Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open (August 21-26) Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Czech Open (August 21-26) begins today August 21st by the Qualification games. A total of 355 players in both tournaments Men`s (196) and Women`s (159) are going to compete in the next six days in the Czech city of Olomouc. Main draw will start this Thursday August 23rd. Actual World No. 5 Dimitrij OVTCHAROV is nominated No. 1 seed of the Men`s Singles event while that place in the Women`s Singles is reserved for Japan`s Kasumi ISHIKAWA current World No. 4. Women`s Doubles winners at the recent 2018 ITTF World Tour Asarel Bulgaria Open in Panagyurishte Kasumi ISHIKAWA and Mima ITO from Japan are posted as No. 1 and No. 2 seed in Olomouc respectively. ITO defends the crown. Men`s top 10 seeds: No. 1 Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Germany) No. 2 Tomokazu HARIMOTO (Japan) No. 3 Koki NIWA (Japan) No. 4 Marcos FREITAS No. 5 Jonathan GROTH (Denmark) No. 6 Mattias FALCK (Sweden) No. 7 Ruwen FILUS (Germany) No. 8 Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) No. 9 Patrick FRANZISKA (Germany) No. 10 (Vladimir SAMSONOV). Women`s top 10 Singles: No. 1 Kasumi ISHIKAWA (Japan) No. 2 Mima ITO (Japan) No. 3 Miu HIRANO (Japan) No. 4 Hitomi SATO (Japan) No. 5 Hina HAYATA (Japan) No. 6 Sofia POLCANOVA (Austria) No. 7 Saki SHIBATA (Japan) No. 8 Elizabeta SAMARA (Romania) No. 9 Honoka HASHIMOTO (Japan) No. 10 Matilda EKHOLM (Sweden). More information:here
Bulgaria Open: Double victory for XU Xin
The 2018 ITTF World Tour Asarel Bulgaria Open in Panagyurishte Three weeks ago crowned champion in Australia XU Xin won one more Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Men’s Singles title today August 19 at the 2018 ITTF World Tour Asarel Bulgaria Open in Panagyurishte. Chinese star Men`s Singles No. 2 seed beat Japan`s Kenta MATSUDAIRA (No.7) in five games 4:1 (12:10 10:12 11:8 11:6 11:5). Women`s Singles event was concluded by DING Ying`s narrow victory against her compatriot WANG Yidi. No. 6 seed has been extended to full distance 4:3 (11:7 10:12 8:11 11:8 11:6 4:11 11:2). China and Japan have shared gold medals between them in the doubles events. China`s MA Long and XU Xin overcame Japan`s Masataka MORIZONO and Yuya OSHIMA 3:1 (9:11 11:4 11:8 11:6) to clinch the title of the Men`s Doubles while Kasumi ISHIKAWA and Mima ITO prevailed against LIU Gaoyang and ZHANG Rui in the Women`s Doubles. More information: here
PITCHFORD beat MA Long to create the biggest shock of the year
Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Asarel Bulgaria Open in Panagyurishte England’s Liam PITCHFORD caused the biggest shock of the year and recorded the biggest win of his life in the opening round of the Men’s Singles Event at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Asarel Bulgaria Open in Panagyurishte.Liam presently listed at no.48 on the Men’s World Rankings beat China’s MA Long the no.3 seed the player who has won every major title the sport has to offer. Liam Pitchford prevailed in seven games (7-11 9-11 14-12 13-11 7-11 13-11 11-6). The opening two games MA Long appeared in control but the fact Liam Pitchford won the third and fourth games by the minimal margin and then repeated the feat in the sixth gave the young man from the East Midlands a massive injection of confidence. “I’m over the moon just feeling very happy! I knew that this was his first match of the tournament so I knew that he might have some difficulties to get his game on. He has also just recovered from some injuries so I went in thinking that I could win; there is no point going in against the Chinese players thinking that you are going to lose so I tried to be active and attack him straight from the beginning. I missed a couple of good chances in the opening games but even though I was trailing two-nil and 4-8 in the third game I just stayed in there and did my best. I tried to as much as possible play backhand to backhand and switch