOTH Georgina POTA and Petra LOVAS. They have absolutely different personalities and ages. At that time I think it was the most important thing to keep them together. Because if they are not good with each other they cannot do well as a team. In my opinion if teamwork is effective at 9-9 you will win. In men’s table tennis it would seem that the “Chinese wall” has already broken. Can it happen soon in the women’s game? -I don’t think so. The Chinese players are physically better than Europeans are and are stronger in most aspects of the game. It is difficult to change it because in Europe you have to study and go to school. In Japan and especially in China players don’t study. I was many times in China and the kids are not going to school they are playing table tennis. How can you compete with this system? In Europe it is very important to get the education. Why did you decide to change teams from Hungary to Luxembourg? -It was a very difficult decision because in the past I have had many different offers. Then in 2015 a contact in Luxemburg came to me with an offer. I didn’t think about it seriously due to already being involved with Hungarian National Team. But at this time I started to think about my future. I had worked with Hungarian teams for 20 years. I thought that for players and for me it’s time for change. I have never worked abroad and I wanted to start a new life. I think it was a good decision. New experience also for Hungarian players and it’s a good influence. What can you tell about Luxemburg team? -In Luxemburg it is a special situation. If we take women’s and men’s national team away most players have normal jobs and they are not professional table tennis players. They do not practice every day. Thanks to Peter for an interesting conversation best wish in Luxembourg.
Jonathan GROTH showed his brave face to win the bronze
China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup For a sixth time Timo BOLL of Germany clinched the gold at the Top 16. Last time he did it in Dusseldorf in 2010. In the final of the Men’s Singles at the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup former World’s no. one beat current top player at the World rankings and title winner in 2017 2016 2015. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (11:13 6:11 3:11 6:11). Both players booked their places at the ITTF Men’s World Cup to be played 19-21 October in Paris. The final was more of one-man show. And that man was not favorite from the beginning. “I came here not as a big favorite. OVTCHAROV is ruling the World in past few months but few things today came together. I won the opening game which was very important and other key thing is that Dimitrij was not in best of his shape. He came recently from the vacation and he did not practice enough. For his style it is crucial point. On the other side I am in perfect shape ” said BOLL. “Last year we played very often against each other and I worked on some new tactics and services. It come quite well. I think I found the solution for his game.” There will not be a time for celebration. “Already on Friday we have the second leg match of the quarterfinal of the Table Tennis Champions League Men against UMMC and then Bundesliga clash against Werder. Only after that I will take some times for break. Almost year and the half I am without the pause. It is almost remarkable how my body still produces such energy to keep me playing at the highest level ” said BOLL. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV blamed his current shape. “I am still far from the top level. The season just began and I have to work on my shape ” said OVTCHAROV. On his second appearance at the Top 16 Jonathan GROTH of Denmark clinched the bronze medal in Montreux. He also secured the place at the ITTF Men’s World Cup. GROTH beat Vladimir SAMSONOV who already had four titles in this event (7:11 11:9 11:9 12:10 4:11 9:11 11:6). It was pure thriller and GROTH did not give up even when he was 1:3 in reverse. “I am delighted. It is unbelievable feeling to reach the medal rostrum win against SAMSONOV and to book the place at the ITTF World Cup. I knew it is going to come for me but not this year already ” said Jonathan. GROTH’s game improved tremendously in past two years. “I changed few clubs but that is not that important. The most important thing was the work with my mental coach. I matured and my attitude is completely different. Now I am prepared for the toughest rallies and matches. I learn how to stay focus even when the thing get tough as you can see today against SAMSONOV. He recovered from 1:3 to 3:3 but I still managed to maintain the winning attitude. I showed my strong face. All the matches I played here were very good. I am completely satisfied. I only regret I did not show more in the match against OVTCHAROV in the semis. I do not say I could win but I could do more ” said GROTH. Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here
Bronze medal for Elizabeta SAMARA
