Men`s Singles Round of 16: WONG Chun Ting – Jon PERSSON 2:4 (11:6 11:5 5:11 9:11 9:11 10:12) Actual World No. 68 Jon PERSSON from Sweden caused the biggest upset in the second round of the Men`s Singles event at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Hang Seng Hong Kong Open as he beat host No. 1 seed WONG Chun Ting (WR No. 7) in six games recovering from a two games deficit at the beginning – 2:4 (11:6 11:5 5:11 9:11 9:11 10:12). PERSSON got revenge on Hong Kong`s player for recent defeat at the LIEBHERR 2018 World Team Championships in Halmstad where he played very important role in the Sweden`s bronze medal. “I played him one time in ETTU Cup semi-finals with my club. I actually beat him three-one but then at the World Championships I lost three-one. So it was a revenge for me today. I think today I was good in my defence. I blocked well and when he attacked I was a little bit calmer than at the World Championships. I always try to play a little bit hard today I focused on keeping the ball on the table; that was the key. My serves were much better today than at the World Championships. He had more problems today with my serves than at the World Championships; this was also one key point for me. I know that he is a really good player so I needed to impose my game even if I was down two-nil. I won three very close games; it made the difference ” stated for ITTF website Jon Persson who commenced the Hong Kong Open from the qualification tournament. Swede had a superb start as he defeated in straight games 2016 ITTF European Championships gold medalist Emmanuel LEBESSON. His opponent in the quarter-finals will be will be Chinese ZHOU Oihao who eliminated Germany`s Patrick FRANZISKA in five games. Current World no. 15 Portugal`s Marcos FREITAS reached quarter-finals as he beat Nigeria`s Quadri ARUNA 4:2 (13:11 9:11 11:7 13:11 10:12 11:6). He will face Korea`s LIM Jonghoon who was extended to full distance by his compatriot KIM Donghyun. The 2017 Mixed Doubles World Champion Maha YOSHIMURA upset former Olympic and World champion ZHANG Jike after full seven games of the Round of 32 reversing the score from 2:3 to 4:3. Sofia POLCANOVA was unique European representative in the Women`s Singles Round of 16 but she lost to no.3 seed WANG Manyu from China in straight games. Five out of eight quarter-finalists are Chinese players. Denmark`s Jonathan GROTH and Germany`s Patrick FRANZISKA lost from Japan`s Masataka MORIZONO and Yuya OSHIMA in the semi-finals of the Men`s Doubles event. More informations: here
President KRAMER visited Alicante
This week representatives of the ETTU and ITTF visited Alicante in Spain for a scheduled inspection visit ahead of the Liebherr 2018 ITTF European Table Tennis Championships which is being organised by the Royal Spanish Table Tennis Federation and take place between 18th and 23rd September. The international delegation was headed by the ETTU President Ronald KRAMER and by Jonny Cowan ITTF’s European Marketing Manager. The Royal Spanish Table Tennis Federation delegation was led by the President Miguel Ángel MACHADO. The two-day inspection included visiting the venues for the event including both competition halls practice halls and wider venue facilities such as players facilities TV production capacity and sports presentation logisitcs. There was also an assessment of hotels transport plans and marketing & promotion strategy. The delegation had the opportunity to meet with representatives of the City Council of Alicante including Councilwoman of Sports María Luisa GAYO and Councilwoman for Tourism María del Carmen De ESPAÑA. Discussions about maximising the event for Alicante table tennis and Spain as well as promoting tourism for the region were very positive. Ronald KRAMER ETTU President said “Thank you to the Royal Spanish Table Tennis Federation for organising a thorough and productive inspection visit. A lot has been discussed and planned and I am convinced the European Championships will be a great success this year in Alicante. Thanks to all the partners involved to make the event happen.” Miguel ANGEL said: “We thank ETTU and ITTF for this visit and for all the constructive work and meetings of these last 2 days. The organisation of this event is a big challenge for the Federation but we will try to do our best following ETTU and ITTF guidance” The Liebherr 2018 ITTF European Table Tennis Championships will take place from 18-23 September. Th etitle holders are Emmanuel LEBESSON of France and HU Melek of Turkey. More informations here
ITTF Foundation Established to Build Solidarity Through Table Tennis
