The Round of 16 in the Men’s Team Event at the ITTF World Team Championships 2024 in Busan concluded with Denmark’s surprising victory over Slovenia. Ranked 19th in the World Rankings Denmark defeated Hungary in the Round of 32 with Jonathan GROTH Anders LIND and Tobias RASMUSSEN facing off against Tamas LAKATOS Adam SZUDI and Csaba ANDRAS. On the other side Slovenia ranked 12th in the world led by world No. 15 Darko JORGIC exceeded expectations by defeating Brazil to advance directly to the Round of 16. However in today’s match they lost to Denmark. The duel lasted five matches with Darko JORGIC winning both of his encounters against RASMUSSEN and LIND. GROTH defeated KOZUL in the third position while LIND and RASMUSSEN both prevailed against HRIBAR. In the next round they will face Korea. Japan and China will play for the medal at the top of the draw while in the bottom half Germany will meet Taipei and France will meet Portugal. Germany secured their ticket for the Olympic Games by beating Iran. In first singles match against world number 51 Noshad ALAMIYAN European champion Dang QIU prevailed in four games with a focused performance. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV then defeated Nima the older of the ALAMIAN brothers in three games. The 35-year-old ten-time European champion showed improvement compared to the preliminary rounds in his unexpected search for new equipment. Patrick FRANZISKA won an intense match against Amir Hossein HODAEI. Saarbrücken’s three-time European Games winner had to fend off three game points against the seven-year younger WTT Feeder semifinalist from Antalya when the score was tied at 1-1 in sets. After a hard-fought match against the highly aggressive HODAEI a skilled server prevailed in five games with a hard-fought victory. “No nation in the world likes to play against Iran ” Dang QIU clarified. “They have three strong players with very individual playing styles. In addition there is their team spirit. With their fighting spirit they have often impressed in team competitions.” Regarding the quarterfinals the 27-year-old QIU said: “This time we got a really tough draw. It will be a 50-50 match on equal terms. The same would have applied for Sweden.” France overcame Poland on their way to the quarterfinals. Brothers Felix and Alexis LEBRUN and Simon GAZY defeated Milosz REDZIMSKI Jakub DYJAS and Samuel KULCZYCKI. DYJAS forced Alexis LEBRUN to go the full distance. Previously Poland beat Czechia in straight matches. Alexis LEBRUN said: “The Polish team is never easy to play against. They have four good players so it’s never easy. But we won 3-0 a tough match but we won also. We are very very happy about this and yeah we are in the quarterfinals so we try to take our revenge of the last World championship. Portugal is a very strong team. We know them a lot because in Europe they play so good in the world championship. They are always a very strong team and hard to beat them. So it will be a very intense match and we try our best to go to the semifinals.” One of the biggest upsets was created in the Round of 32 when Croatia beat Brazil to reach the Round of 16. Andrej GACINA Tomislav PUCAR and Filip ZELJKO failed to repeat the performance a few hours later against Portugal. Marcos FREITAS Tiago APOLONIA and Joao GERALDO safely reached the quarters in the match where Tomislav PUCAR was the only one to score against GERALDO. “The game was very good. Croatia is a top team in Europe. We know each other for many years. They’re very experienced like our team and we knew they will fight a lot. I think they were a bit tired because they played today. The first match was very important and we started well ” said Marcos FREITAS. Speaking of the match against France FREITAS said: “France is a top team. We played a very close match last time against them in the European games and it’s a very important duel for the medal. So we will give everything and fight. We can bring a medal home for sure. We beat France before a few times now. They are very strong at the moment but we will give our best.”

