After the morning session at the LIEBHERR European Championships in Luxembourg two women teams already secured medals. In the quarterfinal Netherlands beat Austria 3:2 whilst Russia prevailed against Hungary 3:1. The only women’s team in history of European championships who managed to win 4 gold medals in the row (in the period between 2008 and 2011) Netherlands was stretched to full distance against runners up from Lisbon 2014 – team of Austria. In the opening match LI Jie gave Dutch team a major advantage by beating LIU Jia in five games. Latter LI added another point to the score line by overcoming Sofia POLCANOVA. However POLCANOVA’s quality was not to be denied; she overcame Britt EERLAND on her first exit to the table; Amelia SOLJA also helped Austria reaching the fifth match after victory over Kim VERMAAS. “The chances in both matches were very open. I didn’t think about winning or losing I played only point for point. Now I only want to enjoy the victory and I am not thinking about our next adversaries. This victory is important for our new team; we have LI Jiao as our coach not as a player any more ” said LI Jie. In the decisive game Britt EERLANDS overcame LIU Jia. Britt was 2:0 up before she faced three match balls against herself but Dutch player recovered to win. “We did not came here with great ambitions but we saw our chance after the draw. We were pleased to avoid Germany in the quarters. Against Austria our chances increased and we succeeded ” said EERLANDS. The duel against LI brought bad memories to Britt. “She beat me at the Olympic Games Tournament in decisive game. Here every time when I was down I pushed myself to keep playing. I played point for point; I did not want to repeat the history ” said Britt. LIU Jia reflected: “I feel sorry for the team. If this had been a singles match this loss would be less hard to take. But losing the deciding match is tough. We hope we will be fifth at the end.” Amelie SOLJA was disappointed after this match: “ We had chances to win. At the beginning it looked good we had a 2-1 lead. Before the match we thought and hoped that we could win these two points. It’s sad that it wasn’t enough for overall victory. “ Russia won the bronze medal in Ekaterinburg in 2015 and they reached medal rostrum again. Polina MIKHAILOVA was the backbone of the team’s success with two victories over Dora MADARASZ and Georgina POTA. “I had a tough start against Dora in the opening match but I managed to control it eventually. We are club mates in Szekszard and it is always difficult to win such games. In the fourth duel against Georgina POTA it was much easier. The pressure was on her because we were 2:1 up. I also had to underline the great effort of Olga VOROBEVA. She lost against POTA but for sure after playing five games against Olga Georgina was very tired. Olga played fantastic Championships here ” said MIKHAILOVA.
Legendary Champions celebrated ETTU 60th Anniversary in Luxembourg
More than 150 guests most of them legendary champions gathered last night in Luxembourg during the LIEBHERR 2017 ITTF European Championships to celebrate the ETTU 60th Anniversary. In Casino 2OOO at glamorous style gala dinner distinguished guests enjoyed good time. “Thank you all for coming here. 60 years is a big anniversary and it is the right moment to reflect on our past but to seize the opportunity to talk about the future. This gathering came in the very unique moment; in the day when we changed the look of future European championships. Few hours ago at the ETTU Congress we display our unity in aim to work for better future in table tennis ” said ETTU President Ronald KRAMER. On behalf of the global table tennis family ITTF Vice President for finances Petra SORLING addressed to the guests and presented the symbolic gift to President KRAMER. “This is the symbolic gift – a pen. It symbolize all the good agreements we made and all the good agreements we will do in the future ” said SORLING.
nother action packed day in d’Coque at the LIEBHERR 2017 ITTF European Championships
It was another action packed day in d’Coque at the LIEBHERR 2017 ITTF European Championships. In the Men’s Team Event it was Germany who had a clear focus to move through to the last eight of the competition with comprehensive 3-0 wins over Croatia in the morning and Belarus in the evening. In the Women’s Germany also staked their claim for the title topping Group A undefeated. As for surprises it was Slovenia who stood out in the Men’s matches going through to the quarter final accounting for reigning Champions Austria. A tough Championships for Austria going down 2-3 two times (the other to Slovakia) which is the reverse of some of their fortunes when they became Champions last time round in 2015 in Ekaterinburg. It was the Netherlands who upset the apple cart in the Women’s matches qualifying for the quarter final pushing the Czech Republic into third position in the group. The atmosphere was electrifying during these tense matches in d’Coque and with the quarter finals to follow as we move towards the weekend there is much world class table tennis to enjoy. Action gets underway at 10am in the morning of Friday 15th September. Both Quarter Final draws have mouth watering prospects: WOMEN’S TEAM QUARTER FINALS – Germany versus Poland – Netherlands versus Austria – Russia versus Hungary – Portugal versus Romania MEN’S TEAM QUARTER FINALS – Germany versus Ukraine – Slovenia versus Sweden – France versus Greece – Croatia versus Portugal See you there – “Lets Make it Happen” as they say here in Luxembourg! And of note is live coverage starting tomorrow on Eurosport. If neither of those option sword for you there is always the option to follow the live scoring and match scores at ettu.org and keep up-to-date with us on social media Facebook (European Table Tennis Union) Twitter (@ETTU_Ttennis) and Instagram (ettu_official).