The International Table Tennis Federation’s (ITTF) AGM has supported that the ITTF Foundation be officially established. The ITTF Foundation will act as the ITTF’s Corporate Social Responsibility arm to take on humanitarian projects aiming to build solidarity through table tennis. To celebrate the creation of the Foundation North and South Korean athletes teamed up to play an exhibition doubles match for the ITTF members to show the unifying power of sport and particularly table tennis. The day after the exhibition match the North and South Koreans shocked the world by declaring that they would create a unified team for the Liebherr 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships women’s team semi-final. ITTF President Thomas WEIKERT shared on the formation of the ITTF Foundation “Over the past 15 years the ITTF has changed countless lives through our humanitarian projects within our Development department. Creating the ITTF Foundation dedicated to this cause will allow us to do even more and make a more global difference just like we have already done bringing North and South Korea onto one table.” The ITTF Foundation will be headed by former ITTF Development Director Leandro OLVECH who will now take on the new role as the ITTF Foundation Director to spearhead humanitarian projects and activities under the ITTF Foundation. On the creation of the ITTF Foundation OLVECH stated: “I am very proud to be part of this historical moment in the ITTF. When I started working for ITTF Development over 10 years ago social responsibility occupied around 10% of all my tasks. Over the years the institutional and my personal commitment have grown so that the establishment of the Foundation is not just a new project it is the result of a process that began many years ago. I am very glad and motivated to be given the direction of this new non-profit organisation which is much more a vocation than a mere profession. My thanks go to the ITTF and the table tennis community for the trust in this project.” 2004 Olympic Champion Ryu Seungmin and African superstar Sarah Hanffou were announced the first two ITTF Foundation ambassadors and will be involved in several upcoming projects. After the launch the ITTF Foundation will start its first year with two new projects under its responsibility: ITTF Nittaku Dream Building with Refugees focusing on the Za’atari Refugee Camp to use table tennis to promote positive individual and social change inside the Syrian Refugee community in Za’atari increase cooperation and strengthen social cohesion through table tennis between Syrian refugees and Jordan people. Bridge Program in Argentina linking the 2018 Youth Olympic Games host city Argentina and 2020 Olympic Games host city Tokyo leaving a positive long-term legacy in Argentina. Other projects under the ITTF Foundation will also include the annual World Table Tennis Day on 6 April where table tennis fans from all around the world celebrate the joy of playing table tennis. In its fourth edition the 2018 World Table Tennis Day saw a record 569 events being held in 97 countries around the world showing the popularity universality and inclusiveness of table tennis. Learn more about the ITTF Foundation by watching this video: https://youtu.be/mGdXsysJmLo
Dr. György LAKATOS remembered respected revered
Born on Monday 27th May 1918; today marks the 100th birthday of one of the pillars of the European Table Tennis Union; the organisation’s former General Secretary and later President. It is a day to remember the enormous contribution made by Hungary’s Dr. György Lakatos who passed away in on Monday 9th July 2001. by Robert Szentgyorgyi A native of Budapest upon finishing secondary school he studied law and philosophy and obtained a doctorate in both. He started playing table tennis while at secondary school and as from 1934 regularly attended table tennis training sessions. After World War Two he assumed the role of reorganising the Hungarian Table Tennis Association; between 1947 and 1950 serving as its General Secretary. Notably from 1945 until the end of his life he was a member of the Board of the Association. Significantly in the intervening years between 1982 and 1986 he was President then Vice President; thereafter he served as Honorary President. Most pertinently György Lakatos took part in the formation of the European Table Tennis Union. He fulfilled the role of Honorary General Secretary. It was thanks also to his efforts that in 1958 Hungary hosted the first European Championships. He was President then Vice President between 1982 and 1986. Furthermore he was an internationally acknowledged sports diplomat; one resulting factor was that in 1989 the International Table Tennis Federation honoured his outstanding achievements in sports diplomacy by awarding the gold medal. Impressively he taught himself English German and French and had master trainer and international referee qualifications. He wrote eleven specialist books including a rule book plus numerous press articles. Sport was not his only pursuit. Between 1945 and 1951 he worked at the Ministry of Public Education and later on as an editor at the Kossuth Book Publishing Company. He also served as a senior editor at Népsport and Nemzeti Sport sports dailies between 1987 and 1989. Dedicated he assisted in the work of the Hungarian Table Tennis Association until the end of his life.
