First quarter-final leg will be held this Friday (Jan 26th) and Sunday (Jan 28th): Szekszard – Berlin Lille Metropole – Dr. Casl Saint Quentionis – Bursa Linz – Tarnobrzeg Hungary`s Szekszard AC hosts reigning Seamaster ECLW champion TTC Berlin Eastside in the first quarter-final leg this Friday (Jan 26th). Berlin`s player actual world no. 20 Georgina POTA travels to her homeland to face team guided by coach Gyorgy SZILY. “We are facing with the four times ECLW winner Berlin Eastside that will be definitely a big challenge. Meeting with Georgina POTA’s team is motivating us and we are really glad to greet her with Berlin at Szekszárd Hungary. We really endeavor to meet that challenge and try to entertain spectators playing first class table tennis in Seamaster ECLW quarter-final. It is high time to deploy our strongest player CHENG I-Ching and I believe we can have the chance to surprise the opponent to put our defender Polina MIKHAILOVA into action” stated SZILY. Szekszard won only one match in group stage playing just two rounds with current world no. 7 CHENG I-Cheng (win-loss record 4-0). Actual no. 2 seed Berlin enters knock out phase with 3 wins in four rounds. The 2016 ETTU Cup Women winner CP Lyssois Lille Metropole welcomes no. 3 seed Dr. Casl one of three unbeaten teams so far. Coach of Croatian side TIAN Yuan emphasized that her team targets Seamaster ECLW final: “Our big wish is to reach the final so we must play our best table tennis against Lille Metropole. As a former Pro A player in France I am fully aware of their strength. I appreciate Lille but I expect our win”. Dr. Casl`s player FU Yu 2016 ITTF-European championships runner-up believes that his side is able to continue winning streak from group stage: “We have well balanced team and that is our advantage against them. However we must give our 100 % and show that we are more willing and better”. Actual ETTU Cup Women winner Bursa travels to France to face Saint Quentionis. Team manager of host team Jean-Louis POLARD is commenting the upcoming clash: “For the third season in a row TT Saint-Quentin qualified for the ECLW quarter-finals. But this season being seeded No.8 the team is theoretically the weakest one. It will be very difficult to go further up as we are competing against 2017 ETTU Cup Winner Bursa BB. They seem to be even stronger than last season with LEE Ho Chin (WR No.12) from Hong Kong and 2016 European Champion HU Melek. But the home match will still be interesting.” Two-time Seamaster ECLW champion Linz will play against no. 1 seed and double runner-up in a row Tarnobrzeg. President of Austrian club Günther RENNER has stated: “It`s early in this year’s Champions League to meet a team with a level like Tarnobrzeg has. We have small chance in this game but this chance we want to use… On the other side we know how hard it can be if you are the absolute favorite and with the designated European champion the multi medalist PAVLOVICH the Olympic silver medalist HAN Ying plus LI Quian who has not lost a single set in this season. Only the team from Dr. Casl is on the paper equal with the Polish team. Maybe this is one of the best teams ever so it will be much more fun to play against them and even more if we can tease them a little bit to get nervous.. But to be able to do so we need an extraordinary day that’s clear. Seamaster ECLW Quarter-finals first leg Szekszard AC – TTC Berlin Eastside (Jan 26 18:00) CP LYSSOIS LILLE METROPOLE – Dr. Časl (Jan 26 19:00) TT SAINT QUENTINOIS – BURSA BÜYÜKŞEHİR BELEDİYESPOR (Jan 26 19:30) Linz AG Froschberg – KTS Tarnobrzeg (Jan 28 16:00)
Favourites confirm their status away
First Quarter-final leg of TTCLM: UMMC – Borussia 0:3 Roskilde – Orenburg 0:3 Two top seeds in the ongoing Table Tennis Champions League Men have confirmed their status playing away first quarter-final games: TTSC UMMC – Borussia Dusseldorf 0:3 Roskilde Bordtennis BTK61 – Fakel Gazprom Orenburg 0:3 Reigning TTCLM champion and top seed Orenburg presented its newly crowned World no. 1 Dimitrij OVTCHAROV who has defeated Roskilde`s Chinese ZHAI Yujia in four games of the opener. Second clash confronted two former individual continental champions Michael MAZE from Europe and Jun MIZUTANI from Asia. Japanese easily got the opening set but Dan responded in the same manner to level the score after second game. Guest took third set by a narrow margin what was the crucial moment for the final outcome. “Mr. TTCLM” Vladimir SAMSONOV was streached to full distance by Laurens TROMER winning decider by a narrow margin. Regarding the game held in Verkhnaya Pyshma actual World no. 3 Timo BOLL paved the way to Borussia`s victory as he beat no. 23 Maharu YOSHIMURA in straight games. Other two encounters took five games each and belonged to Swedish player Kristian KARLSSON and Anton KALLBERG. KARLSSON overcame Alexander SHIBAEV while his younger compatriot has defeated Andrej GACINA. TTCLM quarter-finals first leg TTSC UMMC – Borussia Dusseldorf 0:3 Maharu YOSHIMURA – Timo BOLL 0:3 (5:11 9:11 3:11) Aleksander SHIBAEV – Kristian KARLSSON 2:3 (11:8 8:11 6:11 11:9 9:11) Andrej GACINA – Anton KÄLLBERG 2:3 (6:11 13:11 12:14 11:7 2:11) Roskilde Bordtennis BTK61 – Fakel Gazprom Orenburg 0:3 ZHAI Yujia – Dimitrij OVTCHAROV 1:3 (10:12 7:11 11:8 7:11) Michael MAZE – Jun MIZUTANI 1:3 (1:11 11:4 10:12 3:11) Laurens TROMER – Vladimir SAMSONOV 2:3 (6:11 11:9 5:11 12:10 9:11)