Germany booked their place in Top 8 in impressive style
With the three straight matches win Germany progressed to the knock out stage of the Men’s Teams Event at the LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships. In the quarterfinal they will play against Ukraine. In the lower half of the draw Portugal will meet Croatia. Slovenia vs. Sweden and France vs. Greece are the matches we are going to watch too in the day three of the Championships in d’ Coque. On day two today Germany beat Belarus and Croatia who finished at the position no. two. “ We were focused and we played on high level so it was quiet easy to win the matches. We have five-stars players in good shape. So we are ready to fight to the title of European Championships and we hope that we can go far until the victory. But we have to take care to the adversary and to be stronger in the next round ” said Timo BOLL who arrived in Luxembourg on Tuesday evening.” On Wednesday I had a first practice here and today I played first match. This is the first time that I play in the d’Coque; I tried to find my rhythm and not played on the highest level. “ In Group B Portugal booked the place in the quarters but surprisingly reigning champions failed to reach the top eight. Slovenia is safely through. In Group C Sweden and Greece progressed according to rankings. France overcame Romania Poland and Ukraine to secure the top of the standings in Group D. Ukraine beats the odds and progressed to position no. two. They overcame both better-ranked teams in the Group: Romania and Poland. Simon GAUZY was in the starting line up against Ukraine and won the opening duel but after Emmanuel LEBESSON suffered against KOU Lei and Tristan FLORE lost against Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA it was Quentin ROBINOT who faced KOU Lei and brought France back to life. LEBESSON beat Viktor YEFIMOV in the decisive match. “This morning against Romania Simon GAUZY played with pain in his biceps but he will recover completely until tomorrow for the quarterfinals. Our coach’s decision of replace could look like a little bit risky and necessary in same time. But we knew that I was ready to play. Before the match I spoke with Simon about the tactic and he told me that my adversary is very good at backhand. When I played 2-1 my team knew that I will fight until the last point. They had confidence in me. This match was unbelievable long and my team gave me energy to win. We always makes jokes and have fun but in the venue we are always focused ” explained ROBINOT.
Netherlands beats the odds and secured quarterfinal
In the quarterfinal of the Women’s Teams Event at the LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships top seeded Germany will meet Poland at the bottom half of the draw Romania will play against Portugal Netherlands will meet Austria whilst Russia will play against Hungary. In Group stages Germany is unbeaten. They overcame Sweden Hungary and Croatia. Hungary is at the position no. two with one defeat. In Group B Romania is at the top of the standings also without defeat. On their way to the top 8 teams they overcame Netherlands Luxembourg and Czech Republic at the end. “The most important match in the duel against Czech Republic was Bernadett SZOCS’ match against Sarah Di NUTTE. My teammates kept their emotions under control even when it was very close ” said Elizabeta SAMARA.”I was very nervous before my match against NI Xia Lian. I wanted to win that one very much. I like to play against her but I faced few problems at the beginning. I had to change the rubber so it took the time before I settled in the good rhythm. I started to build up my game slowly and eventually gained the control.” Netherlands upset the rankings and booked place in the quarterfinal by beating better-ranked Czech Republic. Britt EERLAND LI Jie and Kim VERMAAS played in the last match of the Group Stage and overcame Luxembourg. “We had a tough group with Romania the great team. The match against Luxembourg was difficult because we had the spectators against us. This makes the adversary better as the support increases. I would also play better if I had a crowd behind me but nevertheless it was great for us to play in this atmosphere ” explained Kim VERMAAS. In Group C Austria is first despite defeat against Spain. Portugal is second with defeat against Austria. In Group D Russia upset the rankings and progressed to the top of the Group with all three wins against Poland France and Belarus. Poland is second. In the last round they overcame Belarus. “ We had a tough game against an adversary who is ranked slightly lower than us in the European ranking but we were at the edge in most games and I had to recover from two-null down. Unfortunately we finished second in our group but the main thing is that we are in the quarter final ” Natalia PARTYKA.