China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup It is only the third time that Bernadette SZOCS played at the Top 16 and she already clinched the top prize. Young Romanian player won the gold in the Women’s Singles Event at the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup and booked the ticket for the ITTF Women’s World Cup in Chengdu 28-30 September. Alongside her to China will also travel Li Jie of Netherlands silver medalist. In the final SZOCS prevailed after five games against LI who came in Montreux to defend her title. “I was not thinking that I play against the title holder. I was not afraid. My self-confidence is at the highest level. I played so many matches in T2 against defenders Asian players…I can play against everyone now ” said SZOCS. SZOCS showed brilliant form through out the tournament. She beat Georgina POTA of Hungary Tetyana BILENKO of Ukraine but she said the toughest match was in the semi final against Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden. “It was the first time that I felt frustrated and angry during the tournament. I felt I am losing control over game. It was really hard ” said SZOCS. Romania won the gold at the European Championships they will play at the ITTF Team World Cup and both SAMARA and SZOCS booked their places at ITTF World Cup. “Next stop is Team World Cup. I hope for medal. Not gold but at least medal rostrum.” LI Jie was very unhappy after the final. Coach and former winner LI Jiao explained what happened. “Tactically it was very difficult for Jie to find the way through. Bernadette did not make any mistakes.” Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania won the bronze medal and booked her place for the ITTF Women’s World Cup. In the battle for the third position she overcame Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden (11:4 8:11 11:6 11:9 4:11 11:8). It is the milestone in SAMARA’S career since she never reached that position in seven appearances at Top 16 and Top 12. However the consolation was not very satisfying. After the match despite the victory she hardly managed to hide her tears. “It was so difficult to play against Matilda and to play this match at all. I came here for the title and my thoughts were in final already but I lost semis. Matilda is hard adversary to beat she proved it once again here ” said SAMARA. True spirit as she is she found a positive side. “I came here to win but at least I book my place for the World Cup. It is long season ahead of me and I hope it will be better and better.” Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here
World’s no. one Dimitrij OVTCHAROV in the final
China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany underlined his status and booked his place in the final of the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup. His adversary on his run to the another title will be his patriot TIMO BOLL. For the third place Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus will meet Jonathan GROTH of Denmark. The Top 3 men qualify for the ITTF Men’s World Cup in Paris (France) 19-21 October. In the semi final Jonathan GROTH of Denmark proved as a worth adversary but Dimitrij OVTCHAROV’S performance was at the top level. He booked the place in the final without due concern. GROTH put defending champion under pressure but in crucial points Germany’s player was better (12:10 11:7 11:9 9:11 12:10). “All the games finished by narrow margin. One or two balls decided everything. The game was not maybe that spectacular but GROTH is very strong player and tactically very hard to beat. I really had to play on the highest level to beat him ” said OVTCHAROV. The duel between two World’ greats in Montreux could not finish quickly. Three games out of six in the clash between Timo BOLL and Vladimir SAMSONOV concluded by narrowest of margins (12:10 6:11 4:11 14:12 11:5 10:12). In the spectacular exchange of the rallies which held spectators at the edge of their seats BOLL proved stronger. His backhand was very safe. “In past year and the half I play more on the backhand. My legs are not that fast as they used to be ” said BOLL.” SAMSONOV and I have a long sporting history and we are very good friends. There was no big pressure. We know each other very well. All we have to do was to give our best in the court and to see who will come up as winner. Whatever the outcome we will stay good friends.” Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here
Bernedette SZOCS and LI JIe in the final
