LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships Since his first appearance in 1992 Vladimir SAMSONOV missed only one Continental Championships and it was last year. In a meanwhile he won three titles in singles and one in Doubles and Mixed Doubles each but he is still hungry of victories. He proved that on the penultimate day of play at the LIEBHERR 2018 European Championships in Alicante. SAMSONOV over came no. two seed Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany in the Round of 16 (9:11 11:5 11:9 5:11 11:5 11:5). “We are playing together for a long time and we know each other well. There is no big mystery for us regarding the service or tactics. However Dima was injured for a while his shape is not at the highest level ” said SAMSONOV. There was no lack of good rallies in the match. “At some point he was very fast. He forced me to change the tactics. He started to put every ball to the table so I had to avoid his backhand. I started to play in the middle ” said SAMSONOV. OVTCAHROV agreed that the level of match was very high. “In four opening games we played very fast but in last two it was different. I could not follow Vladi’s rhythm. He was very good today ” said OVTCHAROV. After so many years in field it was interested to hear what is the biggest motive for SAMSONOV now. “Next year Minsk will host European Games. It is huge motive for me. My city will welcome athletes at such big competition. I want to play there and I want to be good. You can not just come there and win after few weeks of practice. I am building up my shape and I hope it will be enough for good performance in Belarus. Of course before that I still want to win medal here ” said SAMSONOV. However Germany still has the strongest ace in play. Top seeded Timo BOLL overcame Liam PITCHFORD of England in the Round of 16 (-9 10 9 4 -8 9). “When I saw the draw and Liam in it I thought ‘This is it’. He is in very good shape here he likes to play against me I expected the difficult duel and so it was ” said BOLL. “I was not happy with the way I commenced the match. I had a bad start but I rose my game and I rebuilt my confidence.” Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany overcame Tiago APOLONIA of Portugal (12:10 11:6 11:5 6:11 11:9). “We knew each other very well because we played against each other for years in Saarbrucken but somehow he managed to surprise me. He was passive not as quick as I expected. However I seized the opportunity and attacked ” said FRANZISKA. Benedikt DUDA of Germany was stretched to full distance in the match against Jon PERSSON of Sweden (9:11 11:9 4:11 11:7 11:6 11:6 8:11 3:11). “I made few easy mistakes at the beginning so I had a shaky start. Eventually I managed to find the right rhythm.” Photos: ETTU Flickr ETTU_official – Live Streaming: The event will be streamed on ettu.tv Live Scoring: Live scoring can be followed here
SAMSONOV beat OVTCHAROV to reach quarterfinal of the Men’s Singles
LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships Since his first appearance in 1992 Vladimir SAMSONOV missed only one Continental Championships and it was last year. In a meanwhile he won three titles in singles and one in Doubles and Mixed Doubles each but he is still hungry of victories. He proved that on the penultimate day of play at the LIEBHERR 2018 European Championships in Alicante. SAMSONOV over came no. two seed Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany in the Round of 16 (9:11 11:5 11:9 5:11 11:5 11:5). “We are playing together for a long time and we know each other well. There is no big mystery for us regarding the service or tactics. However Dima was injured for a while his shape is not at the highest level ” said SAMSONOV. There was no lack of good rallies in the match. “At some point he was very fast. He forced me to change the tactics. He started to put every ball to the table so I had to avoid his backhand. I started to play in the middle ” said SAMSONOV. OVTCAHROV agreed that the level of match was very high. “In four opening games we played very fast but in last two it was different. I could not follow Vladi’s rhythm. He was very good today ” said OVTCHAROV. After so many years in field it was interested to hear what is the biggest motive for SAMSONOV now. “Next year Minsk will host