Women ETTU Cup In the fourth Round of the Women’s ETTU Cup Etival Clairefontaine ASRTT will meet Budaorsi 2i Sport Club in Hungary on Saturday. It is the first time that French club plays in ETTU Cup. Despite that fact they already proved they are feeling good in European competition. In the Third round in both legs Etival succeeded against Hotel Patria Chica Museo Priego TM without losing the individual match. However no one expects it will be that easy against very good “For this new meeting the objective will be to give our best. We are still on the path of discovering our position in this competition. We are not very well familiar with the play of the opposite team. It will be the first time we are going to meet them ” explained Camille DERREY. No doubt Budaorsi 2i Sport Club is the favorite in the opening leg. “The first meeting will be doubtless very difficult because we play in Hungary. We must give our best to win as much points as possible before return leg in France. It will be very competitive game because we will try to create as much chances as possible to give an opportunity for our numerous spectators to enjoy the match at home. We will try to stay in Cup as long as possible. Our main strength is our team spirit and good composition of the team.”
KREANGA: Batteries are reloaded again
Men’s ETTU Cup In the battle for the quarterfinal of the Men’s ETTU Cup Enjoy & Deploy Taverzo will meet Istres Tennis de Table on Friday. First leg will be played in France. “Enjoy & Deploy Taverzo does look forward to the fourth round in the ETTU Cup against Istres TT. We know we are not the favorites for this encounter but so far we won all our matches in the previous rounds with also strong opponents like Sokah Hoboken Drumchapel Glasgow and Fortune Kiev. With Kalinikos KREANGA we do have a player that can win against a lot of the opponents in the ETTU Cup and Dorian NICOLLE and Jakub FOLWARSKI will not be easy to beat ” explained Ruud van GRAAFEILAND. Greek star Kalinkos KREANGA said: “ I think it’s important to have a good score in France against Istres. That will give us an advantage for the second game at home in Zoetermeer. This means that we will have to fight to have a close game away to have a score that we will be able to recover at home or to defend a score that will be enough for qualifying for the next round.” Enjoy & Deploy Taverzo knows most of the players of Istres very well but they have never played against each other in club’s competition. French player in the team Dorian NICOLLE is of the same age of Benjamin Brossier. “I know Brossier from very young and I think I beat him last time but this was long time ago in 2014/2015. I do not have to good memories of playing against Paul GAUZY because he beat me last year during the French Championships. Konstantinos PAPAGEORGIOU I played against more often in Pro B. I win some but I am pretty sure he won more of our matches. Any way I really proud I can play ETTU Cup and this when the club gave me this opportunity I said yes right away. It is really good team spirit all together and sometimes it still feels like a dream to be in the same team as my hero KREANGA ” said NICOLLE. KREANGA is in the optimistic mode. “ All our players needed some rest at the end of last year and all batteries are reloaded again as Dorian said we are a real team. If we manage to stay close maybe be the stress factor will hit the favorits. And off course we look forward to all the people that travel with us to France this really gives something extra to the players.”