Eurotalents Selection Camp 2017 to be held in Otocec
ETTU Eurotalents (TI&S) invited 41 players selected from Pre-Selection Camp 2017 and Eurominichamp’s tournament 2017 Eurotalents Selection Camp 2017 will be held in Otocec Slovenia from October 8th to 15th. ETTU Eurotalents (TI&S) invites following 41 players selected from Pre-Selection Camp 2017 and Eurominichamp’s tournament 2017: Vladimir PANDUREVIC (BIH) Darius MOVILEANU (ROU) Andrea TEGLAS (ROU) Boroka MIKE (ROU) Andrei ISTRATE (ROU) Luca OPREA (ROU) Evelyn UNGVARI (ROU) Sara TOKIC (SLO) XIJIN Zheng (NED) Tim GILTIA (BEL) Nolan LERAT (BEL) Alessi MASSART (BEL) Julie VAN HAUWAERT (BEL) Carl KONGERSKOV (DEN) Napong BOOBYAPRAPA (ENG) Justus LECHTENBORGER (GER) Tobias SALZER (GER) Lleyton ULLMANN (GER) Annet KAUFMANN (GER) Jele STORTZ (GER) Mia GRIESEL (GER) Vladislav BANNIKOV (RUS) Sergey RYZHOV (RUS) Sergei GAZARIAN (RUS) Anastasiia BERESNEVA (RUS) Vasilisa DANILOVA (RUS) Ekaterina IVANOVA (RUS) Marc MIRO (ESP) Yanira SANCHEZ (ESP) Dennis LARSSON (SWE) Isak ALFREDSSON (SWE) David BJORKRYD (SWE) Mykyta ZAVADA (UKR) Artem OVCHYNNIKOV (UKR) Helena SOMMEROVA (CZE) Veranika VARABYOVA (BLR) David SZANTOSI (HUN) Georgiosz KIZAKISZ (HUN) Attillio SERTI (ITA) Daniele SPAGNOLO (ITA) Rafael KONG (POR. COACHES Jože URH national coach and Head coach of Slovenian Training center – head coach Vesna OJSTERŠEK DRNOVŠEK National coach Andreja OJSTERŠEK URH Assistant Coach of Slovenian Training Center Mate LEJO Assistant Coach of Slovenian Training Center Istvan KORPA (ETTU) Neven CEGNAR (ETTU) ENTRIES Entries should be sent to the organizer not later 25th of September 2017. Cancellation of participants is possible until 1st of October 2017.
Dainton & Calin Appointed to Senior ITTF positions
Steve DAINTON who has been the Acting CEO for the past two months has now been appointed as the permanent CEO. Raul CALIN who has been serving as the ITTF Director of Operations will assist Mr DAINTON as the ITTF Secretary General. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has announced two senior staff appointments. Steve DAINTON who has been the Acting CEO for the past two months has now been appointed as the permanent CEO. Raul CALIN who has been serving as the ITTF Director of Operations will assist Mr DAINTON as the ITTF Secretary General. On the appointments ITTF President Thomas WEIKERT stated: “Both Steve and Raul have both been extremely loyal to the ITTF over their many years of service and have been instrumental to the growth of the ITTF over recent years. The ITTF Executive Committee and I have complete trust in both of them to excel in their new positions and guide the ITTF to a new fruitful era.” 39-year-old Australian DAINTON started playing table tennis as a child with his father in the country town of Albury in Australia. DAINTON rose through the table tennis ranks as a junior player but turned his attention to coaching at a young age where he produced several Australian national junior players. Most of which was achieved whilst studying Marketing and International Studies at university where he learnt to speak and write Chinese. DAINTON took up his first ITTF position in 2002 as the ITTF Oceania Development Officer after his university studies. After 3 years travelling around Oceania developing the sport DAINTON decided to merge his table tennis marketing and Chinese language skills together and take up a position in Shanghai China as director of the ITTF-Asia Pacific office. After 6 successful years in China and assisting in some big commercial deals with Volkswagen China Unicom and various other media and sponsorship deals DAINTON was promoted to the position of ITTF Marketing Director and moved the ITTF-Asia Pacific office to Singapore in 2011. Over the 6 years in Singapore the ITTF Marketing department grew from strength to strength with more lucrative deals with large companies including GAC Group Seamaster and GoDaddy as well as started new initiatives such as the ITTF Star Awards TTX and improved sport presentation at all ITTF’s major events. On his promotion to the ITTF CEO position DAINTON stated: “It’s an exciting new era for the ITTF and table tennis. It’s the right time for the ITTF to realize its true commercial potential and modernize itself to ensure that table tennis cements itself as one of the leading sports globally at all levels. I am looking forward to helping to ensure this and to especially assist in growing the table tennis industry to new levels meaning not only more people playing table tennis but also more people actively engaged. If we get it right this will ensure the true stars the athletes will be better recognized and rewarded.” DAINTON will be assisted by Raul CALIN who has been appointed in a newly created Secretary General position and will continue to be based in Lausanne to focus on ensuring ITTF’s positive Olympic relations. 45-year-old CALIN from Spain has been playing coaching and administrating table tennis since 1991 with his proudest moment on the table being coaching the Spanish team to one gold one silver and two bronze medals at the 2000 Paralympics. CALIN joined the ITTF in 2004 as a Competition Manager and has had many big achievements since such as being a part of the successful team that built the ITTF Global Junior Programme and running the successful Rio 2016 table tennis event. “I am looking to help build ITTF into a modern organisation with transparency in all levels of management with ambition and clear goals. ITTF should look for excellence in all areas ” stated CALIN. “An institution in which national associations interact actively with the ITTF management for the benefit of our athletes and fans. Let’s work towards excellence in our sport events let’s have ambition let’s make an ITTF everyone is proud of.”