European Games. It is huge motive for me. My city will welcome athletes at such big competition. I want to play there and I want to be good. You can not just come there and win after few weeks of practice. I am building up my shape and I hope it will be enough for good performance in Belarus. Of course before that I still want to win medal here ” said SAMSONOV. However Germany still has the strongest ace in play. Top seeded Timo BOLL overcame Liam PITCHFORD of England in the Round of 16 (-9 10 9 4 -8 9). “When I saw the draw and Liam in it I thought ‘This is it’. He is in very good shape here he likes to play against me I expected the difficult duel and so it was ” said BOLL. “I was not happy with the way I commenced the match. I had a bad start but I rose my game and I rebuilt my confidence.” Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany overcame Tiago APOLONIA of Portugal (12:10 11:6 11:5 6:11 11:9). “We knew each other very well because we played against each other for years in Saarbrucken but somehow he managed to surprise me. He was passive not as quick as I expected. However I seized the opportunity and attacked ” said FRANZISKA. Benedikt DUDA of Germany was stretched to full distance in the match against Jon PERSSON of Sweden (9:11 11:9 4:11 11:7 11:6 11:6 8:11 3:11). “I made few easy mistakes at the beginning so I had a shaky start. Eventually I managed to find the right rhythm.” Photos: ETTU Flickr ETTU_official – Live Streaming: The event will be streamed on ettu.tv Live Scoring: Live scoring can be followed here
The majority of delegates confirmed their confidence in the work of President KRAMER and the ETTU Vice Presidents
ETTU Ordinary Congress One of the main subjects on Agenda of the ETTU Ordinary Congress held today in hotel Melia in Alicante during the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships concerned the trust of Congress in current governing body. The majority of delegates confirmed their confidence in the progress made under the leadership of ETTU President Ronald KRAMER and the ETTU Executive Board. At the beginning ITTF President Thomas WEIKERT addressed the ETTU Congress. ITTF President had reminded the delegates that the table tennis World is trying to unify itself and that we had great moments in sport with unified Korean team. “I came here in ITTF Foundation Solidarity Through Table Tennis T-shirt in attempt to underline the core values of the sport. We have to keep our sport clear fair open and transparent ” said WEIKERT who added that those values are deeply respected by responsible sponsors such as LIEBHERR. In light of those efforts ITTF President ‘warned’ the Congress: “Please stop your non- fruitful discussions. I am sad and deeply concerned as your President from Europe of current situation. If there is no stop of it ITTF will have to deeply consider our Continental governing structure.” Both propositions of German and Danish Associations were accepted with majority of votes. The proposition of German Association accepts the President’s report whilst Danish Association gives the full confidence in the President and Vice Presidents. DBTU: “On the basis of the results of the work of the ETTU Executive Board over the period 2013-2018 the Congress has full confidence in the President the Vice President for Finances and all other Vice Presidents. They should continue their excellent work during the rest of the period for which they are elected i.e. until 2020.” DTTB: “The 2018 ETTU Ordinary Congress accepts the President’s report (item 3 on the agenda of the 2018 Extraordinary Congress in Halmstad) as given by the Secretary General and confirmed by the President regarding the details of the payments to the President from 2013 to 2017 in line with the budgets approved by the Congress and confirmed by the auditors and the Congress. “ New appointed Honorary Member of ETTU is Rudolf SPORRER (Austria). ETTU Executive Board awarded three Badges of Honour to Rebecca BERGFELDT of (Sweden) Andre HARTMANN (Luxembourg) and Ferenc KARSAI (Hungary). ETTU appointed the chairs for Committees: PARA TT Patrick RINGEL (France) Rankings Igor HELLER (Netherlands) Technical Oivind ERIKSEN (Norway) Umpires and Referees Committee Isabelle BEUMIER (Belgium) Veterans Zdenko KRIZ (Slovakia) Youth Sandra DEATON (England).