GUNDUZ and ALTINKAYA crowned Turkish champions
Turkish National Table Tennis Championship concluded today in I.B.B Hidayet Turkoglu Sport Complex Istanbul. Ibrahim GUNDUZ has won his 2nd title in a row in Men Singles while Sibel ALTINKAYA has won gold medal for 4th time in a row. Men Doubles champions are both from Besiktas J.K Talha YIGENLER and Ibrahim GUNDUZ and Women Doubles champions are Ozge YILMAZ silver medalist of 2017 top 10(cadets) and Betul Nur KAHRAMAN from Kayseri. In Men’s singles category Ibrahim beat his teammate Talha with the score 4-2. Ali Afsin GUL from Fenerbahce S.C. has won the third place beating Batuhan ULUCAK from IBB club. In Women’s singles category Sibel ALTINKAYA (Fenerbahce) has become champion with the win over her teammate Gulpembe OZKAYA 4-0. Simay KULAKCEKEN becomes the bronze medalist and Betul Nur KAHRAMAN got the 4th step of the podium. All the medalist are awarded with money prize and medals. The quality of competitions were at the top level furthermore the semi final and final matches were all on live broadcast by Sports TV which makes TV broadcasting for more than 3 hours all around the country. Men Singles Ibrahim GUNDUZ – Besiktas J.K. Talha YIGENLER – Besiktas J.K. Ali Afsin GUL – Fenerbahce S.K. Batuhan ULUCAK – Ist. B.S. Bld. Women Singles Sibel ALTINKAYA – Fenerbahce S.K. Gulpembe OZKAYA – Fenerbahce S.K. Simay KULAKCEKEN – Bursa B.S.B. Betul Nur KAHRAMAN – Kocasinan Bld. Men Doubles Ibrahim GUNDUZ and Talha YIGENLER – (Besiktas J.K.) Ozgun OZTURK and Batuhan ULUCAK – (Ist. B.S. Bld. and Girne A. U.) Ali Afsin GUL and Z. Kursat CAGLAYAN – (Fenerbahce and Sistem Rek.) Women Doubles Ozge YILMAZ and Betul Nur KAHRAMAN – (Kocasinan Bld. S. K.) Aybala KOCAL and Ece HARAC – (Yalova Bld. S.K. Sibel ALTINKAYA and Gulpembe OZKAYA – (Fenerbahce S.K.)
Cajasur Priego TM promises good duel against Vaillante Sports Angers
Spanish Cajasur Priego TM will have very difficult task this week in the Fourth Round of the men’s ETTU Cup. They will play against last year’s runners up Vaillante Sports Angers TT of France on Saturday. “We are aware about difficulty of the match but we have to taking advantage of playing the opening leg at home. Of course we also hope to enjoy a great duel. The quality of players and their current ranking positions are the guaranty that we will have something to show to our spectators. In addition we will try to create better starting position before the return leg in France ” explained coach Luis CALVO. In previous round Cajasur Priego TM beat Logis Auderghem. “As you know each match is different so we don’t give importance to previous match between same players. Circumstances and game players changes year to year but we’re convinces that Table Tennis in Priego will be strengthened for this important match ” said Carlos MACHADO.
TTC Sokah Hoboken looking for a place in quarters
Men’s ETTU Cup Belgium’s TTC Sokah Hoboken required to play the Group Stage of the Men’s ETTU Cup reached the Fourth Round of the competition. Starting for Round Two they beat ASD Marcozzi and Fortune Kyiv failed only to succeed against Enjoy & Deploy Taverzo. In Round Three they overcame Ping Pong Club Villeneuvois by points ratio and on Friday they will seek for the chance to reach the quarterfinal against SF SKK El Nino Praha. Dutch champion and national team player who is playing for Sokah since 2015 Rajko GOMMERS will lead his team mates “I think that we are in a very good shape after a short but needed Christmas break. That means we are fresh and ready to fight for every point this round ” stated Rajko GOMMERS. How much do you know about your Czech adversaries? “I think it is going to be a very close match. I know the players of El Nino Praha a little thanks to the World Tour tournaments but it is always different in situation in a team competition I find. I think that for us it is important just to fight for every point and be very watchful for unnecessary mistakes. If we can do this over two matches everything is possible.” Have you played before against each other? “I played against El Nino Prague a couple of years ago with my previous club Taverzo Zoetermeer I have very nice memories about that match so I am happy to go back to Prague. I know two of the opponents GAVLAS and REITSPIES. Both I played in the World Tour circuit lost two times but both very close matches so I know it’s possible to win but I also know I need to bring my best possible game.” GOMMERS added: ” I think this counts not only for me but also for my teammates. El Nino is a very strong team with three good players but I believe there are definitely chances to advance to the next round. Already nobody expected us to beat PPC Villeneuve in the previous round but we did.” What do you think it will be the main advantage in your game? “Because it is the first time for Sokah Hoboken to have come so far in the ETTU Cup I think we have absolutely nothing to lose. So we can just give it our all and see what happens.”