China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup Li Jie the winner of the 2017 edition in Juan-Les-Pins Antibes and Bernedette SZOCS of Romania will play in the final of the Women’s event at the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup. In the battle for the third position Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden will meet Elizabeta SAMARA of Sweden. The Top 3 women qualify for the ITTF Men’s and Women’s World Cup in Chengdu (China) 28-30 September Bernadette SZOCS started furiously her semi final duel against Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden. She gave no opportunity to Swede to settle into the rhythm before she close the first game. In second she felt the pain the hip at 5:5 but kept on fighting until the fantastic 4:0 win (11:7 11:9 11:9 11:9). “I told everyone yesterday I am not going to stop only with semi final. I study Matilda’s game and more of all the previous two wins over her gave me confidence. Like against POTA I have never beaten them until last two times. That gave me extra bust and positive attitude ” said SZOCS. LI Jie denied Romania of all-Romania’s final. Dutch player halted Elizabeta Samara on her way to the ultimate stage. In dramatic match defending champion was under pressure but eventually prevailed (13:11 7:11 11:9 11:6 13:11). “I lost against SAMARA three or four time before so I knew it is going to be very hard. I did not use the passive approach I had to attack her. I could not let SAMARA attack me first because she is so good in that ” said LI. Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here
Jonathan GROTH beats the odds and reached semi final
China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup In the semi final of the Men’s Singles Event at the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus will meet Timo BOLL of Germany whilst Jonathan GROTH of Denmark will play against another Germany’s player Dimitrij OVTCHAROV World’s no. one. In very close encounter OVTCHAROV overcame Panagiotis GIONIS (11:7 12:10 7:11 11:9 13:11). “It is very difficult to play against the player with the defensive skill with new balls. It is good that I won in the fifth game otherwise it will be hard to stop GIONIS. Now I have to focus on next duel against GROTH. Last year in the group stage of the Top 16 we played very good match ” said OVTCHAROV. Jonathan GROTH overcame Alexander SHIBAEV in the quarter -final (9:11 11:6 11:6 11:5 12:10). Despite the bad start he recovered in very impressive way. “I did not start well because first match against Tiago APLONIA was still in my mind. However I managed to level at 9:9 but after service mistake SHIBAEV was able to seal the game. At the beginning of the second game I felt bad. I told that to my coach but I kept fighting. SHIBAEV is not an easy adversary to beat I felt uncomfortable with his service game but as I said the key was to keep fighting for each ball ” said GROTH. Vladimir SAMSONOV beat another KARLSSON today. In quarters after Kristian it was Mattias who left the arena defeated (11:9 11:8 11:7 10:12 14:12). “I am in very good shape here and I needed all my skills to beat Mattias now. In the opening game I was 7:9 down and in fourth KARLSSON took his game to another level. If I did not win the fifth game I do not know how this duel will end. It was very close ” said SAMSONOV. Timo BOLL faced his compatriot Bastian STEGER (7:11 11:9 5:11 11:13 6:11). “The balls were different from the afternoon session so it was not that much about tactics. It was important to put the ball on the table. The fourth game was very important. When I won that close game it opened the door for fast victory ” said BOLL. Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here
Bernadette SZOCS reached her first semi final at the Top 16
China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup Best four players who will fight for the place in the final of the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup tomorrow in Montreux are Li Jie of Netherlands who will meet Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania and in other semis we will watch Bernadette SZOCS of Romania and Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden. After four times she participated at the Top 16 Bernadette SZOCS reached the semi final for the first time. She beat Georgina POTA of Hungary (7:11 6:11 5:11 10:12). “I am so happy. I lost so many times against her in the past but I beat her last time and that gave me confidence. I believe in myself and I believe I could win. It is my first semi final. It is unbelievable ” said SZOCS. In the quarter final SAMARA avenged Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN’S defeat earlier today by beating LIU Jia in very effective way (11:4 11:7 3:11 7:11 11:13). “I felt much better then this morning. I took the full control from the beginning. Even when I lost third game I was sure I could come back. I was very confident ” said SAMARA. Top seeded LI Jie overcame Germany’s Sabine WINTER (11:5 11:4 10:12 11:5 11:8). “Winter is the player who has very good feeling for defenders. I beat her last year but I lost so many times before. The key thing today was that I felt calm relaxed. I was not under pressure although the match could easily go other way ” said LI. Matilda EKHOLM overcame Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria (11:5 11:6 11:7 11:9). “I was aware that I am danger if she feel my top spin then she will feel very safe. I forced myself to stay focused and do not let he get into the game. After I while I got her under pressure ” said Matilda. Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here