ITTF and Table Tennis England Sign British Airways as Official Airline Partner for 2018 Team World Cup
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and Table Tennis England (TTE) are excited to announce British Airways as the latest partner to come on board as the Official Airline Partner of the 2018 ITTF Team World Cup to be held in London from 22 – 25 February 2018. The Team World Cup which was last held in Dubai in 2015 comprises of a total of 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams which are made up of a host team Continental Champions and the other top finishers at the 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships. The prestigious and hotly anticipated table tennis event will witness top teams from across the globe compete for glory in the iconic Copper Box Arena one of many Olympic and Paralympic venues for London 2012. Mr. Thomas WEIKERT President of the ITTF said: “We are delighted to welcome an iconic global brand such as British Airways to the ever growing table tennis partner family. Our sport has global reach and high levels of fan engagement attributes that can help brands such as British Airways to connect to audiences around the world. We look forward to a fantastic event in February.” With a global TV viewing audience of over 355 million during the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships and some matches featuring in the top 10 watched sporting events in China for the whole of 2017 table tennis will provide an ideal platform for British Airways to promote its brand in key territories. Digital engagement through English and Chinese social and digital platforms will be a key feature of the partnership. Noella Ferns Executive Vice President Greater China and the Philippines for British Airways and Iberia shared: “We are very excited to be working with a sport like table tennis which is incredibly popular around the world and of course in Asia. We have very specific targets for partnership activities and have been impressed by the approach and opportunity that ITTF and Table Tennis England colleagues provided. We wish all teams the best of luck and look forward to a great event.” Table Tennis England Chair Sandra DEATON added: “What another great addition to the Team World Cup. British Airways has to be one of the world’s most recognised brands and we are looking forward to delivering a great event with British Airways as partners.” Qualified Teams – Men’s event Continental Champions: China Germany Brazil United States Egypt Australia Top finishers at the Perfect 2016 World Team Championships: Japan Korea England France Hong Kong Sweden Qualified Teams – Women’s event Continental Champions: China Romania Brazil United States Egypt Australia Top finishers at the Perfect 2016 World Team Championships: Japan Chinese Taipei Korea DPR Singapore Hong Kong England Host Nation: England
11 year old Anna Hursey is the youngest athlete in the Commonwealth Games
Wales will play the 2018 Commonwealth Games with Charlotte CAREY Chloe THOMAS and cadet Anna HURSEY. For Charlotte and Chloe things will be very familiar having played various Games in the past (Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014). For Anna it will be her first Games and the only memory she has is watching her team mates 4 years ago. “I am very honoured and excited. The nerves will be there on competition day but after that I will be able to play my game” National coach Ryan JENKINS is confident: “For Charlotte it will be her 3rd Games and heading to the Gold Coast I’m sure she will be able to support Anna as she was the youngest member of Team Wales at the 2010 Delhi Games. Chloe has been living in China for the past 6 months and preparation is going well.” The team depart on 23rd March for an intense holding camp in TTC Grenzau before heading to Brisbane for the Games starting on 5th April. Until then Anna will go to school each day at Cardiff High like any other 11 year. The stardom will have to wait a few more months.
TTCLM Quarter-finals: Who will gain advantage?