The majority of delegates confirmed their confidence in the work of President KRAMER and the ETTU Vice Presidents
ETTU Ordinary Congress One of the main subjects on Agenda of the ETTU Ordinary Congress held today in hotel Melia in Alicante during the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships concerned the trust of Congress in current governing body. The majority of delegates confirmed their confidence in the progress made under the leadership of ETTU President Ronald KRAMER and the ETTU Executive Board. At the beginning ITTF President Thomas WEIKERT addressed the ETTU Congress. ITTF President had reminded the delegates that the table tennis World is trying to unify itself and that we had great moments in sport with unified Korean team. “I came here in ITTF Foundation Solidarity Through Table Tennis T-shirt in attempt to underline the core values of the sport. We have to keep our sport clear fair open and transparent ” said WEIKERT who added that those values are deeply respected by responsible sponsors such as LIEBHERR. In light of those efforts ITTF President ‘warned’ the Congress: “Please stop your non- fruitful discussions. I am sad and deeply concerned as your President from Europe of current situation. If there is no stop of it ITTF will have to deeply consider our Continental governing structure.” Both propositions of German and Danish Associations were accepted with majority of votes. The proposition of German Association accepts the President’s report whilst Danish Association gives the full confidence in the President and Vice Presidents. DBTU: “On the basis of the results of the work of the ETTU Executive Board over the period 2013-2018 the Congress has full confidence in the President the Vice President for Finances and all other Vice Presidents. They should continue their excellent work during the rest of the period for which they are elected i.e. until 2020.” DTTB: “The 2018 ETTU Ordinary Congress accepts the President’s report (item 3 on the agenda of the 2018 Extraordinary Congress in Halmstad) as given by the Secretary General and confirmed by the President regarding the details of the payments to the President from 2013 to 2017 in line with the budgets approved by the Congress and confirmed by the auditors and the Congress. “ New appointed Honorary Member of ETTU is Rudolf SPORRER (Austria). ETTU Executive Board awarded three Badges of Honour to Rebecca BERGFELDT of (Sweden) Andre HARTMANN (Luxembourg) and Ferenc KARSAI (Hungary). ETTU appointed the chairs for Committees: PARA TT Patrick RINGEL (France) Rankings Igor HELLER (Netherlands) Technical Oivind ERIKSEN (Norway) Umpires and Referees Committee Isabelle BEUMIER (Belgium) Veterans Zdenko KRIZ (Slovakia) Youth Sandra DEATON (England).
Budapest – next stop for veterans
European Veterans Championships 2019 Beautiful city of Budapest will once again host big European event. During the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships ETTU and Hungarian Table Tennis Association finalised the agreement by signing on the contract for the European Veterans Championships 2019 from 1stto 6thJuly. Just few months after Budapest will host the elite at the World Championships next year they will open the door for the older categories. “We are very excited that we have the opportunity to organize the Championships in “homage” to experience players. They have great experience and we are aware that we have to give our best to fulfill their expectations ” said Roland NATRAN President of Hungarian TT Association. ETTU President Ronald KRAMER did not hide his enthusiasm after signing the document. “I am happy that Hungarian Association with its long tradition in both playing and organizing the events will host such a big competition. Beautiful city of Budapest will gather many hundreds of players and I am sure HTTA will be up to the task like always before ” said President KRAMER.
Ruwen FILUS and HAN Ying newly crowned Mixed Doubles champions
LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships Newly crowned Mixed Doubles champions at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships are Ruwen FILUS and HAN Ying of Germany in the final they overcame Austria’s Stefan FEGERL and Sofia POLCANOVA (7:11 11:9 4:11 11:9 8:11). “POLCANOVA knows me very well. It was so difficult tom play against her “ said HAN. Prviously four-time European title winners Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC of Serbia and Ruta PASAKUSKIENE of Lithuania had to settle with bronze. Pairings who play for a first time together in Alicante FILUS and HAN progressed to the final after very fierce battle (6:11 11:9 7:11 15:13 10:12). “It was very tough match because we faced very experienced adversaries. In every game we had advantage but as soon as we become to passive they were back in game. In second and fourth game we had huge lead 8:3 and 7:3 but we lost ” said HAN. FILUS added: ”It is already big success to reach the semi final.” In other penultimate stage match Stefan FEGERL and Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria overcame Patrick FRANZISKA and Petrissa SOLJA of Germany (7:11 11:1 11:13 9:11). “We had to risk very much. Our adversaries are just way too good. They put every ball on the table so we had to play at the edge to succeed ” said POLCANOVA. “I am disappointed but we gave our best. I think we gave them to many easy points ” said SOLJA.
