China’s ZHENG Peifeng has claimed his career first ITTF World Tour title at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open in Olomouc after fighting through a back injury in the Men’s Singles Final today 26 August 2018. Taking a 1-0 lead early on it became apparent that ZHENG who was playing against an impressive Marcos FREITAS was in some discomfort. At 2-1 down he took a medical time out to get some treatment for the strain on his latissimus dorsi muscle in a bid to finish the match. Cheered on by the crowd as he returned the 22-year-old fought hard to win the next three games to claim his first Men’s Singles Gold on the world tour by a score of 4-2 (13-11 6-11 8-11 11-7 11-8 11-6).   Showing a strong front the unseeded ZHENG remarked: “I did not think much about the injury and tried to focus on doing my best in the match. Of course I am very happy to win my first Men’s Singles title but I will continue to practice hard when I am back and hopefully I can have more opportunities like this.” In the Women’s Singles event it was Kasumi ISHIKAWA (JPN) who bagged her second Women’s Singles gold of the year since her win in Germany as she beat WEN Jia (CHN) in an enthralling final.   The top seed who finished second last year in Olomouc after losing to Mima ITO (JPN) in the final was determined for the crown. Facing two compatriots in Hashimoto HONOKA and Saki SHIBATA in the earlier rounds this time ISHIKAWA showed the mental steel to overcome adverse situations en route to her final where she once again displayed her ability to turn things around.   In the final it was the World Ranked 178 WEN who came out fighting and took an early 1-0 lead against the 4th best player in the world right now. ISHIKAWA’s ability shone through in the second game as she upped her tempo and never looked back. Despite WEN winning a close fourth game to level the score at 2-2 ISHIKAWA powered home to win the gold 8-11 11-8 11-4 7-11 11-6 13-11.   The 25-year-old said after her hard-earned victory “Last year I was also in the final and I am glad to have the chance to experience it once again this year. Winning it this year makes me feel really happy.”   In the Men’s Doubles Final Patrick FRANZISKA (GER) and Jonathan GROTH (DEN) successfully defended their title against the Swedish pair of Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON.  The mixed association pair proved too strong to end the match 3-1 (5-11 11-9 12-10 11-7).  Conversely in the Women’s Doubles event it was the mixed association pair of SUN Jiayi (CRO) and ZENG Jian (SGP) who fell. Partnering each other for the first time on the world tour their amazing run was stopped by the Chinese pair of LIU Gaoyang and ZHANG Rui who prevailed 3-0 (11-6 13-11 11-2) to clinch the title.   With the conclusion of the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open the world’s top table tennis stars will only have 2 more chance at the Swedish Open and Austrian Open in Nov to earn valuable World Tour ranking points to qualify for the million-dollar ITTF World Tour Grand Finals at the end of the year.   Quick Links: Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open Daily Schedule & Results Flash Quotes Media Kit Photos for Editorial Use Match Highlights Live Streaming & Videos on Demand

Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open   Four years ago winner in Olomouc Marcos FREITAS finished as runner-up of the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open concluded today August 26th. No. 4 seed from Portugal lost to unranked Chinese player ZHENG Peifeng 4:2 (13:11 6:11 8:11 11:7 11:8 11:6). It was biggest success of ZHENG quarter-finalists of recent Bulgaria Open.   “I’m very sorry about the medical time-out. I actually felt some pain in my muscles already in the semi-final yesterday. I’m really sorry about that. After the time-out I was only focused on continuing to fight for the game. I’m very happy for this title. I am going to practice even harder to hopefully get more opportunities like this to win competitions” stated ZHENG Peifeng after beating Marcos FREITAS (POR).   Women`s Singles top seed Kasumi ISHIKAWA last year`s runner-up (lost to Mima ITO) won her second ITTF World Tour title this year after German Open. Japan`s best ranked player prevailed against China`s WEN Jia 4:2 (8:11 11:8 11:4 7:11 11:6 13:11).   Patrick FRANZISKA from Germany and Jonathan GROTH from Denmark have continued their dominancy in the Men`s Doubles event in Olomouc. Last year`s winner have defeated Sweden`s Mattias FALCK/Kristian KARLSSON 3:1 (11:5 9:11 12:10 11:7). FRANZISKA and GROTH are first non-Asian doubles winners in the ongoing Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour.   “It was a very tough match. We went down in the first set and were under pressure so the second set was the crucial set for this match. If we would have lost that set I think that we would probably not stand here as the winners” explained Jonathan GROTH after Men`s Doubles final.   Patrick FRANZISKA added: “We played a great match against each other earlier and I think that helped us in the final. Both of us were in a great shape to come into this final. We both have the same plans before the match. We want to be the attacking pair control the game and put pressure on our opponents. I think if we are the pair that attacks more then we usually have a good chance of winning the match. In doubles it’s very hard to play a passive game.”   Women`s Doubles winners are LIU Gaoyang and ZHANG Rui from China as they overcame Croatia`s SUN Jiayi and Singapore`s ZENG Jian in straight games 3:0 (11:6 13:11 11:2).   Quick Links: Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open Daily Schedule & Results Flash Quotes Media Kit Photos for Editorial Use Match Highlights Live Streaming & Videos on Demand

Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open Olomouc   The fifth day of the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open – August 25th – was reserved for quarter-final and semi-final stages in both Men`s and Women`s singles events. The day was concluded by fantastic clash between 2014 winner Marcos FREITAS from Portugal and 2017 gold medalist Tomokazu HARIMOTO from Japan. Actual No. 4 seed FREITAS beat No. 2 and defending champion 15-year-old HARIMOTO after full seven games 4:3 (11:5 1:11 11:8 9:11 11:8 5:11 11:6).   FREITAS had a promising advantage 3:2 (5:3) but Japanese responded by eight consecutive points to secure seventh game. Portugal`s player made an impressive start in the ultimate chapter 9:1 what was crucial. HARIMOTO was third player from Japan beaten by FREITAS here in Olomouc while Daniel HABESOHN (Austria) was unique non-Japanese he faced in his four Men`s Singles encounters.   “I’m very happy that I beat him” stressed FREITAS after his quarter-final game against HABESOHN. “He is a very good and strong player. He has been playing really well in the past months and he has had good results. He is also my good friend as I practiced with him in the Schlager Academy for three years. We know each other really well. I was expecting a really tough match because I had lost against him the second last time we played against each other.”   Liam PITCHFORD caused biggest upset of the day by beating No. 1 seed Dimitrij OVTCHAROV from Germany in five games of the quarter-final clash. But Englishman lost to Chinese ZHENG Peifeng in the semi-final duel. FREITAS and ZHENG will decide the winner tomorrow August 26th 14:40.   Regarding Women`s Singles event China`s WU Yang defeated Germany`s Sabine WINTER in five games but was forced to retire after third set of semi-final encounter with her compatriot WEN Jia. No. 1 seed Kasumi ISHIKAWA and WEN are going to play for the main prize tomorrow 13:40 CET.   Quick Links: Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open Daily Schedule & Results Flash Quotes Media Kit Photos for Editorial Use Match Highlights Live Streaming & Videos on Demand

Today marks 300 Days to Go until the European Games Minsk 2019 and with only the final elements of the Shooting Centre left to be renovated the Belarusian capital is almost entirely ready to host Europe’s premier multi-sports event.   Local organisers are already fine-tuning their preparations with a full slate of test events leading up to next year’s Games. In August the Minsk European Games Organising Committee (MEGOC) hosted a beach soccer test event at the city’s new beach soccer venue the only facility to be used at Minsk 2019 that needed to be built from scratch.   MEGOC also successfully hosted the European Judo Open that featured judokas from 40 countries and is set to also welcome the Minsk Grand Prix and Minsk Cup international gymnastics competition and the Belarus Shotgun Shooting Open Championship in the coming days. In total nine more test events are scheduled for 2018 and another 11 are lined up for 2019.   “With 300 days left until the main sports event of 2019 everyone at the Minsk European Games Organising Committee is working hard to ensure the success of the 2nd European Games ” said MEGOC CEO George Katulin. “We highly appreciate all the interest and support we have received from our stakeholders and we’re looking forward to welcoming the best European athletes and passionate fans next June.”   Spyros Capralos European Olympic Committees (EOC) Chairman of the Coordination Commission for Minsk 2019 echoed those sentiments: “In 2019 the European Games will again act as a qualification event for a number of sports for the subsequent Olympic Games this time at Tokyo 2020. We are therefore expecting all of our European NOCs to take part and we trust that Minsk will provide all the athletes with the best conditions to perform well in preparation for Tokyo. We have seen during the first edition of this event in Baku in 2015 the value of this event and we expect Minsk will again exceed expectations.”   The continent’s best athletes from all 50 European National Olympic Committees will gather in Minsk next 21-30 June to participate in 15 sports: 3×3 basketball archery athletics badminton beach soccer boxing canoe sprint cycling gymnastics judo karate sambo shooting table tennis and wrestling.   Ten of the 15 sports will act as qualifiers for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 with the European Games also counting as the official European championships for four sports. All 12 sporting venues will be located a maximum 30 minutes’ drive from the Athletes’ Village ensuring athletes can easily travel to training and competition facilities.   “The EOC and the organisers of the European Games 2019 are working with the European Federations to create an innovative and interesting sport programme that will add value for everyone who competes in Minsk ” said European Games Executive Director Simon Clegg. “We have full confidence in Minsk to host an exceptional Games in 2019.”   Tickets for the European Games will go on sale on 1 December 2018. Sales will be conducted by MEGOC via minsk2019.ticketpro.by within Belarus and through Official Resellers in their territories from 1 December 2018 until 28 February 2019. Worldwide ticket sales will begin on 1 March 2019.

Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open   Defending champion Tomokazu HARIMOTO from Japan beat another European legend in the Czech Republic city of Olomouc to reach quarter-finals of the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open. Last year he upset Timo BOLL in the gold medal contest while this time he needed full seven games to defeat Vladimir SAMSONOV. Actual No. 2 seed 15-year-old HARIMOTO won 4:3 (11:7 7:11 11:6 11:13 11:4 8:11 11:5)   Men`s Singles top seed Dimitrij OVTCHAROV beat Korea`s PARK Ganghyeon in five games to reach best eight. Englishman Liam PITCHFORD was two sets down 1:3 but won three in a row against Chinese ZHANG Yudong 4:3 (11:7 10:12 12:14 7:11 11:6 11:6 11:3).   Two more encounters have been extended to full distance and belonged to Germany`s Bastian STEGER and China`s ZHENG Peifeng who won their games against Ricardo WALTHER (GER) and Mizuki OIKAWA (JPN) respectively.   Actual No. 4 seed Marcos FREITAS the 2014 winner showed impressive play against No. 27 Maharu YOSHIMURA beating him in straight games. YOSHIMURA was 2015 runner-up. Austria`s Daniel HABESOHN defeated Kazakhstan`s Kirill GERASSIMENKO in five games while Germany`s Patrick FRANZISKA prevailed against No. 5 seed Denmark`s Jonathan GROTH after six sets.   Quarter-final pairs will be following: Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Germany) vs. Liam PITCHFORD (England) Bastian STEGER (Germany) vs. ZHENG Peifeng (China) Marcos FREITAS (Portugal) vs. Daniel HABESOHN (Austria) Patrick FRANZISKA (Germany) vs. Tomokazu HARIMOTO (Japan).   Sabine WINTER from Germany will be only one Old Continent`s representative in the Women`s Singles quarter-finals. She created biggest upset yesterday eliminating Japan`s Hitomi SATO (No. 4 seed) while today she defeated Poland`s LI Qian (No. 11) in straight games. It was her fifth consecutive victory in four days counting three in the preliminary round. China`s WU Yang will be her next opponent.   Matilda EKHOLM from Sweden managed to catch Puerto Rico`s Adriana DIAZ being three games down but lost decisive set 11:5. DIAZ will play against No. 1 seed Kasumi ISHIKAWA from Japan.   Three German players were involved in the Men`s Doubles semi-finals but just one reached final Patrick FRANZISKA who is teamed up with Denmark`s Jonathan GROTH. Defending champions beat GROTH`s compatriot Anders LIND and Hungary`s Bence MAJOROS in straight games. The same score delivered Sweden`s pair Mattias FALCK/Kristian KARLSSON against Germany`s Ruwen FILUS/Ricardo WALTHER. FRANZISKA and GROTH eliminated Japan`s Tomokazu HARIMOTO/Yuto KIZUKURI in the quarter-finals.   Romania`s Elizabeta SAMARA/Bernadette SZOCS lost to Japan`s Kasumi ISHIKAWA/Mima ITO No. 2 seeds in the Women`s Doubles quarter-finals. Croatia`s SUN Jiayi and Singapore`s ZENG Jian will face China`s LIUGaoyang/ZHANG Rui in the gold medal contest.   Quick Links: Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open Daily Schedule & Results Flash Quotes Media Kit Photos for Editorial Use Match Highlights Live Streaming & Videos on Demand

Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open in Olomouc   Four German players have secured their places in the Men`s Singles Round of 16 today August 23rd at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open in Olomouc. Beside top seeded Dimitrij OVTCHAROV other three were Ricardo WALTHER Bastian STEGER and Patrick FRANZISKA. Women`s Singles event is going to see six Japan`s representatives among the best 16.   Current women`s World No. 64 Germany`s Sabine WINTER upset actual World No. 14 Hitomi SATO and set her clash with Poland`s LI Qian who prevailed against China`s WANG Yidi. Three more Old Continent`s players have reached Women`s Singles Round of 16: YU Fu (Portugal) Bernadette SZOCS (Romania) and Matilda EKHOLM (Sweden).   Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) beat Taku TAKAKIWA (JPN) in straight games of the Men`s Singles Round of 32. KOU Lei (UKR) lost to PARK Gangheyeon (KOR) in five games. Benedikt DUDA from Germany extended to full distance Chinese ZHANG Yudong. England`s Liam PITCHFORD prevailed against Sweden`s Kristian KARLSSON in five games to set Round of 16 clash against ZHANG.   Ricardo WALTHER defeated Ruwen FILUS in six games of all-German clash to set another duel with his compatriot Bastian STEGER who eliminated Cedric NUYTINCK from Belgium. Actual World No. 76 Mizuki OIKAWA made one of the biggest upsets at the tournament so far by beating his compatriot Koki NIWA World No. 11.   Portugal`s Marcos FREITAS (No. 16) beat Yuki HIRANO in straight sets and his next opponent will be once again Japan`s representative Maharu YOSHIMURA (No. 27).   One of today`s most exciting Men`s Singles clashes was one between Austria`s Daniel HABESOHN and Sweden`s Mattias FALCK. Austrian won 4-3 to set his encounter with Kazakhstan’s Kirill GERASIMENKO who was stretched to full distance by Russia`s Kirill SKACHKOV. Denmark`s Jonathan GROTH and Germany`s Patrick FRANZISKA will meet in the next stage as both won their Round of 32 games.   Second seed and defending champion 15-year-old Tomokazu HARIMOTO from Japan will face 42-year-old Belarus legend Vladimir SAMSONOV in the Round of 16. Japanese beat Slovenia`s Darko JORGIC in straight games while former triple European champion overcame Poland`s Marek BADOWSKI in five sets.   Men`s Doubles No. 1 seed Patrick FRANZISKA (Germany)/Jonathan GROTH (Denmark) proved their status in the Round of 16 as they beat France`s Can AKKUZU/Joe SEYFRIED. Their next opponent will be strong Japan`s pair Tomokazu HARIMOTO/Yuto KIZUKURI.   Most exciting game in the Women`s Doubles event was seen between SUN Jiayi (Croatia)/ZENG Jian (Singapore) and Matilda EKHOLM (Sweden)/Georgina POTA (Hungary). SUN and ZENG managed to reverse the score from 0-2 to 3-2 winning ultimate game by narrow margin.   Quick Links: Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open Daily Schedule & Results Flash Quotes Media Kit Photos for Editorial Use Match Highlights Live Streaming & Videos on Demand

  Almost one year since Tomokazu HARIMOTO (JPN) became the youngest ever World Tour Champion the young Japanese superstar is set to return to the venue which saw him make history. He will look to defend his Men’s Singles title at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open which begins today 23 August till 26 August 2018 in Olomouc Czech Republic.   Now aged 15 while still considered a teenager HARIMOTO has established himself as a regular on the ITTF World Tour and has since added the 2018 Japan Open title to his list of honors. The second seed will face Slovenia’s Darko JORGIC in the opening round before a potential rematch with Vladimir SAMSONOV (BLR) in the next.   On the other end top seed Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) is set to face 2012 Czech Open semifinalist Taku TAKAKIWA (JPN) in the opening round. He will be hoping to hit top form as we approach the tail end of the 2018 ITTF World Tour. With the likes of MA Long (CHN) XU Xin (CHN) & Timo BOLL (GER) who are missing from the event it will be a good for those who are still looking to qualify for the million-dollar World Tour Grand Finals to rack up some points.   In the Women’s Singles Kasumi ISHIKAWA (JPN) once again start the event as the top seed with compatriots Mima ITO Miu HIRANO Sato HITOMI & Hina HAYATA rounding up the top 5. Austria’s Sofia POLCANOVA is the highest seed from Europe and joining her are Elizabeta SAMARA (ROU) Matilda EKHOLM (SWE) LI Qian (POL) Bernadette SZOC (ROU) and home favorite Hana MATELOVA.   2017 Czech Open Champion ITO will want to turn things around after suffering a disappointing round of 32 exit in Panagyurishte at the Bulgaria Open last week. In her way stands China’s ZHANG Rui who is also looking to avoid another early defeat. Interestingly she will be the second highest ranked women Chinese player in the main draw despite only being 78 in the world after world number 64 WANG Yidi.    