Borussia Dusseldorf clinched 26th German Cup
Borussia Dusseldorf clinched the title in German Cup again. In front of nearly 3 900 spectators in the sold-out Arena Ulm / Neu-Ulm the team led by Timo BOLL secured the title for the sixth time in a row in the 2017/18 LIEBHERR Cup final. In a reissue of last year’s final the 1. FC Saarbrücken TT was beaten again. It is 26th Cup for the club in history. The dominance of the champions and record cup winners Borussia Dusseldorf will remain unbroken for the time being in 2018. The Liebherr Cup final 2017/18 was nothing more than a demonstration of power of the winners. Borussia’s coach Danny HEISTER said:”If you see that we won 3-0 twice today you have to say that we played a huge final. We were prepared well. Therefore I am very proud of my team and overjoyed about the title.” The way to the title however was much more difficult than the results suggest “but today we have survived every tough situation ” said BOLL. FRANZISKA forced Kristian KARLSSON to go full distance. Franziska was also aware of the importance of his game. “I knew that I needed to win against Kristian so we could have a chance ” said the 25-year-old. “It became so much more difficult against Timo.” At the final press conference Nico STEHLE Managing Director of the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) drew a very positive conclusion. “We can look back on an absolutely successful event in which we set a new visitor record with around 3 900 spectators. A big thank you to our numerous partners and the staff of Ulm arena where we find the perfect conditions for world-class table tennis year after year as we have seen again today. “ Semi final Borussia Düsseldorf – SV Werder Bremen 3:0 Timo BOLL – Hunor SZÖCS 3:0 (11:7 11:6 11:7) Anton KÄLLBERG – Bastian STEGER 3:2 (11:9 5:11 11:8 9:11 11:9) Kristian KARLSSON – Omar ASSAR 3:2 (11:5 11:4 10:12 10:12 11:9) FC Saarbrücken TT – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 3:1 Tiago APOLONIA – Jakub DYJAS 3:2 (14:12 9:11 6:11 11:9 11:7) Patrick FRANZISKA – Hugo CALDERANO 3:1 (11:8 11:9 6:11 11:7) Patrick BAUM – Yuto MURAMATSU 1:3 (11:13 8:11 13:11 9:11) Tiago APOLONIA – Hugo CALDERANO 3:1 (12:10 5:11 12:10 11:8) Final FC Saarbrücken TT – Borussia Düsseldorf 0:3 Patrick FRANZISKA – Kristian KARLSSON 2:3 (9:11 12:10 4:11 11:9 11:8) Tiago APOLONIA – Timo BOLL 1:3 (11:5 9:11 3:11 8:11) Patrick BAUM – Anton KÄLLBERG 0:3 (3:11 8:11 4:11)
2017 in the rearview mirror
Part 4 October The 2017 European Para Table Tennis Championships organized by the NPC Slovenia under the auspices and authority of the Slovenian Table Tennis Association and International Table Tennis Federation (Para Table Tennis Division) concluded in Slovenia’s city of Lasko. A total of 26 countries won medals. Most medals – 11 each – won Turkey Poland and France followed by Ukraine and Great Britain with 10 medals each. Ukraine won most gold medals (5) and is followed by Turkey with 4 gold medals. At least one gold medal won 10 participating countries. The ETTU is pleased to announce that the 2018 2019 and 2020 Europe Youth Top 10 events have been awarded to the Associations of Portugal Netherlands and Germany respectively. President Ronald KRAMER is enthusiast about the executive Board’s decision to award three consecutive editions of the Youth Top-10 . “It shows not only the willingness of these associations to host this important European Cadet and Junior event it also witnesses a great spirit of cooperation within ETTU. After the successful 2017 edition in Worcester (ENG) I wish to congratulate and thank the three Associations for their support given to the development of our young players by accommodating and hosting these three events”. German player Dimitrij OVTCHAROV is the Liebherr 2017 Men’s World Cup Champion after defeating the giant slayer his compatriot Timo BOLL in front of a capacity crowd in Liege Belgium on 22 October 2017: 10-12 11-8 11-7 9-11 11-7 11-2. BOLL