In the quarterfinals of the ITTF World Team Championships 2024 in Busan China will meet Korea France will play against Germany Taipei will meet Hong Kong and Japan will play against Romania. In the Round of 16 Romania prevailed against Egypt in straight matches with Bernadette SZOCS beating Hana GODA Elizabeta SAMARA prevailing against Dina MESHREF and Adina DIACONU overcoming Yoursa HELMY. Adina DIACONOU (ROU): “It was a very intense match as we expected we played against Egypt who are very good players who fight for every match. We took it very seriously and of course we were stressed a little bit because it was the qualification for the Olympics. Now we are very happy because this was our main goal to qualify for Paris. Now of course we are going for the medal. We will prepare good for the next match. I feel very good in this team the atmosphere is very good.” France also needed three matches to secure their place in the quarters. Jia Nan YUAN Prithika PAVADE and Charlotte LUTZ overcame Fu YU Jieni SHAO and Matilde PINTO. Charlotte LUTZ stated “Even though we are already qualified for the Olympics since it’s going to be held in our country I’m really proud of my team because two years ago we lost in the round of 16 against Slovakia. This year our first goal was to top the group stage then advance to the round of 16 and now the quarterfinals. So now we really want the medals and we want to make history. We’ll never relax and go for tomorrow! We’ll take a rest tonight because it’s been a tough match even if we won 3-0 and then go back to training tomorrow to make history!” Germany also showed no mercy against Sweden. Xiaona SHAN Nina MITTELHAM and Sabine WINTER beat Linda BERGSTROM Cristina KALLBERG and Filippa BERGAND. Only KALLBERG put pressure on MITTELHAM and forced her to go the full distance. “Before the World Championships we set the goal of reaching the quarterfinals but once you’re there you naturally want to win ” said 27-year-old Nina MITTELHAM. “We were a bit lucky with the draw. But my personal goal was to compete for a medal here from the start. I hope that in the end like two years ago we can fly home with a medal. It was a great feeling that I would like to experience again.” In Chengdu China the German team won bronze in 2022. The most hard-fought match was between MITTELHAM the 2022 European Championship finalist and Christina KÄLLBERG. Sweden’s number two secured the first game and in the fourth set scored five consecutive points against MITTELHAM’S three match points to tie the set at 2-2. The fifth game was then a clear affair for Germany’s leading player in the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center. “It was a good team effort with ‘Nana’ putting us ahead. That helped me a lot because I was very nervous ” admitted MITTELHAM who lost to KÄLLBERG at the European Games last year. Today it was difficult for her to focus on her own match. “You naturally have in mind which games are going on next to you and what it can mean if you win or lose.” The women’s quarterfinals are scheduled for Thursday. “The French team is tough. They are a good team ” said Sabine WINTER who has already won Team World Championship bronze twice. “I expect a close match where we will fight for every ball and hopefully with our team we will come out as winners.” Previously in the Round of 32 Croatia ranked only 41st in the world defeated Malaysia (28) to reach the Round of 16. With two wins Hana ARAPOVIC was the backbone of the team’s success together with Lea RAKOVEC who also posted one win. In the next match they lost to Japan. “No one expected us to reach this far. We had a slow start with a defeat against Ukraine but then we beat Czechia 3-0 which was a big upset. We continued our success by defeating France again in straight matches. Against Malaysia which had previously beaten Italy we just rode the wave of success and reached the Round of 16. In the end Japan proved too strong for us. Our team spirit carried us to these great results ” said 19-year-old ARAPOVIC who played in her first World Championships in Busan.

The Group Stage of the ITTF World Team Championships Final concluded after intense battles for the remaining positions in the main draw as favorites easily secured their places in the knockout phase. In the men’s team event China Germany Korea France Japan Sweden and Portugal justified their rankings with all top seeds advancing to the Round of 16 matches except for Brazil. Slovenia emerged successfully at the top of Group 7 avoiding the Round of 32 battles and leaving Singapore and Brazil in lower positions. Slovenia will face the winner of the clash between Hungary and Denmark while France awaits the victor of the match between Czechia and Poland. Portugal will meet the winner of the match between Croatia and Brazil; Sweden will play against the winner of Serbia versus Taipei and Germany will face the winner of the Singapore versus Iran duel. In the Women’s Team Event China Japan Germany Taipei Korea Hong Kong Romania and France have received byes in the opening round of the main draw. They will await the winners of the Round of 32 matches. In an all-European section of the draw France will await the winner of the clash between Luxembourg and Portugal while Germany will await the outcome of the duel between Sweden and Slovakia. Romania will play against the better team from the duel between Chile and Egypt. You can see the draw here With up to eight Olympic quota spots in each respective team competition at Paris 2024 up for grabs the stakes have never been higher. In the men’s team event France China Australia Sweden Brazil Canada and Egypt have already secured their spots while the women’s quotas have been clinched by France China Australia Germany the United States Brazil and Egypt. However the battle for remaining quotas intensifies with teams striving to secure their passage to Paris 2024. You can stay updated with the race to Paris 2024 here. 