ITTF European Teams Championships Stage 1 – Standings after the 3rd round
The first half of the ITTF European Teams Championships Stage 1 is concluded. Beside the match in Men’s A Group Hungary vs. Austria in August in all Events the third round has been played. In Men’s A groups almost all top seeds faced upsets. In Group A1 Portugal lost against Austria. In A2 Slovenia was severely tested against Romania but prevailed. IN Group A3 Sweden suffered by the hands of Spain whilst top seeded team in Group A4 Croatia lost against Turkey. Ukraine is still without victory. Both Slovakia and Belarus beat top seeds. In A6 Greece lost against Russia. In Women’s A1 Group results went according to rankings and Germany beat both their adversaries Luxembourg and Azerbaijan. Netherlands did the same but not without difficulties. Both Croatia and Italy forced them to go full distance. Russia is in big problem. Girls lost both their encounters from lower ranked teams: Sweden and Belarus. In A4 Hungary lost against Spain whilst in A5 Austria recorded both wins against Portugal and Switzerland. In A6 Ukraine upset the top seeds – Poland. In Men’s B groups favorites had much better record if we exclude sensational win of Serbia against England. Finland also went through major setback and lost against Switzerland. All other top seeds Czech Republic Italy Netherlands and Lithuania concluded first three stages undefeated. Belgium is the only team among top seeds in Women’s B Groups to deal with the defeat. They lost against Slovakia. Serbia Turkey England and Lithuania will have summer break after successfully finished three rounds. ITTF-European Championships Teams: here
Zhang Jike Back in Action at Inaugural ITTF World Tour Hong Kong Open
Grand Slam Champion ZHANG Jike (CHN) has made his return to the international table tennis scene at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Hang Seng Hong Kong Open that gets officially underway today 24 May 2018 till 27 May 2018 at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong. Listed at number 87 of the most popular global athletes ZHANG who saw his world ranking had fell to number 168 due to inactivity over the past year was last seen at the German Open in November 2017 and had taken time off since for recovery of his injuries. Having to fight his way through the qualification rounds yesterday to secure his place in the main draw of the Hang Seng Hong Kong Open ZHANG shared on his current form “I feel good while training but practice and competition is different as the rhythm and pressure is different. Regardless of how much experience a player has after a year of not playing a major event I still feel like a stranger to what should be a familiar situation. I’ll continue playing a series of World Tour events to slowly find my form again and play each game one at a time without any expectations.” The former world number one will now have to face 2017 Mixed Doubles World Champion Maharu YOSHIMURA (JPN) in his round of 32 encounter in order to continue his run in Hong Kong. Local star world number seven WONG Chun Ting will be heading the seeding in the men’s singles event to fight for the prestigious Gold and aim to win the inaugural Hong Kong Open title on home soil. In the women’s singles world number 11 DOO Hoi Kem & 19 LEE Ho Ching who led the team to a podium finish at the recently concluded Liebherr 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad will be heading the local charge to keep the Gold at home. The task will be a tough one for the Hong Kong duo with the seven of the world’s top 10 women in action at the event including world number three Kasumi ISHIKAWA (JPN) Mima ITO (JPN) Miu HIRANO (JPN) as well as 2018 World Team Champions WANG Manyu (CHN) and LIU Shiwen (CHN). The Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Hang Seng Hong Kong Open is the second of six ITTF World Tour events in 2018. Together with and additional six ITTF World Tour Platinum events which is the top tier of the World Tour 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. Watch all the action live on tv.ITTF.com. Quick Links: Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Hang Seng Hong Kong Open Daily Schedule Men’s Singles Main Draw Women’s Singles Main Draw Men’s Doubles Main Draw Women’s Doubles Main Draw U21 Men’s Singles Main Draw U21 Women’s Singles Main Draw Photos for Editorial Use