to forehand when I could. I’m just really really happy! I think that in the beginning I was trying to win the points too early against him a lot of the time. Thus I tried to slow down the tempo and play my game and spin the ball on the table. He might have not been in his best shape this being his first tournament of the season but it was nonetheless a great win. I’m just happy that I’m through to the next round.” Liam Pitchford Austria’s Daniel HABESOHN beat Denmark’s Jonathan GROTH the no.8 seed (9-11 11-8 13-11 11-13 11-8 5-11 11-8) Masataka MORIZONO won the all Japanese battle accounting for Jin UEDA the no.11 seed (9-11 11-6 11-9 12-10 7-11 11-4). Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV accounted for Paul DRINKHALL (11-9 8-11 11-6 11-7 11-8); China’s XU Xin overcame Slovakia’s WANG Yang (11-3 11-4 11-1 8-11 11-4). In the Women’s Singles competition Japan’s Mima ITO Hina HAYATA and Miyu KATO all suffered at the hands of Chinese qualifiers. Mima ITO the no.2 seed was beaten by WANG Yidi (11-2 7-11 11-3 13-15 11-6 11-3) Hina HAYATA the no.5 seed lost to LIU Xi (11-6 11-7 9-11 11-4 11-3). Likewise by the very narrowest of margins Miyu KATO the no.7 seed experienced defeat when facing LIU Gaoyuan (4-11 12-10 9-11 11-5 5-11 11-7 11-9). Kasumi ISHIKAWA the top seed beat Britt EERLAND of the Netherlands (11-8 11-4 11-4 11-6); Miu HIRANO the no.3 seed overcame Russia’s Polina MIKHAILOVA (11-7 11-4 11-9 11-7) Hitomi SATO the no.4 seed ended the hopes of Korea Republic’s PARK Joohyun (6-11 12-10 11-8 10-12 11-5 11-8).
Germany’s Ovtcharov & Japan’s Ishikawa Looking to Defend Titles at the 2018 ITTF Asarel Bulgaria Open
Champions at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Bulgaria Open Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV & Japan’s Kasumi IShIKAWA look at defending their prestigious titles at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Asarel Bulgaria Open that begins action in Panagyurishte Bulgaria today 16 August till 19 August 2018. Having suffered early exits in the previous two World Tour events since his return from an injury break OVTCHAROV will be hoping to regain his previous form that saw him become world number 1 at the start of the year. The top seed will face Paul DRINKHALL (ENG) in his opening round the Englishman himself looking to improve on his 2017 performance in Bulgaria where he made a round of 32 exit. Joining OVTCHAROV are China’s XU Xin and MA Long as the 2nd and 3rd seeds respectively. Fresh from his victory in Australia XU faces Slovakia’s defender WANG Yang in his first match while MA will battle against Liam PITCHFORD (ENG). Currently on 26 World Tour titles success in Bulgaria will see the MA the reigning World & Olympic Champion match Belarussian legend Vladimir SAMSONOV’s record of 27. Another player looking to add to his title haul is Tomokazu HARIMOTO (JPN). The youngest ever World Tour Champion already has two titles to his name at just 15 years old and will be aiming to cause more upsets to make it three. With Koki NIWA (JPN) CHUANG Chih-Yuan (TPE) Kenta MATSUDAIRA (JPN) and Jonathan GROTH (DEN) all joining the fight for the crown it is set to be a tough competition. In the Women’s Singles event top seed ISHIKAWA aims to recapture the title once again. Having won the competition twice during the last three years the current world number 4 is hoping to leave the country with yet another Gold. She faces Britt EERLAND (NED) in her opening match. Always a strong hunting ground for the Japanese women players with 7 out of the top 8 players coming from the land of the rising sun. Mima ITO Miu HIRANO Hitomi SATO Hina HAYATA Miyu KATO and Saki SHIBATA form a strong Japanese contingent along with the top seed with 6th seed DING Ning (CHN) the only name breaking the flow. The Asarel Bulgaria Open is the ninth stop on the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour and the fourth 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 Asarel Bulgaria Open will begin today 16 August 2018 at 11 am (GMT +3) 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 19 August 2018. Quick Links: Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Asarel Bulgaria Open Daily Schedule & Results Flash Quotes Media Kit Photos for Editorial Use Match Highlights Live Streaming & Videos on Demand