European talents gathered in Luxembourg
Third ETTU Development Camp in cooperation with CTTC-E and FLTT Third ETTU Development Camp in Luxembourg shows 19 European talents practicing with top class coaches and 13 sparring partners (six out of them are from China). This Camp is organized in cooperation with CTTC-E and FLTT guided by CTTC coaches from China LI Xiaodong GU Nan and ZHENG Chaoying supported by two domestic coaches Martin OSTERMAN and XIA Cheng. There are two training sessions each day (9-12 h 15-18 h). Time after dinner is reserved for the coaching meetings and additional presentations for the players.
EUROSPORT broadcast times announced
2017 LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships in Luxembourg will be covered from quarter-finals to the gold medal matches EUROSPORT announced broatcast times for the upcoming 2017 LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships which will be held in Luxembourg from September 13th to 17th. Table Tennis fans will enjoy watching their favorite teams on two TV channels EUROSPORT 1 and EUROSPORT 2. TV-coverage starts on September 15th (EUROSPORT 2 live) by Women`s Team Quarter-finals. Thanks to EUROSPORT all crucial games and most important parts of the 2017 LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships will be covered live od delayed. In total 930 minutes in four days including both Men`s and Women`s finals. EUROSPORT 1 September 15th (live) from 12:30 to 16:00 Women – Quarter-finals September 15th (live) from 16:00 to 19:00 Men – Quarter-finals September 18th (delayed) from 00:10 to 01:10 Women`s Final September 18th (delayed) from 08:30 to 09:30 Men`s Final EUROSPORT 2 September 15th (live) from 10:00 to 12:30 Women – Quarter-finals September 16th (live) from 10:00 to 12:30 Women – Semi-finals September 17th (delayed) from 21:30 to 22:30 Women`s Final September 17th (delayed) from 22:30 to 23:30 Men`s Final
Czech Open: FRANZISKA and GROTH prevented full domination of Japan`s players
European duo won Men`s Doubles gold while 14-year-old Tomokazu HARIMOTO became youngest ever ITTF World Tour winner in the Men`s Singles as he beat Timo BOLL in six games It was a real sensation what happened in the Men`s Singles final at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Czech Open in Olomouc concluded on the afternoon of Sunday August 27th. The fourth seed Tomokazu HARIMOTO became youngest ever ITTF World Tour winner as he beat in the final clash no.1 seed 36-year-old Timo BOLL in six games – 4:2 (11:3 4:11 8:11 11:9 11:6 11:9). Japans`s player is only 14 years and 61 days old! Six months ago at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Indian Open HARIMOTO was just 13 years and 237 days old when he lost to Dimitrij OVTCHAROV in the gold medal contest. “Age doesn’t matter you must play and fight against everyone! It was my second World Tour final first time I lost my chance this time I won; now at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games I want to win Men’s Singles and Men’s Team gold but I know I must practice hard and fight to gain the glory” stressed Tomokazu HARIMOTO. Earlier in the day one more Japanese rising star secured gold. It was 16-year-old no.3 Mima ITO who overcame her compatriot and no.1 seed Kasumi ISHIKAWA in five games (11:5 15:13 11:3 9:11 11:4). It was a full revenge for recent defeat in Panagyrushite also in the final clash. Top seeds of the Men`s Doubles Germany’s Patrick FRANZISKA and Jonathan GROTH prevented full domination of Japan`s players. They overcame no.2 seeds Jin UEDA and Maharu YOSHIMURA in four games – 3:1 (11:6 8:11 11:9 11:8). European duo lost just two sets in total on their way to the gold. Ono more crown went to Japan. Hina HAYATA and Mima ITO won the Women’s Doubles beating Sweden`s Matilda EKHOLM and Hungary`s Georgina POTA. European pair led after third set but lost after full five games – 3:2 (11:5 8:11 8:11 11:6 11:8).
