China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup   In the quarterfinal of the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup no. one seed in the Men’s Singles Event Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany will meet Panagiotis GIONIS of Greece. His compatriot Bastian STEGER also booked his place among Top 8 whilst Sofia POLCANOVA and Matilda EKHOL progressed to the quarters in Women’s Event.   World’s no. one OVTCHAROV was at the top of his game against Lionel WEBER of Switzerland (11:9 11:9 11:8 11:5).   “I was focused from the beginning. It was nice to play against Lionel but now I am focused on forthcoming duel against GIONIS. It was while ago when I played last time against him. We played couple very hard matches and I have to prepare well for that match ” said OVTCHAROV.   Matilda EKHOLM beat Viktoria PAVLOVICH of Belarus (11:5 11:8 11:5 11:6).   “I was ready. I spent four years in same club with Tetyana BILENKO so I know how to set a tactics. I forced hard top spins which made all efforts to keep the ball low very ineffective ” said EKHOLM.   Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria inflected the pain in the hart of the host nation supporters by beating Rachel MORET (6:11 4:11 8:11 14:12 6:11).   “MORET played very well. I had to be very aggressive fro the beginning and to prevent her of finding her rhythm. I was in control until the third game. After that I was little bit passive with my service and let her come back. Luckily I had better approach in fourth game ” said POLCANOVA.   Bastian STEGER of Germany overcame European champion from Budapest Emmanuel LEBESSON of France ( 11:6 12:10 7:11 5:11 9:11 4:11).   “IT was a very difficult match. It is always hard to play against LEBESSON because it hard to find the rhythm. I was little disappointed when I lost second game because I had a chance there. However I was much better with return from the third game and I took the control over the match ” said STEGER.       Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here

China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup   Timo BOLL of Germany was not in the mood for charity in the opening match of the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup he beat Stefan FEGERL of Austria in straight games. By same margin Bernadette SZOCS prevailed against Tetyana BILENKO of Ukraine.   It looks like the easy match for BOLL (7:11 11:13 4:11 8:11).   “I think it was not that quite easy. It looks like that maybe because he forced me to play on my top level. I could not afford easy mistakes; he is my club mate in Dusseldorf and he was very hard adversary ” said BOLL.   After the draw BOLL joked that he might me at home for Super Bowl.   “Well I am great fan of American Football but I guess I will have to watch it here. I am feeling good and I am in good shape.”   Bernadette overcame defensive skills of Tetyana BILENKO in impressive style (4:11 6:11 12:14 9:11).   “I was well prepared for this match. I played a lot against defenders in my training center in Germany. I could not allowed to prolong the match to 2:2 or 3:3 because then she will have advantage. I feel comfortable now playing against such style and it is good thing that I do not have three defenders in my group like last year ” said SZOCS.     Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here

SAMSONOV fired up the crowd in in Montreaux   Since Dijon 1995 Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus participated 20 times at Top 12 and Top 16 events. Today on his 21st appearance at the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup he still wins. In the opening round of the Men’s Singles Event he overcame Kristian KARLSSON of Sweden after being two games in reverse (12:10 11:9 3:11 11:8 7:11 6:11 7:11).   Each of his winners were rewarded by long applause from the supporters in the Salle Omnisports du Pierrier in Montreux.   “I had few changes in two opening games. It was close on some points but at that stage KARLSSON was better. Later he became more passive with his service; it opened the space for me to attack. On the other side I was more aggressive with my service game. I improved my service during the match “ said SAMSONOV. “ All in all I am very happy. It is very good game for a beginning of a tournament. I am very happy with my performance.”   Georgina POTA of Hungary overcame Petrissa SOLJA of Germany (11:8 8:11 11:6 13:11 11:4).   “It is very difficult to play against teammate. We are together in berlin and we know each other very well. In addition she beat me in few previous encounter and I was not very confident before the game. Extra stress came from the fact that she is lefthander ” said POTA. “ I had a good service game and good game on two opening balls which gave confidence and made me a winner. It was not very nice match to watch like the one at the World Cup in Japan but it was effective.     Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here