The major upset on day 4 of the ITTF World Team Championships in South Korea was created by Croatia as the team defeated France in straight matches. In Group 8 France remains at the top of the standings but there is still one round of play remaining for Egypt and Croatia the teams with two wins out of three matches. Today Hana ARAPOVIC (156) paved the path to success with a win over Prithika PAVADE (33) before Lea RAKOVAC who is ranked only at position no. 231 in the world defeated the world’s no. 19 Jia Nan YUAN. Mateja JEGER prevailed against Charlotte LUTZ. “Everyone played at their best ” said coach Dragutin ŠURBEK. “Hana was phenomenal she swept PAVADE away. It’s evident in this tournament that she has progressed a lot. Lea rose up after defeating MATELOVA and it was easier for her to play after Hana defeated PAVADE. It was clear that the French girls were a bit scared after that match. Lea imposed her game against a player who recently won the Top 16. A phenomenal tactical match. Mateja didn’t have it easy to play she had the match in her hands. She was tense in the first set but later played tactically mature. It’s not easy to finish like that but she was brave. In my opinion this French team is among the top three European teams behind Romania and Germany. As for the last match I think the same as the previous days. The Egyptians are favorites in that match but they are not unbeatable.” In Group 2 Luxembourg posted their first victory after 3 matches. Sarah DE NUTTE Xia Lian NI and Tessy GONDERINGER beat Iran 3-1. Only Neda SHAHSAVARI managed to beat GONDERINGER. In Group 7 Romania concluded the first phase unbeaten. In the fourth match Bernadette SZOCS Andreea DRAGOMAN and Elena ZAHARIA overcame team Serbia presented by Tijana JOKIC Sabina SURJAN and Izabela LUPULESKU. “In the end it’s important that we won. I won all my matches and I am proud of my team for winning all the matches in the group. Now we are waiting to see who we will play next. I was a little bit angry with myself because I didn’t play as I wanted and didn’t execute what I’ve been practicing. This made me a little bit frustrated because I wanted to execute what I’ve been practicing. However what matters in the end is that I won and I will focus on the next matches to ensure I don’t make the same mistakes ” said SZOCS. Andreea DRAGOMAN :”Tomorrow maybe we will rest a little bit. Of course we will also practice because the tournament is not over yet. So we will practice and wait to see who we will play against.” In Group 3 Germany secured the top spot with a victory over Slovakia and Poland beat Mexico. While Germany is safe at the top Slovakia and Poland will decide who will be second after their duel against Mexico and Nigeria tomorrow. Seventeen-year-old Annett Kaufmann opened the match with a four-set victory over world No. 209 Ema LABOSOVA. Nina MITTELHAM then left no chance for 19-year-old Adriana ILLASOVA. The Berlin Bundesliga teammate Xiaona SHAN concluded with a victory. The 2022 European bronze medalist defeated the current top-ranked Slovakian player Tatiana KUKULKOVA in three games. “Advancing to the round of 16 was our first goal. We are now ready for the knockout stage ” said coach BOROS. “I am very satisfied with my team. The girls are playing better and better every day. After the day off tomorrow we will be well prepared for the second part of this World Championships.” The leading player and European Championship singles finalist in the German ranks echoed these sentiments. “We managed the group well and won relatively solidly ” said Nina MITTELHAM. “We started with the toughest game on Friday and fought our way through. Now we look forward to the day off tomorrow and await the draw with anticipation.” The Slovak team’s top player 31-year-old Barbora BALAZOVA sat on the bench against Germany with minor foot problems. Even in the case of a victory her team could no longer have finished first in the group.