Mikhail PAIKOV QIU Dang Andrea LANDRIEU…had good start in Bulgaria
Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Asarel Bulgaria Open in Panagyurishte The first phase of the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Asarel Bulgaria Open in Panagyurishte concluded with few surprises in Group stage. The highest ranked player in the opening phase of Men’s Singles Event Liam PITCHFORD of England had a good start with two wins in his Group but it was not the scenario for the leading name in Group 2 Masaki YOSHIDA of Japan. He suffered by the hands of Mikhail PAIKOV of Russia in full seven games match. PAIKOV also upset the rankings and beat David REITSPIES of Czech Republic to book the top position in second Group. In Group 12 QIU Dang of Germany created the upset by beating Lubomir PISTEJ of Slovakia and concluded the first phase on top spot. Andrea LANDRIEU of France joined him after victory over Marcelo AGUIRRE of Paraguay. The best ranked playr in the qualiofication stage in Women’s Singles Event Miyu NAGASAKI of Japan successfully concluded the opening stage. In main draw that commences tomorrow Dimitrij Ovtcharov is the top seed in the Men’s Singles event whilst Japan’s Kasumi ISHIKAWA leads the Women’s Event list. More you can find here
Cedric Cedric NUYTINCK clinched the title at The Flanders Ostend Masters 2018
The winner of the 20th Flanders Ostend Masters 2018 is Belgium’s Cedric NUYTINCK Hennebont’s player. In the final he beat Swede from Borussia Düsseldorf Kristian KARLSSON (6 -10 11 9 4). In the semi final NUYTINCK beat Omar ASSAR who also play in Borussia (8 -8 9 6 7) whilst KARLSSON succeeded against KOU Lei from PKS Kolping (-9 9 9 -7 10 -15 5). At the tournament also played Bastian STEGER Anton KALLBERG Robin DEVOS and Laurens DEVOS. Previous winners 96 CHEN Zhi Bin CHN 97 SAMSONOV Vladimir BLR 99 TRINKO Keen NED 01 Trinko Keen NED 02 SAIVE Jean-Michel BEL 03 SAIVE Jean-Michel BEL 04 HIELSCHER Lars GER 05 SAMSONOV Vladimir BLR 06 BLASZCYCK Lucijan POL 07 SAMSONOV Vladimir BLR 09 SÜSS Christian GER 10 OVTCHAROV Dimitrij GER 11 OVTCHAROV Dimitrij GER 12 OVTCHAROV Dimitrij GER 13 TOKIC Bojan SLO 14 BAUM Patrick GER 15 TOKIC Bojan SLO 16 TOKIC Bojan SLO 17 STEGER Bastian GER NUYTINCK clinched the title at The Flanders Ostend Masters 2018
ETTU / ITTF Annual Coaching Conference 2018
The European Table Tennis Union in cooperation with the French Table Tennis Association invites all European coaches to the ETTU Annual Coaching Conference which will be held in Paris (France) 22 – 24 October 2018. ETTU Annual Coaching Conference is part of the ITTF/ETTU Development Program and it is primarily intended for all European coaches but coaches from other continents are welcome too. Topics – Schedule „New approach of technique and tactics in table tennis“ – (22 Oct 16:00 – 19:00 – 1st session and 23 Oct 9:00 – 12:00 – 2nd session) – Liu Yan Jun „The main guideline in the development of young players 14-18 years old “ – (23 Oct 15:00 – 19:00) – Mikael Andersson „Neurophysiological determinants of visuomotor reaction time in table tennis” – 24 Oct 9:00 – 12:00) – Prof. Dr. Andreas Mierau & Dr. Thorben Huelsduenker Lecturers Liu Yan Jun (AUT) Mikael Andersson (SWE) Prof. Dr. Andreas Mierau (GER) & Dr. Thorben Huelsduenker (GER) Venue and Accommodation: INSEP Paris 11 Avenue du Tremblay Paris – France Entries and wishes for accommodation shall be sent not later than: Friday 28th September 2018 by e-mail to: FRA TTA – Rozenn Jacquet-Yquel – in charge for INSEP training centre (rozenn.jacquet-yquel@insep.fr)with cc. to ETTU administration – Zita Pidl Project Consultant (zpidl.ettu@gmail.com) Program Monday 22 Oct Arrival at Insep. Check