China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup   No one seed at the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup LI Jie of Netherlands justified her status and overcame Polina MIKHAILOVA of Russia in the opening Round. Mattias KARLSSON of Sweden also showed his class and beat Ruwen FILUS of Germany.   Polina MIKHAILOVA failed to justify her reputation of a player who is very dangerous for a players with the defensive style. LI Jie was at the top of the game from the beginning up to the end (11:2 11:7 13:11 11:6).   “I was aware of her attack but I did not want to change anything in my game. I just stick to my tactics and won. It was 4:0 but it was not easy at all ” said LI. “Here are the best players in Europe the rankings are not important at such tournament. It will be difficult to reach the medal rostrum.”   Mattias KARLSSON felt comfortable against Ruwen FILUS’s defending skills. He maintained his patience to overcame Germany’s player.   “We have never played against each other before but I study his game. I do not have a lot of opportunities to play against defenders especially lefthanders. I played aggressive especially on the first ball and put all the pressure on him. I was only challenged in the third game when he came back with the good service but I managed to return the match on more desirable path ” said KARLSSON.     Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here

China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup   After the morning littered with surprises the trend of the lower ranked player beating the higher rated adversary Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania no. two seed and Gionis PANAGIOTIS of Greece no.13 stopped the trend. In Salle Omnisports du Pierrier at the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup they successfully concluded the opening Round.   SAMARA beat NI Xia Lian of Luxembourg (9:11 12:14 11:9 7:11 11:8 11:5 5:11).   “When we saw the draw everyone was so confident that I will win because I beat her at the European Championships in Luxembourg. I was not that sure especially since I twist my ankle few days ago. The pain is not that big but still it is always in the back on my mind. However I start the match very calm and maintain the patience to beat her ” said SAMARA.   Next in line was Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN to meet LIU Jia.   “I will now sit and watch that match. I keep my fingers cross for her. If she win it is perfect for Romania. It means we will secure one place in the semi final since we will play against each other in the second round. We have not play against each other at the official match since the European Youth Championships. It is so nice we will play again ” said SAMARA.   Gionis PANAGIOTIS was also stretched to full distance in the match against Ukraine’s KOU Lei (11:13 8:11 17:15 7;11 11:8 12:10 11:5).   “At the beginning I was not in the good rhythm. I could not feel the venue the ball the spin…nothing works. That is why I was 2:1 down. He played much better; unlike me who had many ups and downs he was more stable with his game. Then I get the grip. I took over the control. KOU lost his confident and I took advantage of the momentum. In the last game which was crucial I want to finish quickly. I was even 7:0 in the lead. I was so tired and I wanted to conclude the duel as soon as possible.   Men’s Singles – Round of 16 Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here

China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup     Alexander SHIBAEV seeded no. 7 create the upset in the early stages of the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup by beating no. 3 seed Simon GAUZU of France no. three seed (11:9 11:4 8:11 11:4 5:11 9:11 11:7). In the opening Round in Salle omnisports du Pierrier in Montreaux the upsets continued as Sabine WINTER of Germany no. 13 beat LI Qian of Poland no. 7 at the seeding (11:6 9:11 4:11 14:12 11:5 11:5).   Alexander SHIBAEV had a better start but GAUZY managed to recover after being 2:0 and 3:1 in reverse.   “I had a good start but then I lost my focus. However despite the GAUZY’s recover I did not lost my faith. I was sure if I continue to play my game I will be in the control again. It was tactically hard match but most important tactic for me was to play my game and to attack with forehand ” said SHIBAEV.   Due the injury GAUZY had only five days of trainings before he came in Switzerland.   “I had a two months break and I am far from the best shape. It is always difficult to lose seven games match but under such circumstances I have to accept it with the optimism. Even yesterday I was not sure if I could play today. Fortunately I feel less pain and I am looking forward coming encounters ” said GAUZY.   The drama was also seen in the Women’s event. Sabine WINTER was 2:1 behind LI Qian but she recovered in big style. It is Sabine’s third time to play at Top 16.   “When I play at the Top 16 for a first time I was happy I was qualified. I was not under pressure and I finished at the position no. 6. Last year I came from the shoulder injury with low expectation and achieved great success. I was third. This time too I did not come well prepared. I did not have enough training so once again my expectations were not high and I was not nervous. However thing changed when I saw the draw with two players with defending style. That is the style I feel comfortable with. It seams it is good not to have high expectations but for sure I will give my best ” said WINTER.   Playing against defender proved as specialty for Sabine today.   “I hat to put top spin on the table and to avoid any direct attacks. The key is in patience. You have to have it a lot against such players ” said WINTER.   Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here