First quarter-final leg to be held from Wednesday to Friday January 24-26th: UMMC – Borussia Roskilde – Fakel Gazprom Sporting – Stella Sport la Romagne Ochsenhausen – Saarbrucken First quarter-final games of the 2017/18 Table Tennis Champions League Men will be held from Wednesday to Friday January 24-26th gathering three German clubs two from Russia while France Denmark and Portugal are represented by one each. Record holder with 10 TTCLM titles and actual no. 2 seed Borussia Dusseldorf travels to Russian city of Verkhnaya Pyshma to face 2012 runner-up UMMC. Both sides left group stage with a 5-1 win-loss record. Host team head coach Tatiana KUTERGINA looks forward to meeting the most successful TTCLM club ever: “Alexander SHIBAEV Andrej GACINA arrived the night before as well as the Borussia team. Because of the time difference the players hardly slept yesterday so at the morning practice it was difficult to assess their physical shape. It seemed to me that Andrej GACINA looked fresh. I think the reason here is that on January 20 his wife gave birth to a son. Andrej was very worried about her and for the child right now the excitement is behind everything went well besides he was training hard and lost some weight. Maharu YOSHIMURA arrived late at night yesterday and is going to join the training with the team tonight. I am sure that until tomorrow all players will be in good physical form and the match will be interesting”. Borussia`s coach Danny HEISTER reminded that his side had unexpectedly hard begining of the season (3:2 home loss vs. Hennebont) but managed to recover and finish on the top of Group D… “We struggled at the beginning in the TTCLM but all other games in group stage went well. We cannot afford any mistake now. UMMC has a good and well balanced team in all positions. It’s going to be a tough job for us. “ Borussia tops the table of Bundesliga in spite of losing latest game against Fulda (3:2). That`s why Dusseldorf`s best player Timo BOLL warns his teammates: “Our game in Fulda showed that 80 percent are not enough to win against good teams. And I appreciate UMMC even more. We all need to be in the right shape. I think it will be a very close game”. The lower-seeded TTCLM team Roskilde Bordtennis hosts the no. 1 seed and current champion Fakel Gazprom Orenburg. Danish club had 3-3 win-loss record in Group D while Russian side finished first in Group A with 5-1. “There are no weak opponents in the TTCL quarter-finals. Our team is preparing very seriously for the upcoming match. All players are in good shape and in positive mood. The first leg is expected to be very tense for both teams. There are very strong players including Michael MAZE” stated Orenburg`s team manager Victor ANDREEV. Two TTCLM newcomers will fight for the semi-final berth: Sporting Clube De Portugal (4-2 in the group stage) vs. Stella Sport La Romagne (5-1). French club aims TTCLM semi-final just one season after biggest achievement in their history – 2016/17 ETTU Cup Men title – but coach Fabrice COUTOLLEAU stressed that they will play without pressure: “At the beginning of the season our goal was to reach the quarterfinals. Now the result is only a bonus and will allow us to play without pressure. Everything is possible on a return leg and we will do everything to join the semi finals”. The 2009 TTCLM runner-up and 2012 semi-finalist are the opponents in the all-German quarter-finals. Ochsenhausen beat Saarbrucken 3:0 away in the Bundesliga Round 5 but all three encounters were close. They will meet in two important clashes in February within just three days: first in the returning TTCLM quarter-final leg (Feb 9) then in the domestic league Round 14 (Feb 11) which could decide playoff berth (Saarbrucken is second placed with 8-4 Ochsenhausen is fifth with 7-5). “I think it will be a close match. We won the Cup match two weeks ago but we lost the league match so it is hard to say which team is the favorite for Friday. But I think we are all in good shape so we have a lot of confidence for the match in Ochsenhausen and we try to give ourselves a good position for the home match in February” explained Saarbrucken`s player Patrick FRANZISKA. 2017/18 TTCLM Quarter-finals first leg TTSC UMMC – Borussia Düsseldorf (Jan 24 14:00) Roskilde Bordtennis BTK61 – TTC Fakel Gazprom (Jan 24 19:00) Sporting Clube De Portugal – Stella Sport La Romagne (Jan 25 19:00) TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis (Jan 26 19:30)
Linz prepares training camp and tournament
Second International training camp to be held from March 25th to 30th Talents from more than ten countries already confirmed their participation for the two consecutive events organized in Linz Second International training camp (March 25th to 30th) and 18th Linz Austria Raiffeisen Youth Championships (March 31st – April 3rd). Both events gather players from U 11 to U 18. “This Camp is a service for the players clubs and regional teams in order to prepare at this time of the year for national tournaments and other events. We have already preregistered teams from Norway Denmark Germany Czech Republic Slovakia Sri Lanka and many more countries…” stressed Linz AG Froschberg President Gunther RENNER.