PTTA invites up to 30 International Umpires
The European Universities Games 2018 Table Tennis to be held in Coimbra Portugal July 14th to 18th The Portuguese Table Tennis Association will help to organize from July 14th to 18th in the city of Coimbra the European Universities Games 2018 Table Tennis. The PTTA is pleased to invite up to 30 International Umpires (IU) to officiate at this event. Associations are requested to nominate and notify Portuguese Table Tennis Association to the email jose.bentes@fptm.pt the umpires names and IU numbers no later than June 10th. This is an open invitation and therefore not all nominated umpires may be accepted. Only nominations submitted by associations/federations will be considered. Nominations will be confirmed no later than June 14th. All invited umpires shall provide their own transportation to Portugal. The organizer offers free hospitality at Hotel Dona Inês (https://www.donaines.pt/) in a double room from dinner on July 13th until breakfast on July 19th 2018 as well as transportation from and to Porto Airport Coimbra Train Station or Coimbra Bus Station. Each umpire will receive the usual pocket money of $25 (US) per day. The competition will start on July 14th. European Universities Games 2018 Table Tennis: here
SAMSONOV led Belarus to victory
First stage of the ITTF-European Championships Teams The third round of the First stage of the ITTF-European Championships Teams was played today. Russia added another victory to their record in the Men’s A Groups. In Moscow hosts beat Luxembourg after success against Greece. Unlike the previous encounter this time team of Russia was much effective. Kirill SKACHKOV overcame Eric GLOD Vildan GADIEV beat Luka MLADENOVIC and Denis IVONIN overcame Fabio SANTOMAURO. They lost only one game. Led by Vladimir SAMSONOV Belarus overcame Slovakia but the guests did not fall without great fight. SAMSONOV overcame Samuel NOVOTA and Lubomir PISTEJ. PISTEJ overcame Pavel PLATONOV but Pavel overcame NOVOTA in the decisive match. Alexander VALUCH beat Aliaksandr KHANIN. Poland beat Turkey in Istanbul. WANG Zengyi Jakub DYJAS and Marek BADOWSKI overcame Ahmet LI Ibrahim GUNDUZ and Abdullah Talha YIGENLER. In B Groups in Men’s Event Montenegro failed to convert 2:1 lead into the victory in Podgorica. Estonia recovered to win the match in the fifth close duel. Aleksandr SMIRNOV Beat Filip RADOVIC to give guests good start but Luka BAKIC and Filip RADULOVIC responded promptly; Mart LUUK and Aleksandr LUSIN lost their matches. However LUSIN leveled after four games win over RADOVIC and in five games in the decisive match SMIRNOV succeeded against BAKIC. Montenegro already suffered by narrow margin against Netherlands. The match between Serbia and Bosna and Herzegovina was highlighted by the Srdjan MILICEVIC’S farewell. Player of former Yugoslavia now in jersey of Bosnia and Herzegovina played the last match in the national team against Marko PETKOV. He was the only one who managed to win the game against Serbia. Marko JEVTOVIC and Zolt PETE won their encounters in straight games. Ireland beat Azerbaijan in Baku in straight matches. Gavin MAGUIRE was the only player who was under pressure. Aliverdi SHANGELDIYEV forced him to go full distance. Zak WILSON beat Ibrahim ANSARI in straight games and Alex GILLEN needed one game more to beat Emin MAMMEDOV. Lithuania succeeded in Vilnus against San Marino. Rimas LESIV beat Mattia