Construction Bank 2018 ITTF-Europe Top 16 Cup   The battle for the most prestige title in Europe the gold at the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF-Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux and for the place in top three which opens the door for the 2018 ITTF Men’s World Cup and 2018 ITTF Women’s World Cup will start tomorrow. The draw was conducted today in presence of the players.   Host’s representative Lionel WEBER was not very lucky today. He will meet World’s no. one and titleholder Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany. However he did not complain.   “I am very happy to play here in Montreux and of course to meet Dima the World’s no. one ” said WEBER.   “I’ve been practising with Kou Lei the last few days and we are in good shape. I received many congratulations here in Switzerland for being world number one which is nice. And now I play Lionel I will study his matches.” Said Dimitrij OVTCHAROV   Panagiotis GIONIS of Greece will meet KOU Lei of Ukraine Jonathan GROTH of Denmark will face Tiago APOLONIA of Portugal Alexander SHIBAEV will play against Simon GAUZY of France Kristian KARLSSON of Sweden will meet Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus Mattias KARLSSON of Sweden will play against Ruwen FILUS of Germany Emmanuel LEBESSON of France will play against Bastian STEGER of Germany and Stefan FEGERL of Austria will play against Timo BOLL of Germany.   “We are in the same club in Borussia Dusseldorf. We know each other very well. At least if I lose I can watch Super Bowl at home ” joked BOLL.   In the Women’s Event the duel that will cause most of the attention in the morning program will be the clash between two defenders no. one seed LI Jie of Netherlands and Russia’s Polina MIKHAILOVA.   “All the matches will be difficult and I will try my best ” said LI.   In the opening round Sabine WINTER of Germany will meet LI Qian of Poland LIU Jia of Austria will play against Daniela DODEAN MONTEIRO of Romania NI Xia Lian of Luxembourg will meet Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania.   “I allways surprise everybody and myself. My approach today is younger than tomorrow ” said NI.   Georgina POTA of Hungary will meet Petrissa SOLJA of Germany Tetyana BILENKO of Ukraine will meet Bernadette SZOCS of Romania Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden will meet Viktoria PAVLOVICH of Belarus Rachel MORET of Switzerland will meet Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria.   “ I will try my best and I am happy to play here in front of the Swiss fans’” said MORET.   The matches starts at 10 AM.     Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here

China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup   Russia`s Polina MIKHAILOVA actual world no. 44 is ready for her fourth consecutive participation at the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup (February 3-4th) to be played in Montreux Salle Omnisport du Pierrier. Four-time bronze medalist from ITTF-European Championships – one individual (Yekaterinburg 2015) and three Team events – speaks about her goal in her new attempt at the competition where she begins as no. 14 seed…   “So my goal for the top 16 is to reach semifinal and to qualify for a World Cup I know it will be difficult but I will try” stressed player of Hungarian Szekszard and Russian National Team.   It will be your 4th consecutive Top16. What do you remember most from previous three events?   “Yes it will be my 4th event and 3 times I finished tournament on a group stage I remember how on Top 16 in Portugal me and 2 more players had same amount of won and lost matches and also sets so it was necessary to count points and I was the last in this triangle. So it’s not the best memory but this came to my head…”   Favorites and possible upsets at China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup?   “I can’t say favorite as all depends on draw and shape of players I think in Europe almost everyone can win everyone”.   What about your plans and goals for 2018?   “For 2018 my goal is to get higher in a world ranking to qualify for a World Cup (never took part in this tournament) and also this year will be single European championship I would like to reach medal there”.   Your moments to remember in 2017?   “From 2017 best memory was Team European Championship in Luxembourg where we took bronze it’s always great feeling and very good achievement for me and my national team”.   In your opinion who was World’s best athlete of the 2017?   “My opinion best athlete was Dima OVCHAROV how he played all season and how many tournaments he won and also became number one in world ranking it’s amazing”.   In Montreux (on 3rd and 4th February) will play Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany Timo Boll of Germany Simon GAUZY of France Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus  KOU Lei of Ukraine Ruwen FILUS of Germany Kristian KARLSSON of Sweden Alexander SHIBAEV of Russia Bastian STEGER of Germany Jonathan GROTH of Denmark Emmanuel LEBESSON of France Tiago APOLONIA of Portugal Mattias KARLSSON of Sweden Panagiotis GIONIS of Greece Stefan FEGERL of Austria Lionel WEBER of Switzerland.   In Women’s Top 16 will play: LI Jie of Netherlands Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania Georgina POTA of Hungary Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria Petrissa SOLJA of Germany LI Qian of Poland Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN and Bernadette SZOCS of Romania Viktoria PAVLOVICH of Belarus NI Xia Lian of Luxembourg Polina MIKHAILOVA of Russia Sabine WINTER of Germany Tetyana BILENKO of Ukraine and Rachel MORET of Switzerland.   Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here