ITTF Future Events Working Group Reaches Unanimous Agreement on the Future of the World Table Tennis Championships
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Future Events Working Group had its 5th working meeting in San Jose California USA on January 18 and 19 2018. The purpose of the meeting was to finalize a proposal to the Executive Committee and eventually to the ITTF Board of Directors to reform the current way the ITTF conducts its World Championships and structures its international events calendar. The group’s participants included the continental presidents (or their representatives) a representative of the Athletes Commission and ITTF staff. At the outset of the meeting Future Events Working Group Chair Tony Kiesenhofer gave a brief resumé of the work done to date and reminded the guiding principles of the group: To increase the participation of the number of Member Associations in the World Table Tennis Championships. To grow the global visibility exposure and footprint of the sport. Create in-demand events that appeal to host cities/countries globally. Ensure Financial sustainable events for all stakeholders which generate returns to reinvest in the growth and development of table tennis. To showcase players and create heroes. To create a simple meaningful and easy to understand event calendar. When achieved these objectives would underpin a compelling structure of successful and meaningful international events which in turn will provide stories for media around the world and increase broadcast content and sponsor revenue. Furthermore successful World Table Tennis Championships with an increased footprint will support the ITTF’s goal of becoming a top 5 Olympic sport. Facilitated by expert sport consultants from Deloitte the Working Group studied the current structure and format of the World Championships and compared the World Table Tennis Championships to those of other sports. Following a thorough analysis of the World Championships the Working Group reached consensus that the scope of both the Individual and Team World Championships should be expanded in such a manner that players from all Member Associations have the opportunity to take part in the World Championships and to qualify for the World Table Tennis Championships Finals through the respective Continental Championships. The ITTF will establish a staff structure to support continents to establish a first stage of the World Championships on the continental level. Oceania and Europe presented two excellent forward-looking models of their reorganization of the continental championships the goals of their reorganization match those identified by the Future Events Working Group. To turn this new model into a reality ITTF CEO Steve Dainton agreed to seek a substantial annual ITTF investment to assist the continental first stage events to encourage the increased participation of Member Associations in future World Championships and assist continental federations in the process of building a well-organized broadcast friendly product. The Working Group also called on the ITTF Executive Committee to develop a dynamic method of establishing a continental quota allocation for the World Championships Finals taking into consideration factors such as world ranking participation in continental qualification performance at previous World Championships Finals ensuring that each Continental Federation will be well represented at the Finals. Closing the meeting the Working Group drafted a report that will be presented to the Executive Committee with all members of the group agreeing on its contents. Working Group members present in San Jose: Gordon Kaye President ITTF North America Host Ronald Kramer President ETTU Juan Vila President LATTU Dhanraj Choudhary Representative ATTU Farah Farah Hassan Representative ATTF James Morris Representative OTTF; ITTF EC Member Iulia Necula Representative Athletes Commission Steve Dainton ITTF CEO Didier Leroi ITTF Head of World Championships & Continental Events Tony Kiesenhofer Future Events Working Group Chair Deloitte Expert Sport Consultants
Fan Zhendong Takes ITTF World Tour Double Gold ahead of 21st Birthday
World number two FAN Zhendong (CHN) has taken both the Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles Gold at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open in Budapest today 21 January as the perfect celebration ahead of his 21st birthday tomorrow. The top seed faced surprise finalist WANG Chuqin (CHN) who had managed to fight his way through to the final from the qualification stage. Determined to take the title in Budapest FAN was all pumped up in the final against WANG giving WANG little chance to fight back and prevailed 4-1 (11-6 9-11 11-7 14-12 11-3). The 20-year-old shared after his victory “It’s a very good start of the year and nice way to celebrate my birthday! Both of us played at a very high level but I was able to make a good start in the third and fifth game taking momentum and the eventual victory.” Together with his teammate YU Ziyang FAN also claimed the Men’s Doubles title. The Chinese pair proved too strong for Belarussian pair Pavel PLATONOV and Vladimir SAMSONOV in the final hurdle for gold winning 3-0 (11-5 11-5 11-4) to take the crown. In a rematch of the 2017 World Junior Championships Girls’ Singles Final WANG Manyu (CHN) took revenge for her bitter loss in Riva del Garda last year against compatriot SUN Yingsha to claim her second ITTF World Tour title. As with the previous encounters the Women’s Singles final today saw incredibly fast rallies during the clash with both players trying to take the lead to stay ahead. It was the more experienced WANG who eventually came back from 2-3 down to take the title 4-3 (9-11 11-6 10-12 11-8 9-11 11-8 11-4). SUN didn’t return home empty-handed as she claimed the Women’s Doubles title together with teammate CHEN Xingtong (CHN) sweeping WANG and CHEN Ke 3-0 (14-12 11-8 11-8). The 2018 Hungarian Open is the first of 12 events on the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour where the world’s best table tennis players compete to earn valuable World Ranking points and World Tour ranking points to be among the top 16 to qualify for the prestigious World Tour Grand Finals at the end of the season. With the conclusion of the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open all attention now turns to the 2018 Team World Cup to be staged in London from 22 – 25 February 2018 at the Copper Box Arena.