Ruwen FILUS and HAN Ying newly crowned Mixed Doubles champions
LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships Newly crowned Mixed Doubles champions at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships are Ruwen FILUS and HAN Ying of Germany in the final they overcame Austria’s Stefan FEGERL and Sofia POLCANOVA (7:11 11:9 4:11 11:9 8:11). “POLCANOVA knows me very well. It was so difficult tom play against her “ said HAN. Prviously four-time European title winners Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC of Serbia and Ruta PASAKUSKIENE of Lithuania had to settle with bronze. Pairings who play for a first time together in Alicante FILUS and HAN progressed to the final after very fierce battle (6:11 11:9 7:11 15:13 10:12). “It was very tough match because we faced very experienced adversaries. In every game we had advantage but as soon as we become to passive they were back in game. In second and fourth game we had huge lead 8:3 and 7:3 but we lost ” said HAN. FILUS added: ”It is already big success to reach the semi final.” In other penultimate stage match Stefan FEGERL and Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria overcame Patrick FRANZISKA and Petrissa SOLJA of Germany (7:11 11:1 11:13 9:11). “We had to risk very much. Our adversaries are just way too good. They put every ball on the table so we had to play at the edge to succeed ” said POLCANOVA. “I am disappointed but we gave our best. I think we gave them to many easy points ” said SOLJA.
Ovidiu IONESCU beat reigning champion LEBESSON
LIEBHERR ITTF Europan Championships The clash between Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany and Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus will certainly be one of the jewels of tomorrow’s competition day at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships. In Men’s Singles Event both players reached the Round 16. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany easily prevailed against Alexander SHIBAEV of Russia (10 -6 6 7 10) in the Round of 32. “That was one of the best matches I played recently. The one against DEVOS yesterday and this one against SHIBAEV proved that I am in very good shape. However in the Round of 16 I am still very far from the title ” said OVTCHAROV. ”The draw showed no mercy. Tomorrow I will play against very strong SAMSONOV. It will be very difficult.” SAMSONOV halted fantastic progress of Truls MOREGARD of Sweden (10 -8 -6 6 8 2). “After I won the opening game I felt confident but MOREGARD change the pace of the game. I lost next two games without making many mistakes and I was forced to change something. I started to play more aggressive in order to regain the control ” said SAMOSNOV. Jonathan GROTH of Denmark overcame Diogo CARVALHO of Portugal (-14 4 8 2 9). Reigning champion Emmanuel EBESSON of France also excited the competition. He has been beaten by Ovidiu IONESCU of Romania (9 9 10 -7 7). “Two out of three opening games I lost after 9:9. IONESCU was better in the finish in each occasion. When he felt he is in control it was impossible to stop him. I am very disappointed but it is not the end of the World ” said LEBESSON. WANG Yang of Slovakia suffered by the hands of Ricardo WALTHER of Germany (8 8 -7 8 10). “I knew WANG very well because he had played in Bundesliga. However it did not help a lot WANG blocked me very effectively and I could not play fast balls. I could not win points quickly and I had to be patient. I had to wait for WANG to attack first ” said WALTHER. Jon PERSSON of Sweden prevailed in straight games against Martin ALLEGRO of Belgium (6 6 5 14). “I am very happy with my performance here. I took the control from thee early stage. I was very aggressive. I attacked early and forced ALLEGRO into the mistakes. I am happy with my receive service game the way I moved…”said PERSSON. Tiago APOLONIA of Portugal inflicted the pain in the harts of the host supporters. He beat Alvaro ROBLES (7 7 6 -8 11). “Everything was all right before fourth game. Then Alvaro raised his game the spectators woke up they became frantic and I lost my focus. I managed to calm down because I had decent lead. All in all my service game was good so I controlled the match well. Only in fourth game Alvaro managed to make the points longer ” said APOLONIA. Liam PITCHFORD of England needed six games to overcame Joao GERALDO of Portugal (8 9 -4 -4 5 9). “For me it was must to have a good start but Joao made it very difficult. I was under pressure little bit nervous. I did not expect that GERALDO improved his game so much in last year. I changed my service and rhythm of the game and with good backhand managed to win eventualy ” said Liam. Photos: ETTU Flickr ETTU_official – Live Streaming: The event will be streamed on ettu.tv Live Scoring: Live scoring can be followed here Tickets for the European Championships ticketmaster
Ovidiu IONESCU beat reigning champion LEBESSON