The penultimate day of matches in the group phase at the ITTF World Championships in Busan did not bring surprises. In seven out of eight groups favorites concluded the day with four wins topping their groups: China Germany Korea France Japan Sweden and Portugal. The only exception is Group 7 where Slovenia currently holds the top position. The team ranked 12th in the world has already surpassed Brazil with one match less. While Brazil played all four matches and won two Slovenia already has three wins in three matches. Today Darko JORGIC Deni KOZUL and Peter HRIBAR overcame Canada. Tomorrow they will face Madagascar while Singapore will try to beat Canada to surpass Brazil for the second position in the group. In Group 1 where China is at the top Belgium recorded their first win in three matches. Today they defeated Cuba with all three players—Adrien RASSENFOSSE Cedric NUYTINCK and Martin ALLEGRO—posting victories. In Group 2 Germany remained unbeaten in all four matches. In their last match of the opening stage they overcame England 3-0. Dang QIU prevailed against Samuel WALKER at the beginning of the match. “It was good for us to finish on top in the group stage. For the rest of the tournament it’s important to secure the seeding position. I don’t think it’s a fact that England prepared less. We’re just a strong team. It’s tough to beat us. We have very strong players and everyone is doing more than I can ask for ” said Dimitrij OVTCHAROV who beat Tom JARVIS. “We were very determined to secure the victory today since it was a match for the number one spot in the group stage. On the other hand they didn’t play with their top player Liam PITCHFORD today. Since he has an injury that gave us an advantage on the setup. We are fighting for a medal. We will take anything but gold would be best ” commented OVTCHAROV on his win. Patrick FRANZISKA dropped only one game against Paul DRINKHALL. “We feel very happy and relieved. It was our big goal to secure first place in the qualification for the seeding. More important than that we played better and better as every match went on. Today all three of us played really well ” said FRANZISKA. Korea secured their top place in Group 3 whilst Poland with a win over New Zealand currently occupies second place with one round yet to play tomorrow. In today’s duel Jakub DYJAS Samuel KULCZYCKI and Maciej KUBIK overcame Maxwell HENDERSON Timothy CHOI and Alfred DELA PENA in straight matches. France was heading towards the knockout stage of the competition at full speed. In the last match in their group against Australia they played without the LEBRUN brothers but that did not affect their performance. Simon GAUZY Lilian BARDET and Jules ROLLAND sealed the duel in three matches to finish the group stage unbeaten at the top with wins over Austria Denmark Australia and Algeria. Jules ROLLAND said “It is great for Alexis and Felix to have an opportunity to take some rest today. We have one day for rest tomorrow so we think we’ll be ready for the round of 16.” Simon GAUZY added “We’re very excited for the round of 16. We practice every day and have a very strong team spirit so we’re looking forward. We can’t wait after tomorrow and we’re going to have Korean BBQ tomorrow.” Lilian BARDET expressed “Personally I’m very happy about my win today because it’s my first match for my national team. It was a really close match and we did a very great job 3-0 against Australia. Now we’re happy to be in the round of 16 and will prepare for the upcoming match.” In the same group Denmark overcame Algeria 3-1 with Jonathan GROTH winning both his matches against Abdelbasset CHAICHI and Mehdi BOULOUSSA. Anders LIND also beat Mehdi. Tomorrow they will play against Austria. Jonathan GROTH said “Right now we’re happy to have won our match. We need to recover now and look forward to tomorrow’s match. We’ve actually played quite a few times against Austria before who are our last opponent for the knockout qualification. They are a very strong team with good players. It will be a tough match. Last time we lost 3-1.” France played all four matches and remained unbeaten while Denmark Austria Australia and Algeria have one remaining match each. Denmark and Austria currently share the second position. In Group 8 Portugal concluded the first stage of the competition unbeaten in four matches. Their latest “victim” was Thailand. Tiago APOLONIA Diogo CARVALHO and Joao GERALDO all posted victories. Tiago APOLONIA commented “So far we’re very happy that we finished the group stage in first place and now we have one and a half days to rest and prepare for the next match. We’ll start thinking about the next round after a break.” Joao GERALDO added “For today I think I could have played a little bit better even though I achieved a good result. I tried to be more relaxed but I think I felt a bit of pressure and tension for this game to try to get a win before the final stage.”