who was the hero of the Belgium crowd after saving seven match points to beat LIN Gauyuan (CHN) in the quarter final and then beat Mr Unbeatable world number one MA Long (CHN) in the semi final earlier. LI Jie of Netherlands and Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania both concluded their journey at the 2017 Uncle Pop Women’s World Cup in Markham Canada in the quarterfinal. LIU Jia of Austria Georginal POTA of Hungary and Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden exited one round earlier. China’s ZHU Yuling is the newly crowned Champion of the Uncle Pop 2017 ITTF Women’s World Cup presented by Polar Naturals held in Markham Canada from 27 – 29 October 2017. The top seed claimed her career first ITTF Women’s World Cup title in a grueling 7-games thriller and in turn stopping her teammate LIU Shiwen’s hope of a record fifth title. November The European Table Tennis Union Executive Board is pleased to announce the European Championships Team Events Final Stage will be hosted by the French Federation (FFTT) in the city of Nantes during September 2019. New format has been approved two months ago and starting from 2018 the European Teams Championships will be played over a period of two years and be concluded with the final stage with 24 men’s teams and 24 women’s teams in odd numbered years. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV`s fantasy season continued on Sunday as he beat his compatriot Timo BOLL after full seven games to lift the title of the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open in Magdeburg – 4:3 (9:11 11:5 11:9 6:11 11:7 7:11 11:6). It was a great pleasure for home crowd to see all-German final but as well big satisfaction for OVTCHAROV who won Men`s World Cup three weeks ago in Belgium beating his today`s opponent BOLL in six sets. ITTF European Championships Team Events Stage 1 draw took place in Stockholm during the Swedish Open. The opening stage will be held in period between 2018 and 2019. Top 18 teams are in A section. In each Men’s and Women’s Event there are 6 groups with three teams. In B groups there are 21 men’s teams and 17 Women’s. Romania won the bronze medal in the Junior Boy’s and Girls Team’s Event at the 2017 ITTF World Junior Championships in Riva del Garda. They perfect run was halted in the semi final. No. four seeds in Girls Team’s Event suffered defeat by the hand of the team of China no. two seeds. Adina DIACONU lost her encounter against SUN Yingsha (3-11 6-11 6-11) Andreea DRAGOMAN suffered by the hands of WANG Manyu (4-11 18-20 3-11) and Tania PLAIAN lost against SHI Xuanyao (2-11 5-11 10-12) Like few hours earlier in Junior Girls Event Romania’s boys also suffered defeat against China in the semi final. On their way to the medal rostrum the no.6 seeds they beat Korea by three matches to two followed by success against Sweden the no.10 seeds. They won by the very same margin. On the second day of play they continued the policy; in another thriller they overcame the Unites States the no.9 seeds. The creators of the Romania’s success were Cristian PLETEA Rares SIPOS and Dragos Florin Oprea. December Sweden`s rising star 15-year-old Truls MOREGARD has accomplished a great achievement winning silver medal in the Boys Singles event at the 2017 ITTF World Junior Championships in Riva del Garda Italy. Starting from the qualifications three days ago he managed to progress to the gold medal contest held today where he was beaten by no. 1 seed China`s XUE Fei in five games – 4:1 (11:9 12:10 11:4 9:11 11:8). Penultimate day of the 2017 ITTF World Junior Championships in Riva del Garda: No. 4 Cristian PLETEA and Adina DIACONU lost to no. 1 China`s XUE Fei/WANG Manyu in straight games. Sweden`s Truls MOREGARD upset both Yuto KIZUKURI the no.2 seed and XU Haidong to reach Junior Boys Singles semis. The winners of the inaugural T2 Asia Pacific League at the Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios in Johor Baru are TEAM MAZE represented by Timo BOLL CHEN Chien-An and Alexander SHIBAEV alongside Feng Tianwei Hina HAYATA and YANG Haeun won the team title; Timo BOLL emerged the Men’s individual champion Bernadette SZOCS secured the top prize in counterpart crown in the Women’s event. In the final they overcame Team PERSSON with Jun MIZUTANI JOO Saehyuk and Mattias KARLSSON with Suthasini SAWETTABUT SHI Xunyao and