in from 13:00 16:00 – 19:00 „New approach of technique and tactics in table tennis (1st session – Liu Yan Jun) 20:00 Dinner Tuesday 23 Oct 09:00 – 12:00 „New approach of technique and tactics in table tennis (2nd session – Liu Yan Jun) 12:30 Lunch 15:00 – 19:00„The main guideline in the development of young players 14-18 years old “ (Mikael Andersson) 20:00 Dinner Wednesday 24 Oct 09:00 – 12:00 „Neurophysiological determinants of visuomotor reaction time in table tennis” (Prof. Dr. Andreas Mierau & Dr. Thorben Huelsduenker) 12:30 Lunch and departure Questions: Concerning accommodation venue organization and payment: FRA TTA – Rozenn Jacquet-Yquel – in charge for INSEP training centre (rozenn.jacquet-yquel@insep.fr) Concerning technical program and participation: ETTU – Neven CEGNAR Development Manager (ncegnar@gmail.com)
Nigeria Open: Quadri ARUNA champion Antoine HACHARD runner-up
The 2018 ITTF Challenge Seamaster Nigeria Open in Lagos (August 8-12) The best Nigerian player and No. 1 seed Quadri ARUNA won ITTF Challenge Seamaster Nigeria Open for the very first time prevailing against France`s Antoine HACHARD(No. 16) in six games of the Men`s Singles. It was a great pleasure for the fans at the event concluded today August 12th in Lagos. Both finalists won their semi-final encounters in straight games: ARUNA vs. Thailand`s Supanut WISUTMAYTHANGKOON HACHARD vs. Scotland`s Gavin RUMGAY. Frenchman led after first three sets of the gold medal contest but the 2015 runne-up responded by three games in a row. It was successful day for French players as Alexandre ROBINOT and Joe SEYFRIED secured gold in the Men`s Doubles event. They prevailed against Tamas LAKATOS (Hungary) and Benedek OLAH (Finland) 3:1 (11:3 11:7 5:11 11:6). Men`s Singles Semi-finals Quadri ARUNA (No. 1 seed Nigeria) – Supanut WISUTMAYTHANGKOON (No. 10 Thailand) 4:0 (11:9 14:12 11:9 11:8) Gavin RUMGAY (No. 9 Scotland) – Antoine HACHARD (No. 16 France) 0:4 (8:11 6:11 4:11 7:11) Final Quadri ARUNA (Nigeria) – Antoine HACHARD (France) 4:2 (11:13 11:3 8:11 11:7 11:5 11:7) Women`s Singles Semi-finals WEI Wensheng (China) – GUO Yan (China 1997) 0:4 (4:11 9:11 12:14 4:11) SUN Chen (China) – FAN Siqi (China) 4:3 (8:11 9:11 4:11 11:8 11:3 11:8 11:6) Final GUO Yan (China) – SUN Chen (China) 4:3 (7:11 11:6 11:5 7:11 9:11 11:4 12:10) Men`s Doubles final Alexandre ROBINOT/Joe SEYFRIED (France) – Tamas LAKATOS (Hungary)/Benedek OLAH (Finland) 3:1 (11:3 11:7 5:11 11:6) Women`s Doubles final QI Fenjie/SUN Chen (China) – FAN Siqi/GUO Yan (China) 0:3 (3:11 4:11 6:11) More information:here
Pre-Selection Camp gather 41 rising stars
The Eurotalents Camp just concluded in Kiskunfélegyháza Hungary EUROTALENTS Pre-Selection Camp has just concluded in Kiskunfélegyháza Hungary (4-11 August 2018) gathering 41 players (U-12) from 14 countries including 11 sparring partners from host country. The best evaluated players from this Camp will be nominated for the final EUROTALENTS Selection Camp in Otocec Slovenia in October 2018. Boys that participated in Kiskunfélegyháza Hungary are following: Ivan KAHN (NED) Presian VACHEV (BUL) Martin IVANOV (BUL) Eduard ERANOSIAN (BUL) Nikon SHUTOV (BLR) Konstantinos MILIKOUDIS (GRE) Konstantinos-Anastas MILIKODIS (GRE) Ioannis GAKIDIS (GRE) Samuel ARPAS (SVK) Samuel PALUSEK (SVK) Bujor DRAGOS (ROU) Ursut HORIA (ROU) Oprea LUCA (ROU) Kizakisz GEORGIOSZ (HUN) SZÁNTOSI Dávid (HUN) LEI Balázs (HUN) Jakub PIWOWAR (ENG) Kacper PIWOWAR (ENG) Zlatkov LUCA (CRO) Leon BENCO (CRO) Borna ZOHIC (CRO) Tin ISLAMOVIC (CRO) Zjadic DEMJANIN (BIH) Manovic SANJEIN (BIH) Pavol BICKA (SVK) Martin STRACA (SVK). Girls that participated in Kiskunfélegyháza Hungary are following: Teodora FILCHEVA (BUL) Sara RADAK (SRB) Jana HALEVA (SRB) Wiktoria WRZOSEK (POL) Dominika WILTSCHKOVÁ (SVK) Bianka MEI ROSU (ROU) Cristina SINGEORZAN (ROU) Alesia SPERLEA (ROU) Lara SCHINDL (AUT) Victorija MICHAILOV (MDA) Valerija VIERU (MDA) Minja VLADIMIROV (SRB) Nóra TANÁCS (HUN) Dóra BERCZIK (HUN) Fanni HANUSTYÁK (HUN).