After three days of action at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan three European teams remain undefeated at the top of their respective groups. Germany Romania and France each recorded three wins bringing them one step closer to the main draw. In Group 1 China continues to dominate without any issues. Currently Spain holds the second position after tonight’s defeat against the group leader. Spain also suffered a loss against Hungary but managed to defeat Uzbekistan. Hungary on the other hand lost to India tonight. In Group 2 Japan sits at the top with three wins while Luxembourg is at the bottom with two defeats in two matches. In Group 3 Germany showed superb performance by defeating Nigeria. Sabine WINTER Nina MITTELHAM and Annett KAUFMANN showed no mercy. “I approached the table with focus and was able to play at my level ” said Sabine WINTER who played the opening singles match against Nigeria’s lead player. “Offiong EDEM has good skills. You can’t underestimate her.” Looking ahead to Monday the two-time World Championship bronze medalist commented: “Against Slovakia we are the favorites. I am confident that we will secure the group victory.” In the same group Poland defeated Slovakia 3-0. Katarzyna WEGRZYN Natalia BAJOR and Anna WEGRZYN prevailed against Tatiana KUKULKOVA Barbora BALAZOVA and Ema LABOSOVA. In Group 4 Chinese Taipei leads with three wins. In Group 5 Korea is at the top also unbeaten in three matches. Italy follows in second place with two wins out of three matches. Giorgia PICCOLIN Nikoleta STEFANOVA and Gaia MONFARDINI overcame Estela CRESPO Daniela FONSECA and Rosalba Aguiar CARRAZANA. The women’s team of Austria recorded their first win in Group 6 defeating Kazakhstan in straight matches. Meanwhile in the same group Portugal suffered at the hands of players from Hong Kong. Austria previously lost to Hong Kong and Portugal but today they beat Kazakhstan in straight matches. Sofia POLCANOVA beat Zauresh AKASHEVA LIU Jia prevailed against Sarvinoz MIRKADIROVA and Karoline MISCHEK beat Anastassiya LAVROVA. Hong Kong is at the top. Romania maintains the top spot in Group 7 with three wins in three days. They overcame Singapore in their latest match. Bernadette SZOCS Elizabeta SAMARA and Adina DIACONU prevailed against ZHOU Jiangyu ZENG Jian and SER Lin Qian. Only ZENG won one match while SZOCS scored twice. In the same group after a two-and-a-half-hour fight Sweden overcame Serbia in five matches. Cristina KALLBERG played a crucial role in the team’s success with an opening win against Sabina surjan and a victory in the fifth match against Andrea Todorovic. The turning point in the match was SURJAN’S defeat after being up 2-1 for Serbia and 2-1 for SURJAN against Linda BERGSTROM. BERGSTROM leveled to win the match 3-2 with an 11-7 victory in the last game. Linda BERGSTROM reflected on the challenging match: “It was really difficult to win this game; it took every bit of energy we had left. Yesterday was a very hard day but somehow we managed together as a team and I’m proud of these girls.” In Group 8 France defeated Egypt to secure their third victory in the opening stage of the Championships. Prithika PAVADE Jia Nan YUAN and Charlotte LUTZ prevailed against Dina MESHREF Hana GODA and Yousra HELMY. In the same group Croatia prevailed against Czechia in straight matches. Hana ARAPOVIC Lea RAKOVAC and Mateja JEGER beat Zdena BLASKOVA Hana MATELOVA and Linda ZADEROVA.