Ovtcharov & Chen Starts 2018 on Top of the World
Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV & China’s CHEN Meng are the new world number ones on the new ITTF World Ranking released today 1 January 2018. This comes under the effect of the newly developed ITTF World Ranking which will present a more accurate measure and realistic representation of the playing level of athlete’s current performance as well as to ensure that the World Ranking better supports ITTF events. The dynamic duo has achieved the top ranking after a successful 2017 claiming several major titles on the international circuit to start their 2018 season on a high note. OVTCHAROV who has been dominating European table tennis for the past few years showed he was ready to take on the world as he took home the Liebherr 2017 ITTF Men’s World Cup trophy and claimed four World Tour titles (India Bulgaria China & Germany) after sweeping all available European titles. With his world number one position OVTCHAROV also breaks China’s seven years streak on the pole position since his teammate took the throne in January 2011 for three months. “World number one sounds unreal. I have been dreaming about that when I started playing but I mean we have millions of players around the world working hard and they can read my name soon on the top of the list makes me proud and I’m very thankful to everyone who have supported me throughout my entire career ” shared the 29-yeear-old German after his sensational victory over Japan’s Koki NIWA at the World Tour Grand Finals to become the new world number one. CHEN was the most successful female star on the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour winning 3 Platinum event titles (Qatar Australia & Germany) alongside the prestigious ITTF World Tour Grand Finals title in Astana Kazakhstan to secure her top spot on the World Ranking. Competition remains tough for the top spot on the ranking as CHEN is trailed closely by her teammate and former world number one ZHU Yuling (CHN) followed by Singapore’s number one FENG Tianwei and Japanese superstars Kasumi ISHIKAWA and Mima ITO. Meanwhile OVTCHAROV will have to keep up with his top form & performance in order to defend his throne from China’s FAN Zhendong and LIN Gaoyuan as well as former world number ones Timo BOLL (GER) and XU Xin (CHN) looking at reclaiming the top spot. Reigning World & Olympic Champions MA Long (CHN) & DING Ning (CHN) whose world rankings have dropped to seven & 21 respectively due to inactivity in 2017 will also be looking at making their return. Action resumes with the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open that will be held in Budapest Hungary from 18-21 January 2018.
OVTCHAROV andf LI Jie leads the elite in Montreux
China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup China Construction Bank 2018 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup will gather European elite next year in Montreux. In famous Swiss city in Salle Omnisport du Pierrier at 3rd and 4th February leading names will be Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV and Netherlands LI Jie. Top 16 men and women were invited according to the European Ranking list no. 12 issued on December 6th. At the Men’s list are also: 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 Kristin LANG of Germany NI Xia Lian of Luxembourg Polina MIKHAILOVA of Russia Sabine WINTER of Germany Tetyana BILENKO of Ukraine and Rachel MORET of Switzerland. The competition is played on a knockout basis and in addition the losers of the semi-finals will play a match to determine places 3 and 4. First three players in both events will be qualified for 2018 ITTF World Cups with limit of two players per Association. The draw will be on Friday 2nd February 2018 commencing at 18.00 local time (17:00 GMT) in the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace Hotel. The seeding list will be made according to the February 2018 World Ranking. Tickets are available here