LIEBHERR ITTF Europan Championships The clash between Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany and Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus will certainly be one of the jewels of tomorrow’s competition day at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships. In Men’s Singles Event both players reached the Round 16. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany easily prevailed against Alexander SHIBAEV of Russia (10 -6 6 7 10) in the Round of 32. “That was one of the best matches I played recently. The one against DEVOS yesterday and this one against SHIBAEV proved that I am in very good shape. However in the Round of 16 I am still very far from the title ” said OVTCHAROV. ”The draw showed no mercy. Tomorrow I will play against very strong SAMSONOV. It will be very difficult.” SAMSONOV halted fantastic progress of Truls MOREGARD of Sweden (10 -8 -6 6 8 2). “After I won the opening game I felt confident but MOREGARD change the pace of the game. I lost next two games without making many mistakes and I was forced to change something. I started to play more aggressive in order to regain the control ” said SAMOSNOV. Jonathan GROTH of Denmark overcame Diogo CARVALHO of Portugal (-14 4 8 2 9). Reigning champion Emmanuel EBESSON of France also excited the competition. He has been beaten by Ovidiu IONESCU of Romania (9 9 10 -7 7). “Two out of three opening games I lost after 9:9. IONESCU was better in the finish in each occasion. When he felt he is in control it was impossible to stop him. I am very disappointed but it is not the end of the World ” said LEBESSON. WANG Yang of Slovakia suffered by the hands of Ricardo WALTHER of Germany (8 8 -7 8 10). “I knew WANG very well because he had played in Bundesliga. However it did not help a lot WANG blocked me very effectively and I could not play fast balls. I could not win points quickly and I had to be patient. I had to wait for WANG to attack first ” said WALTHER. Jon PERSSON of Sweden prevailed in straight games against Martin ALLEGRO of Belgium (6 6 5 14). “I am very happy with my performance here. I took the control from thee early stage. I was very aggressive. I attacked early and forced ALLEGRO into the mistakes. I am happy with my receive service game the way I moved…”said PERSSON. Tiago APOLONIA of Portugal inflicted the pain in the harts of the host supporters. He beat Alvaro ROBLES (7 7 6 -8 11). “Everything was all right before fourth game. Then Alvaro raised his game the spectators woke up they became frantic and I lost my focus. I managed to calm down because I had decent lead. All in all my service game was good so I controlled the match well. Only in fourth game Alvaro managed to make the points longer ” said APOLONIA. Liam PITCHFORD of England needed six games to overcame Joao GERALDO of Portugal (8 9 -4 -4 5 9). “For me it was must to have a good start but Joao made it very difficult. I was under pressure little bit nervous. I did not expect that GERALDO improved his game so much in last year. I changed my service and rhythm of the game and with good backhand managed to win eventualy ” said Liam. Photos: ETTU Flickr ETTU_official – Live Streaming: The event will be streamed on ettu.tv Live Scoring: Live scoring can be followed here Tickets for the European Championships ticketmaster
Simon GAUZY and Emmanuel LEBESSON in the quarters
LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships Top seeded pairings in Alicante at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany and Jonathan GROTH of Denmark successfully concluded their match against Alvaro ROBLES of Spain and Ovidiu IONESCU of Romania in the Round of 16 (3 8 7 3). No. two seeds Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON reached the quarterfinal after victory over Jesus CANTERO and Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC (5 6 -10 9 8). “KARAKASEVIC is very good in the short game so we had to stop him. We were aggressive ” said Mattias FALCK. Ruwen FILUS and Ricardo WALTHER of Germany overcame WANG Yang of Slovakia and Panagiotis GIONIS of Greece (8 -8 -7 3 4 7). “It was very strange situation for me. We had to play against two players with defensive style and both of them has very different one from each other. We knew we have to attack because will surely not and we could not afford any easy mistakes ” said WALTHER. Simon GAUZY and Emmanuel LEBESSON of France overcame Tamas LAKATOS of Hungary and Hunor SZOCS of Romania (9 4 10 5). “We moved well an we were very aggressive. This combination is very dangerous but I think the real challenge will be to play against Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON in next round. They are among top five doubles in Europe ” said GAUZY. Samuel WALKER of England and Tobias RASMUSSEN of Denmark overcame Nandor ECSEKIN and Adam SZUDI of Hungary (7 9 6 10) and they will meet Ruwen FILUS and Ricardo WALTHER. Photos: ETTU Flickr ETTU_official – Live Streaming: The event will be streamed on ettu.tv Live Scoring: Live scoring can be followed here Tickets for the European Championships ticketmaster
