2018 LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships   The pairings that clinched the gold at the European Championships in 2013 in the Women’s Doubles Event Sabine WINTER and Petrissa SOLJA are on the winning path again in the 2018 LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships. German duo overcame Ruta PASKAUSKIENE and Egle STUCYTE of Lithuania in the Round of 32.   “We feel very confident playing together. We have good experience and we hope to continue where we stopped last time in winning mode. Lithuanian pairings have very unusual style so it was not easy but we are aiming high and we hope we will be successful here ” said WINTER.   In the Round of 16 they will meet Britt EERLAND of Netherlands and Dana CECHOVA of Czech Republic. Previously they overcame Ilka DOVAL and Rebekka CARLSSEN of Norway.   Top seeded pairings Matilda EKHOLM and Georgina POTA overcame host nation favorites ZHANG Xuang and Sara RAMIREZ. Spanish-Hungarian combination will play against Stephanie LEOUILLETTE and Oceane GUISNEL of France.   Adina DIACOUNU and Irina CIOBANU of Romania beat Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA-FRANC and Natalia PARTYKA of Poland.   “Playing against one of the best pairings here was a difficult task. Especially for us since we do not play often together. We had only few training together before this Championships but we very focused in the match ” said CIOBANU.   Romania’s duo will play against Tatiana KUKULKOVA and Eva ODOROVA of Slovakia.   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

2018 LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships   The pairings that clinched the gold at the European Championships in 2013 in the Women’s Doubles Event Sabine WINTER and Petrissa SOLJA are on the winning path again in the 2018 LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships. German duo overcame Ruta PASKAUSKIENE and Egle STUCYTE of Lithuania in the Round of 32.   “We feel very confident playing together. We have good experience and we hope to continue where we stopped last time in winning mode. Lithuanian pairings have very unusual style so it was not easy but we are aiming high and we hope we will be successful here ” said WINTER.   In the Round of 16 they will meet Britt EERLAND of Netherlands and Dana CECHOVA of Czech Republic. Previously they overcame Ilka DOVAL and Rebekka CARLSSEN of Norway.   Top seeded pairings Matilda EKHOLM and Georgina POTA overcame host nation favorites ZHANG Xuang and Sara RAMIREZ. Spanish-Hungarian combination will play against Stephanie LEOUILLETTE and Oceane GUISNEL of France.   Adina DIACOUNU and Irina CIOBANU of Romania beat Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA-FRANC and Natalia PARTYKA of Poland.   “Playing against one of the best pairings here was a difficult task. Especially for us since we do not play often together. We had only few training together before this Championships but we very focused in the match ” said CIOBANU.   Romania’s duo will play against Tatiana KUKULKOVA and Eva ODOROVA of Slovakia.   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

LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships   The preliminary phase of Men’s Doubles Event at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships already provide exciting matches. Although it is the early phase there were no lack of thrilling duels.     Jesus CANTERO of Spain play in Doubles with Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC of Serbia. In preliminary round they beat Tomas MIKUTIS and Borgar HAUG (Lithuania/Norway) “We were relaxed and we started very well. KARAKASEVIC did not miss the ball. MIKUTIS and HAUG played very safe did not want to risk much and at some point they were very nervous. On the other side we played aggressive ” said CANTERO.   Under 21 Champions Ibrahim GUNDUZ and Abdullah YIGENLER of Turkey overcame Deni KOZUL and Jan ZIBRAT of Slovenia.   “We feel very confident. We have been playing for three years together and we hope we can reach the medal rostrum in Alicante ” said GUNDUZ.   Marko JEVTOVIC and Zolt PETE beat Bence MAJOROS of Hungary and Anders LIND of Denmark. “Last time we played together in the quarterfinal of the European Championships in Russia. It has been a while…However we feel confident here and this victory is very important ” said PETE.   JEVTOVIC still trying to adapt to differences since he last time played at the big Championships.   “I was absent 3 years…Now everyone plays atomic table tennis. It is unbelievable.”   Diogo CARVALHO and Diogo CHEN of Portugal overcame Pavel SIRUCEK and Tomas TREGLER of Czech Republic.   “With good start we gained safe advantage and eased the pressure. We forced Czech pairings into the mistakes ” said CARVALHO.

LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships   One of the most colorful characters in table tennis Dane Michael MAZE is back in action at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships. He concluded the Group phase of the competition at the position no. two at the standings with defeat against Tomas TREGELER of Czech Republic in seven games and victories over Deni KOZUL of Slovenia and Tomasz KOTOWSKI of Poland.   Being required to play at the qualifications for the European champion in singles from 2009 and in Team’s 2005 bronze medalists from the Olympics in Doubles 2004 and in singles at the Worlds in 2005 is not the role he is well adjusted. However he still finds the motive to enjoy the game.   “It has been a while since I played the best of seven matches. It has been a while since I play at the tournament at all. After Olympic Games 2012 I did not have proper competition. You can not compare trainings and competitions. Here at the beginning I had three match balls against TREGLER but I lost. Now I am second in the Group and I have to wait to see would I be lucky loser ” said MAZE.   He admitted he feels good and having learned from the bitter experience of coming back so many times from injuries added that he will go just one step in the time.   “It is not the result that is primary for me. I am trying to enjoy. So many things changed. The different ball created completely new face of the game. Now we have so many players with very similar high level of play. They are all fit and they all have good spins. On the other side there are not so many players on the highest level. I miss that. I miss old times ” said MAZE.

LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships   One of the most colorful characters in table tennis Dane Michael MAZE is back in action at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships. He concluded the Group phase of the competition at the position no. two at the standings with defeat against Tomas TREGELER of Czech Republic in seven games and victories over Deni KOZUL of Slovenia and Tomasz KOTOWSKI of Poland.   Being required to play at the qualifications for the European champion in singles from 2009 and in Team’s 2005 bronze medalists from the Olympics in Doubles 2004 and in singles at the Worlds in 2005 is not the role he is well adjusted. However he still finds the motive to enjoy the game.   “It has been a while since I played the best of seven matches. It has been a while since I play at the tournament at all. After Olympic Games 2012 I did not have proper competition. You can not compare trainings and competitions. Here at the beginning I had three match balls against TREGLER but I lost. Now I am second in the Group and I have to wait to see would I be lucky loser ” said MAZE.   He admitted he feels good and having learned from the bitter experience of coming back so many times from injuries added that he will go just one step in the time.   “It is not the result that is primary for me. I am trying to enjoy. So many things changed. The different ball created completely new face of the game. Now we have so many players with very similar high level of play. They are all fit and they all have good spins. On the other side there are not so many players on the highest level. I miss that. I miss old times ” said MAZE.

LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships   The qualification stage of the Men’s Singles Event at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships in Spanish Alicante provide already exciting matches and few upsets. Already in Group one European champion in junior category Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS of Greece proved he is matured for bigger challenge and secured leading position with two wins over Serbia’s Marko JEVTOVIC and Slovakia’s Samuel NOVOTA.   “It is always difficult to play first match at the Championships. It was especially hard for me this time since I never had play against NOVOTA previously. I kept him close to the table and luckily I found a good rhythm from the start “ said SGOUROPOULOS before match against JEVTOVIC.   Marko is the second in the group which is also surprise since he came in Spain unranked.   “I have been absent from the Championships for three years I was not even playing at the tournaments. I did not know what to expect here. I feel like I was absent for 20 years those kids are total mystery to me ” said JEVTOVIC.   In Group 2 Paul DRINKHALL of ENGLAND and Truls MOREGARD of Sweden will decide the top spot in the group tomorrow when they meet each other. So far both are unbeaten. Same status goes with Alexander SHIBAEV of Russia who overcame Patryk ZATOWKA of Poland and Jordan WYKES of Jersey.   “I am feeling very tired now. The match against WYKES concluded in straight games but the one against ZATOWKA was very close and difficult ” said SHIBAEV.   In the same group Carlos FRANCO of Spain accounted against Jordan and lost against ZATOWKA.   “I was under great pressure after this morning’s defeat since I lost against lower ranked player but this victory gave me hope and new motive for tomorrow’s duel against SHIBAEV ” said FRANCO.   Portugal’s Diogo CARVALHO overcame Kalinikos KREANGA of Greece and Finalnd’s Alex NAUMI.   “I have to play against the favorite in our Group Bence MAJOROS of Hungary but I know I have a chance. He has very dangerous return of service and I hope I will find a way to answer that ” said Diogo.   Jesus CANTERO of Spain had surprise free day. He justified his leading position in his Group and beat Filip RADOVIC of Montenegro and Arturs REINHOLDS of Latvia.   “Now I will play against Martin ALLEGRO of Belgium. Last time we met at the European Championships I remember I had a very difficult time; I will have to be fast and focused ” said Cantero.     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   The links to the live tables for each day: o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day6_Table1

LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships   The European Champions from 2013 LI Fen of Sweden was required to compete in a preliminary round of the Women’s Singles Event at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships in Spanish Alicante and she concluded the opening day with two straight games wins.   LI overcame Slovenia’s Katarina STRAZAR and Sarah MEYER of Luxembourg. “It has been little bit hard this morning but now I feel much better. I adjusted to the venue and I am satisfied with my play ” said LI.     Tomorrow she will meet Karin ADAMKOVA of Czech Republic who also beat STRAZAR and MEYER but she needed one game more to finish her job.   “It will be extremely difficult to face LI but I studied her matches and I hope I am ready. It will be real test for my game since today I think that my adversaries made more errors than usual ” said ADAMKOVA.     In then morning session Sabina SURJAN of Serbia prevailed against Adina DIACONU of Romania to create an upset. “The title in Junior category at the European Top 10 in Portugal helped boost my confidence. I was very relaxed and I even surprise myself with the victory over Adina.”   In Group 1 Ozge YILMAZ of Turkey beat no. one seed Giorgia PICCOLIN of Italy 4:3 to secure the leading position; Tetyana BILENKO of Ukraine Amelia SOLJA of Austria Dana CECHOVA of Czechb Republic Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN of Romania Tin Tin HO of England justified their status and finished the day unbeaten.   In Group 19 Izabela LUPULESKU of Serbia is at the top with two victories over Jamila LAURENTI of Italy and Petra PETEK of Croatia. 15- years old Jamila is second and she beat no. one seed in the group Tatiana KUKULKOVA of Slovakia.   “For me it is very important to be here. Playing against seniors gives me great experience. I had a very difficult match this morning against LUPULESKU but in the afternoon I felt much better ” said LAURENTI.     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   The links to the live tables for each day: o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day6_Table1  

LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships   The European Champions from 2013 LI Fen of Sweden was required to compete in a preliminary round of the Women’s Singles Event at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships in Spanish Alicante and she concluded the opening day with two straight games wins.   LI overcame Slovenia’s Katarina STRAZAR and Sarah MEYER of Luxembourg. “It has been little bit hard this morning but now I feel much better. I adjusted to the venue and I am satisfied with my play ” said LI.     Tomorrow she will meet Karin ADAMKOVA of Czech Republic who also beat STRAZAR and MEYER but she needed one game more to finish her job.   “It will be extremely difficult to face LI but I studied her matches and I hope I am ready. It will be real test for my game since today I think that my adversaries made more errors than usual ” said ADAMKOVA.     In then morning session Sabina SURJAN of Serbia prevailed against Adina DIACONU of Romania to create an upset. “The title in Junior category at the European Top 10 in Portugal helped boost my confidence. I was very relaxed and I even surprise myself with the victory over Adina.”   In Group 1 Ozge YILMAZ of Turkey beat no. one seed Giorgia PICCOLIN of Italy 4:3 to secure the leading position; Tetyana BILENKO of Ukraine Amelia SOLJA of Austria Dana CECHOVA of Czechb Republic Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN of Romania Tin Tin HO of England justified their status and finished the day unbeaten.   In Group 19 Izabela LUPULESKU of Serbia is at the top with two victories over Jamila LAURENTI of Italy and Petra PETEK of Croatia. 15- years old Jamila is second and she beat no. one seed in the group Tatiana KUKULKOVA of Slovakia.   “For me it is very important to be here. Playing against seniors gives me great experience. I had a very difficult match this morning against LUPULESKU but in the afternoon I felt much better ” said LAURENTI.     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   The links to the live tables for each day: o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day6_Table1  

LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships   For a first time after 10 years Daniela Monteiro DODEAN has been required to compete in a preliminary round of the Women’s Singles Event at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships in Spanish Alicante. However difficult she adjusted to new situation and concluded the opening day in qualifications unbeaten. Same difficult path Sara RAMIREZ had to go as well. Host nation’s representative had to start from the bottom of the group.   “It has been a decade since I played in the qualification and I guess I have to use to that now. My level of play is very high I am motivated but due the new system my rankings are below my performances ” said Daniela.   She elaborates: “This system does not work in favor of players like me women with kids. Now the challenge is even greater. I can not travel that much like before and it takes its toll on my rankings.”   Daniela overcame Celia SILVA of Portugal in the opening round (11:7 11:5 11:5 11:4) and Eva ODOROVA of Slovakia on second exit to the table (11:5 11:8 11:9 9:11 11:9).   For Sara RAMIREZ it was very long day in which she was forced to go through agonizing suspense of playing seven games in both her group matches. She overcame Lisa LUNG of Belgium (2:11 11:6 9:11 11:7 11:7 4:11 7:11) and Charlotte CAREY of Wales (11:13 12:10 7;11 11:13 11:8 11:8 8:11).   “I gave everything to win this. I had to do it in front of my people and family. It is not easy nowadays I had to go from the bottom from third or fourth place in the group because I am so low on rankings. I can not go frequently on tournaments like before since I have a daughter. Playing only on Worlds and Europeans is not enough. I am playing in clubs have a Master and I am a teacher luckily at the Academy which gave me less working hours but still…I am in the phase where I have to make a decision sport or “regular” job ” said RAMIREZ.     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   The links to the live tables for each day: o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day6_Table1

LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships   For a first time after 10 years Daniela Monteiro DODEAN has been required to compete in a preliminary round of the Women’s Singles Event at the LIEBHERR 2018 ITTF European Championships in Spanish Alicante. However difficult she adjusted to new situation and concluded the opening day in qualifications unbeaten. Same difficult path Sara RAMIREZ had to go as well. Host nation’s representative had to start from the bottom of the group.   “It has been a decade since I played in the qualification and I guess I have to use to that now. My level of play is very high I am motivated but due the new system my rankings are below my performances ” said Daniela.   She elaborates: “This system does not work in favor of players like me women with kids. Now the challenge is even greater. I can not travel that much like before and it takes its toll on my rankings.”   Daniela overcame Celia SILVA of Portugal in the opening round (11:7 11:5 11:5 11:4) and Eva ODOROVA of Slovakia on second exit to the table (11:5 11:8 11:9 9:11 11:9).   For Sara RAMIREZ it was very long day in which she was forced to go through agonizing suspense of playing seven games in both her group matches. She overcame Lisa LUNG of Belgium (2:11 11:6 9:11 11:7 11:7 4:11 7:11) and Charlotte CAREY of Wales (11:13 12:10 7;11 11:13 11:8 11:8 8:11).   “I gave everything to win this. I had to do it in front of my people and family. It is not easy nowadays I had to go from the bottom from third or fourth place in the group because I am so low on rankings. I can not go frequently on tournaments like before since I have a daughter. Playing only on Worlds and Europeans is not enough. I am playing in clubs have a Master and I am a teacher luckily at the Academy which gave me less working hours but still…I am in the phase where I have to make a decision sport or “regular” job ” said RAMIREZ.     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   The links to the live tables for each day: o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day1_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day2_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day3_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day4_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table1 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table2 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table3 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day5_Table4 o   http://bit.ly/ETTC2018_Day6_Table1