BERARDI Alfredas UDRA beat Federico GIARDI and Tomas MIKUTIS sealed the match in the duel against Marco VANNUCCI. Italy showed no mercy against Kosovo in Bolzano. PICCOLIN PINTO OYEBODE succeeded against SHABANI KARABAXHAKU and MAHMUTI. In front of 120 spectators in Nicosia Cyprus lost their marathon against Bulgaria. Marios YANGOU won both his matches. Against Teodor ALEXANDROV he gave good opening to host nation and against Petyo KRASTEV he pushed Cyprus into the decisive match. However the rest of the team could not follow his rhythm. Christos CHRISTONOV lost against KRASTEV Yangos YANGOU suffered by the hands of Denislav KODJABASHEV. Switzerland’s outfit composed of Lionel WEBER Lars POSCH and Cedric TSCHANZ overcame Colin DALGLEISH Niall CAMERON and Yaser RAZOUK of Scotland in four matches in Glasgow. In A Groups of Women’s Event Luxembourg prevailed against Azerbaijan. Hosts managed to win only one game. Sarah DE NUTTE beat Maryam IMANOVA NI Xia Lian overcame Bilura EMINOVA whilst Danielle KONSBRUCK prevailed against Nazakat GARAYEVA. Slovenia is still without victory after defeat against Poland in previous round. This time Ukraine beat them in Otocec. Gana GAPONOVA Margyratia PESOTSKA and Slomiya BRATEYKO overcame Alex GALIC Aleksandra VOVK and Katarina STRAZAR. In thrilling five matches Croatia prevailed against Italy in Bolzano. All three players from the winning team added the point to the final score line. PETEK lost against VIVARELLI but overcame PICCOLIN in the decisive match. JEGERE beat PICCOLIN but lost against VIVARELLI and MALOBABIC beat COLANTONI. Portugal beat Switzerland in Geneva. SHAO Jieni gave a good start to guests with the victory over Rachel MORET. FU Yu continued in the same pace and added another point to the score line against Rahel ASCHWANDEN whilst Celine REUST gave a little hope to Swiss team. She beat Leila OLIVEIRA. However the hope did not last for long. YU beat MORET. In B Groups in Women’s Event Estonia prevailed against Denmark in Tallin. Airi AVEMERI Valeria PETROVA and Katlin LATT overcame Sophie WALLOE Stefanie CHRISTENSEN and Isabelle NORIEM. Israel will return from Helsinki with the 3:1 victory over hosts. Finland’s Sandra OKSANEN was the only player to score. She beat Vital KALLIN. Annina LUMUSTROM suffered by the hands of Shely GELLMAN Anna KIRICHENKO lost against Nicole TROSMAN who also beat LUMUSTROM. In Brcko Slovakia overcame Bosnia and Herzegovina. Snezana MARKOVIC Elda SEHIC and Sanja MILOJICA won only two games overall against Tatiana KUKULKOVA Barbora BALAZOVA and Nikoleta PUCHAVANOVA. Bulgaria needed only three matches to overcame Scotland in Glasgow. Egin SAID Karina HRISTOVA and Kristina VRAMENCALIEVA overcame Rebecca PLAISTON Lucy ELLIOTT and Faye LEGGETTT. ITTF-European Championships Teams: here
Sweden made two out of two in Belarus
First stage of the ITTF-European Championships Teams After success against Russia in the opening round of the first stage of the ITTF-European Championships Teams in Groups A in Women’s Event Sweden recorded another victory. Today it was Belarus who suffered by the hands of the Swedes in Sports Center in Minsk in front of 400 spectators. In the first round Belarus beat Russia. Matilda EKHOLM pushed guests into quick lead. She beat Nadezhda BOGDANOVA in straight games. LI Fen needed one more to overcame Viktoria PAVLOVICH before Linda BERGSTROM sealed the match in the duel against Alina NIKITCHANKA. The complete round is scheduled for tomorrow. Matches Belarus vs. Slovakia in Men’s A Groups Lithuania vs. San Marino in Men’s B Groups as well as Spain vs. Czech Republic and Estonia vs. Denmark you will be able to watch on Livestream on laola 1.tv Belarus – Sweden 0:3 Nadezhda BOGDANOVA- Matilda EKHOLM (7:11 6:11 5:11) Viktoria PAVLOVICH – LI Fen (6:11 12:10 7:11 10:12) Alina NIKITCHANKA – Linda BERGSTROM (8:11 7:11 7;11) Men’s Event Groups A 17:00 CET Russia – Luxembourg 