Nigeria Open: RUMGAY vs. HACHARD in the semis
The 2018 ITTF Challenge Seamaster Nigeria Open in Lagos (August 8-12) Scotland`s Gavin RUMGAY and France`s Antoine HACHARD will play one against another in the Men`s Singles semi-finals tomorrow August 12 at the 2018 ITTF Challenge Seamaster Nigeria Open in Lagos (August 8-12). RUMGAY No. 9 seed has defeated Thailand`s Padasak TANVIRIYAVECHAKUI after full seven games while HACHARD beat Argentina`s Horacio CIFUENTES in five sets. Other semi-finalists are No. 1 seed host Quadri ARUNA who overcame young Romanian Rares SIPOS and Thailand`s Supanut WISUTMAYTHANGKOON who eliminated the 2016 Nigeria Open gold medalist Benedek OLAH from Finland. Hungary`s Szandra PERGEL Women`s Singles No. 2 seed didn’t manage to progress to the semi-final stage as she lost to China`s FAN Siqi. Two European pairs will decide the winner of the Men`s Doubles event as Alexandre ROBINOT/Joe SEYFRIED (France) and Tamas LAKATOS (Hungary)/Benedek OLAH (Finland) beat Sarthak GANDHI/Abhishek YADAV (India) and Horacio CIFUENTES (Argentina)/Thiago MONTEIRO (Brazil) respectively in the straight games of the semi-finals. Men`s Singles Quarter-finals Quadri ARUNA (Nigeria) – Rares SIPOS (Romania) 4:0 (11:6 11:8 11:5 12:10) Benedek OLAH (Finland) – Supanut WISUTMAYTHANGKOON (Thailand) 3:4 (12:10 7:11 9:11 11:8 8:11 11:5 9:11) Gavin RUMGAY (Scotland) – Padasak TANVIRIYAVECHAKUI (Thailand) 4:3 (6:11 11:9 1:11 11:9 11:9 9:11 12:10) Antoine HACHARD (France) – Horacio CIFUENTES (Argentina) 4:1 (11:3 11:8 13:11 10:12 11:9) Women`s Singles Semi-finals Suthasini SAWETTABUT (Thailand) – WEI Wensheng (China) 3:4 (5:11 9:11 11:5 6:11 11:8 11:2 8:11) QI Fenjie (China) – GUO Yan (China 1997) 3:4 (8:11 5:11 11:8 12:10 11:7 5:11 8:11) WANG Shu (China) – SUN Chen (China) 1:4 (3:11 11:9 10:12 3:11 9:11) Szandra PERGEL (Hungary) – FAN Siqi (China) 0:4 (7:11 7:11 5:11 8:11) Men`s Doubles Semi-finals Alexandre ROBINOT/Joe SEYFRIED (France) – Sarthak GANDHI/Abhishek YADAV (India) 3:0 (11:9 13:11 11:6) Tamas LAKATOS (Hungary)/Benedek OLAH (Finland) – Horacio CIFUENTES (Argentina)/Thiago MONTEIRO (Brazil) 3:0 (11:8 11:4 12:10) Women`s Doubles Semi-finals QI Fenjie/SUN Chen (China) – Ilka DOVAL (Norway)/Yousra HELMY (Egypt) 3:0 (11:1 11:6 11:9) WANG Shu/WEI Wensheng (China) – FAN Siqi/GUO Yan (China) 0:3 (7:11 8:11 6:11) More information:here