Highest possible target for Matilda EKHOLM
China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup Sweden’s Matilda EKHOLM had fantastic beginning of 2017 winning Singles gold at DHS Lausanne Open in Switzerland and two more medals at Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour India Open – Singles silver and Doubles (with Georgina POTA) gold. Yesterday January 19th successful duo lost their semi-final clash (last year they were runner-ups) at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open Budapest playing against China`s CHEN Ke and WANG Manyu in straight games but both looking forward to China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreaux. “My goal is to win! There are always chances. The question is how good I will play and how good my opponents will play. Everyone at this level can beat each other” stated current World no. 25 about her goal at the upcoming event in Swiss city of Montreaux. The 2017 ITTF Europe Top 16 held in Antibes France was her best one so far as she finished on the seventh place. Now speaking about favorites UCAM Cartagena player stressed: “Favorite from ranking I guess is LI Jie! It will be interesting to see how good SOLJA is after half a year absence”. She had many nice moments in the last year and her aim is to stay on that course… “There were many unforgettable moments in 2017. All the podiums in the doubles tournaments winner of Swizz Open and my Singles runner-up in India… Plans and goals for 2018 is to be better than 2017 and that me and Gina (POTA) continue our success in doubles”. On question who was World’s best athlete of the 2017 Matilda EKHOLM replied: “Anyone who goes to practice and enjoy the game!” In Salle Omnisport du Pierrier will play Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany Timo Boll of Germany Simon GAUZY of France Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus Marcos FREITAS of Portugal Ruwen FILUS of Germany Kristian KARLSSON of Sweden Alexander SHIBAEV of Russia Bastian STEGER of Germany Jonathan GROTH of Denmark Emmanuel LEBESSON of France Tiago APOLONIA of Portugal Mattias KARLSSON of Sweden Panagiotis GIONIS of Greece Stefan FEGERL of Austria Lionel WEBER of Switzerland. In Women’s Top 16 will play: LI Jie of Netherlands Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania Georgina POTA of Hungary Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria Petrissa SOLJA of Germany LI Qian of Poland Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN and Bernadette SZOCS of Romania Viktoria PAVLOVICH of Belarus NI Xia Lian of Luxembourg Polina MIKHAILOVA of Russia Sabine WINTER of Germany Tetyana BILENKO of Ukraine and Rachel MORET of Switzerland. Event’s page here Organisers web site here Tickets are available here Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here
First doubles final for for Belarus
Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open in Budapest At the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open in Budapest Vladimir SAMSONOV and t Pavel PLATONOV reached the final of the Mne’s Doubles Event. In the semi final the duo accounted for fellow qualifiers the Swedish pairing of Kristian KARLSSON and Mattias KARLSSON (13-11 1-11 11-8 6-11 11-6). They become the first ever pairing from Belarus to reach such a final in the now 23 year history of the ITTF World Tour. “It was a very intense match going to the full distance. We had the advantage when we played short-short and then started the rally; we tried to keep it that way. The key moment was the start of the deciding game we had a good start so we could even decide to take a few more risks. Now in the final; bring it on!” said Pavel Platonov Tomorow Pavel PLATONOV and Vladimir SAMSONOV will face FAN Zhendong and YU Ziyang the no.6 seeds. In the penultimate round they accounted for the top seeded combination formed by Germany’s Patrick FRANZISKA and Denmark’s Jonathan GROTH (11-6 11-5 11-7). In the counterpart Women’s Doubles event CHEN Ke and WANG Manyu the no.7 seeds beat the no.2 seeds the host nation’s Georgina POTA and Sweden’s Matilda EKHOLM (11-6 11-5 11-2); in the opposite half of the draw CHEN Xingtong and SUN Yingsha the no.3 seeds ended the hopes of Hong Kong. They accounted for DOO Hoi Kem and LEE Ho Ching the top seeds (11-4 8-11 11-5 11-6). “It did not go the way we planned; their game plan was a better than ours. We played well just we could not soak up the constant pressure from them.” said Georgina POTA