TTCLM Quarter-finals Draw: Saarbrucken vs. Ochsenhausen in the all-German clash
Other TTCLM pairs are following: Fakel-Gazprom – Roskilde Sporting – Stella Sport UMMC – Borussia. First games are scheduled for January 24-26th. Draw for all club competitions was held in Luxembourg The Draw for the knockout phase of the European club`s competitions held today (December 22nd) in Luxembourg confronts some longtime opponents like Saarbrucken and Ochsenhausen who will meet in the all-German TTCLM Quarter-finals. Other pairs are following: Fakel-Gazprom Orenburg – Roskilde Bordtennis BTK61 Sporting Club de Portugal – Stella Sport La Romagne UMMC – Borussia Dusseldorf. First games are scheduled for January 24-26th while returning encounters will be held on February 9th. Reigning champion four times winner and top favorite for the title Orenburg (no. 1 seed) faces lowest seeded club in the ongoing season Roskilde (started as no. 16). Two TTCLM newcomers will play one against another Sporting vs. Stella Sport to create best ever result in their histories. The 2009 runner-up Ochsenhausen opposes 2012 semi-finalist Saarbrucken while 2012 finalist UMMC faces record holder with 10 titles and actual no. 2 seed Borussia Dusseldorf. Regarding Seamaster ECLW top seed Tarnobrzeg (POL) last year`s runner-up plays against double ECLW winner Linz AG Froschberg (AUT). The 2016 ETTU Cup Women winner CP LYSSOS Lille Metropole (FRA) faces Dr. CASL (CRO) whose team is composed to make best ever season in club`s history. Current ETTU Cup Women champion Bursa Buyuksehir Belediyespor (TUR) and TT Saint-Quentinois (FRA) will fight for their best ECLW achievements so far while reigning ECLW champion and four times winner Berlin Eastside (GER no. 2 seed) are going to play against Szekszard (HUN). Third placed teams from both TTCLM and Seamaster ECLW group stage will be favorites in the ETTU Cup knockout stage. K.S. Dekorglass Dzialdowo (POL) TTC Ostrava 2016 (CZE) 2013 TTCLM runner-up Chartres ASTT (FRA) and double TTCLM champion AS Pontoise Cergy (FRA) are waiting to see names of their opponents as well as SKST Mart Hodonin-Stavoimpex (CZE) TuS Bad Driburg (GER) UCAM Cartagena (ESP) and ALCL TT Grand-Quevilly (FRA) in the ETTU Cup Women Quarter-finals. 2017/18 TTCLM Quarter-finals (1st leg Jan 24-26th 2nd Feb 9th) Fakel-Gazprom Orenburg (RUS) – Roskilde Bordtennis BTK61 (DEN) Sporting Club de Portugal (POR) – Stella Sport La Romagne (FRA) Saarbrucken Tischtennis (GER) – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen (GER) TTSC UMMC (RUS) – Borussia Dusseldorf (GER) 2017/18 Seamaster ECLW Quarter-finals KTS Tarnobrzeg (POL) – Linz AG Froschberg (AUT) CP LYSSOS Lille Metropole (FRA) – Dr. CASL (CRO) Bursa Buyuksehir Belediyespor (TUR) – TT Saint-Quentinois (FRA) Szekszard AC (HUN) – TTC Berlin Eastside (GER) 2017/18 ETTU Cup Men Quarter-finals K.S. Dekorglass Dzialdowo (POL) – TTC Sokah Hoboken (BEL)/SF SKK El Nino Praha (CZE) Cajasur Priego TM (ESP)/Vaillante Sprotive Angers TT (FRA) – TTC Ostrava 2016 (CZE) Chartres ASTT (FRA) – SG Stockerau (AUT)/Hontianske Trstany Dudince (SVK) Enjoy & Deploy Taverzo (NED)/Istres Tennis de Table (FRA) – AS Pontoise Cergy (FRA) 2017/18 ETTU Cup Women Quarter-finals SKST Mart Hodonin-Stavoimpex (CZE) – Matz TT (FRA)/Arteal Tennis de Mesa (ESP) SKNT Luch-Vladimir (RUS)/TMK-Tagmet Taganrog (RUS) – TuS Bad Driburg (GER) UCAM Cartagena (ESP) – Girbau-VIC TT (ESP)/ACS Dumbravita (ROU) Budaorsi 2i SC (HUN)/Etival Clairefomntaine ASRTT (FRA) – ALCL TT Grand-Quevilly (FRA)