3:0 18:00 CET Belarus -Slovakia 3:2 18:30 CET Turkey -Poland 0:3 Men’s Event Grouops B 12:00 CET Montenegro -Estonia 2:3 17:00 CET Azerbaijan -Ireland 0:3 17:00 CET Lithuania -San Marino 3:0 17:30 CET Cyprus -Bulgaria 2:3 18:00 CET Norway -Israel 1:3 18:30 CET Italy -Kosovo 3:0 19:30 CET Bosnia and Herzegovina -Serbia 0:3 20:00 CET Scotland -Switzerland 1:3 Women’s Event Groups A 14:00 CET Azerbaijan -Luxembourg 0:3 17:00 CET Slovenia -Ukraine 0:3 18:30 CET Italy -Croatia 2:3 19:00 CET Spain -Czech Republic 1:3 19:00 CET Switzerland -Portugal 1:3 Women’s Event Groups B 16:00 CET Finland -Israel 1:3 17:00 CET Bosnia and Herzegovina -Slovakia 0:3 17:30 CET Estonia -Denmark 3:0 18:00 CET Scotland -Bulgaria 0:3 18:00 CET Norway -Greece 1:3 ITTF-European Championships Teams: here Laola Livestreams : here
Conquerers of Oceania book tickets to World Cup
Winners in Port Vila Vanuatu 2018 ITTF-Oceania Cup Women’s and Men’s Champions Jian Fang LAY and Heming HU of Australia have booked their golden tickets to the respective ITTF Women’s & Men’s World Cups later this year. In the Women’s competition the veteran faced her younger compatriot Olympian & Paralympian Melissa TAPPER in a closely fought final. It saw LAY settle into her rhythm first racing to a 9-0 lead in the opening game. Clinching a 2 games to nil advantage it was TAPPER’s turn to take the mantle fighting back to draw the match at 2-2. However it was the experienced LAY who won the day keeping her nerves to close the match 4-2 (11-3 11-6 6-11 7-11 12-10 11-5) to win the gold. After the match the 45-year-old stated “I’m very happy to go to Chengdu for the World Cup. I played state team’s match there once but it has been more than thirty years since I’ve visited the city!” A fourth ITTF-Oceania Cup title win and a trip to Chengdu China in September awaits. While experience was key for LAY in the Women’s competition it was a first for the Men’s Singles Champion Heming HU. Heading to the competition as the leading name HU dropped only 2 games to defending champion David POWELL prior to the final. In the concluding match despite conceding the early lead at 2-1 he managed to turn the match in his favour overcoming Dean SHU from New Zealand to record a 4-2 (9-11 11-6 9-11 12-10 11-7 11-6) victory. A dream debut ended with his first ITTF-Oceania Cup win. Now he can look forward to a trip to Paris France where he will participate in his first ever ITTF Men’s World Cup. With the conclusion of the 2018 ITTF-Oceania Cup HU and LAY will now battle out with other continental champions at the prestigious ITTF Men’s and Women’s World cup held later this year: Liebherr 2018 ITTF Men’s World Cup: 19-21 Oct 2018 Paris (FRA) Uncle Pop 2018 ITTF Women’s World Cup: 28-30 Sep 2018 Chengdu (CHN) The ITTF World Cups are the second most prestigious events on the international table tennis calendar where only 17 of the top table tennis players who have qualified through their respective Continental Cups together with the current World Champions one host player and a wildcard can compete for the prestigious title that counts towards the Grand Slam Title (Olympic Games World Championships World Cup). The Pan America Cup held in Asuncion Paraguay from 15 to 17 June will round up the eagerly anticipated line ups going to the star studded events. Qualified Players: World Champions: MA Long (CHN) DING Ning (CHN) China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF-European Top 16 Cup: Timo BOLL (GER) Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) Jonathan GROTH (DEN) 2018 ITTF-African Top 16 Cup: Omar ASSAR (EGY) Dina MESHREF (EGY) Lion 2018 ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup: FAN Zhendong (CHN) LEE Sangsu (KOR) JEONG Sangeun (KOR) ZHU Yuling (CHN) Kasumi ISHIKAWA (JPN) CHENG I-Ching (TPE) 2018 ITTF-Oceania Cup: HU Heming (AUS) LAY Jian Fang (AUS) Quick Links: 2018 ITTF-Oceania Cup Photos for Editorial Use