China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup   Two years ago bronze medalist last year runner-up and what can the best Russian player Alexander SHIBAEV achieve at the upcoming the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup to be played in Montreux Salle Omnisport du Pierrier.   “At any competition I want to play well and to show the result of my training which is important to me” stressed no. 8 seed and actual world no. 62.   Alexander SHIBAEV faced many injuries in last couple of seasons but managed to stay focused on highest possible goals in European table tennis. UMMC` player is three-time ITTF-European Championships medalist having one silver (Double Gdansk 2011) and two bronze (Team Schwechat 2013 and Double Yekaterinburg 2015). Speaking about his goal in Montreux he stated:   “I will be training for the Top 16 in Denmark with my coach and the Danish team. The training in Denmark will last 7-8 days and I hope that everything will be fine. I am determined to fare well in the tournament and I think I will succeed. This is the main goal. Therefore the result I hope will be good.”   Last year`s Europe Top 16 silver in Antibes France was one of his two best achievements in 2017.   “The 5th place in the World Cup and silver in the TOP-16 of course this is the main things. Regarding my plans in 2018 I would like to rise in the ranking get into the 15 strongest in the world or even in the top ten. Well to show good play to improve the results that I have now”.   SHIBAEV believes that the biggest favorites at the China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup are two German players actual world no. 1 and no. 3 Dimitrij OVTCHAROV and Timo BOLL.   On question who are the World`s best athlete of the 2017 he replied:   “To my opinion OVTCHAROV”.   In Montreux (on 3rd and 4th February) will play Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany Timo Boll of Germany Simon GAUZY of France Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus Marcos FREITAS of Portugal Ruwen FILUS of Germany Kristian KARLSSON of Sweden Alexander SHIBAEV of Russia Bastian STEGER of Germany Jonathan GROTH of Denmark Emmanuel LEBESSON of France Tiago APOLONIA of Portugal Mattias KARLSSON of Sweden Panagiotis GIONIS of Greece Stefan FEGERL of Austria Lionel WEBER of Switzerland.   In Women’s Top 16 will play: LI Jie of Netherlands Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania Georgina POTA of Hungary Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria Petrissa SOLJA of Germany LI Qian of Poland Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN and Bernadette SZOCS of Romania Viktoria PAVLOVICH of Belarus NI Xia Lian of Luxembourg Polina MIKHAILOVA of Russia Sabine WINTER of Germany Tetyana BILENKO of Ukraine and Rachel MORET of Switzerland.   Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here

The International Table Tennis Federation the European Table Tennis Union and the Local Organising Committee in Switzerland are delighted to announce China Construction Bank as the title sponsor of the 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup taking place this weekend in Montreux. China Construction Bank – Zurich Branch is partnering with the event to promote the bank’s brand in Switzerland and across the world utilising the power of table tennis.   There will be sixteen players in each of the Men’s and Women’s singles events with the top three in each qualifying for the World Cups later this year namely Women’s World Cup in Chengdu in September and the Men’s World Cup in Paris in October. Fifteen players are the top ranked in Europe with the host nation Switzerland nominating their players Lionel WEBER and Rachel MORET to go head-to-head with Europe’s best.   Mr GONG Weiyun the CEO of the China Construction Bank Zurich Branch said: “We’re very happy to be supporting this prestigious table tennis event in Montreux. We have been operating in Zurich since the end of 2015 and our operation is now growing rapidly. This is an ideal time to be promoting our brand and commercial banking services here in Switzerland and the ITTF 2018 Europe Top 16 Cup is a perfect platform for us to do that. We are looking forward to a great event.”   Mr Nicolas IMHOF President of the Event Organising Committee and President of Swiss Table Tennis added: “We are extremely proud that China Construction Bank the second largest bank in the world has chosen to partner us all for the event in Montreux. Thanks to China Construction Bank and other partners we will be able to achieve our goal of delivering a very high quality event for everyone involved. We look forward to welcoming the players officials volunteers and fans see you there!” And Mr Ronald KRAMER President of the European Table Tennis Union concluded: “We are delighted that such a prestigious bank is coming on board as title sponsor. The local organising committee have been doing a thorough job in the preparation phase and so I’m confident China Construction Bank other partners and the spectators will enjoy the very best of European table tennis in Montreux.” The world’s number one male player Dimitrij OVTCHAROV from Germany will be looking to take the title for a fourth consecutive time he is the favourite but the pressure is on. The current women’s champion is LI Jie from the Netherlands can she do the double? The event gets underway at 10am local time on Saturday morning with last 16 knockout matches going right through to quarter finals from 6pm. Then Sunday will see our champions crowned action starts again at 10am finals from 4pm. And you can also watch on Laola.TV and follow digitally and on social media at: Event’s page hereOrganisers web site hereTickets are available hereFacebook hereTwitter hereInstagram here