The Czech Open is the tenth stop on the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour and the fifth of six Regular events on the ITTF World Tour. Together with the six Platinum ITTF World Tour events players compete to earn World Tour Standings points to be one of top 16 to qualify for the one-million-dollar World Tour Grand Finals in December. Main draw action for the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open will begin today 23 August 2018 at 10 am (GMT +2) with the world’s top stars competing in four medal events – Women’s Doubles Men’s Doubles Women’s Singles & Men’s Singles. The Champions will be crowned on Sunday 26 August 2018.  Quick Links: Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open Daily Schedule & Results Flash Quotes Media Kit Photos for Editorial Use Match Highlights Live Streaming & Videos on Demand

Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open (August 21-26) in Olomouc   Slovenian Darko JORGIC won U21 Men`s Singles silver medal at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open (August 21-26) in Olomouc as he lost to Japanese Yuto KIZUKURI after full five games 3:2 (12:10 11:3 8:11 8:11 11:6). JORGIC faced two hard opponents today August 22nd both from Japan. He was extended to full distance by Yuki MATSUYAMA in the semi-final clash reversing the score from 1-2 to 3-2. KIZUKURI secured his place in the gold medal contest thanks to victory in all-Japanese semis against Koyo KANAMITSU.   Three players from China and one from Japan entered U21 Women`s Singles semi-finals. WANG Yidi prevailed against CHEN Ke in the all-Chinese final.   Darko JORGIC was one of busiest players today bearing in mind that he successfully passed Qualifications of Men`s Singles event. His latest hurdle was Alexandre ROBINOT from France and the final score was 4:0 (11:8 11:8 11:9 11:7). Tomorrow August 23rd he will face Japan`s Tomokazu HARIMOTO No. 2 seed in the Men`s Singles Round of 32.   European players who won Preliminary Round 4 matches are following: Viacheslav BUROV (Russia) Kirill SKACHKOV (Russia) Tomislav PUCAR (Croatia) Ricardo WALTHER (Germany) Darko JORGIC (Slovenia) Liam PITCHFORD (England) Jakub DYJAS (Poland) Cedric NUYTINCK (Belgium) Daniel HABESOHN (Austria) and Marek BADOWSKI (Poland).   Men`s Singles top seed Dimitrij OVTCHAROV faces Japan`s Taku TAKAIWA in the Round of 32 (August 23rd 15:10)   Viacheslav BUROV (RUS) sensationally making his way through the qualification to the main draw by beating Brazil’s Thiago MONTEIRO 4-3 in the 4th qualification round: ”I feel that I play well right now. My physical condition is good so there has been no problem for me to play many 7-game matches….I want to win every match. It doesn’t matter who I play against. I want to earn money for my family; it’s the biggest motivation for me. I hope I will play even better in the main draw.”   Marek BADOWSKI (POL) after beating Pär GERELL (SWE) to make his way to the main draw: “I feel great. I have now beaten two very good and experienced European players. so for me this is a good success. I’m concentrating only on fighting and winning the next ball. In the opening two games his backhand did not work so well but in the following two games it. So after the fourth set I had to change my strategy a bit and play more to his forehand. This was very important for me. I’m happy that I managed to win.”   Regarding Women`s Singles preliminary Round 4 four players from Old Continent managed to reach main draw: Sabine WINTER and Kristin LANG from Germany YU Fu from Portugal and LI Jie from Netherlands. LANG will have the hardest challenge in the Round of 32 as he faces No. 1 seed Kasumi ISHIKAWA from Japan.   More information:here