Men`s 2017 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup in Antibes France The home crowd endured an evening of mixed emotions on Friday 3rd February with one of their players heading home and another making the cut for the next round. Simon GAUZY successfully negotiated a difficult tie against the runner up of last year’s tournament Joao MONTEIRO but for Emmanuel LEBESSON there was disappointment. Emerging as victor over the Frenchman was Tiago APOLONIA (11-6 3-11 11-5 11-4) and after the conclusion of the tie APOLONIA stated his delight in making the next round. “I’m very happy I think I played really good today not only against LEBESSON but also in the games before. Of course against LEBESSON was a very important game still because I needed at least one game to qualify so it is a little bit of a special game but I think I did a good job and I’m happy with my performance” Tiago APOLONIA. Alexander SHIBAEV stole the spotlight in Group D when he eliminated the champion of the 2014 tournament Marcos FREITAS in a five game thriller and despite his defeat to Sweden’s Kristian KARLSSON (11-13 11-8 8-11 8-11) the other player to progress from the group is Andrej GACINA of Croatia. “The win feels good obviously I finished last in the group anyway but it was important to end the day with a victory. Of course I’m disappointed but it felt really good to be able to refocus and beat GACINA” Kristian KARLSSON. The top seed Dimitrij OVTCHAROV will continue his campaign in Antibes beyond the opening day after he saw off Denmark’s Jonathan GROTH in a tricky five games encounter to complete a clean sweep of victories in his group. OVTCHAROV will join Simon GAUZY in the quarter-finals. Besides OVTCHAROV the only other German Men’s Singles player to win at the event is Timo BOLL. In a similar fashion to his fellow countryman BOLL also captured his third win of the day against former clubmate Panagiotis GIONIS and will be joined in the next round by his current clubmate Stefan FEGERL.
Painful wait but progress sealed by Sabine WINTER
Women`s 2017 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup in Antibes France The evening session on the opening day of the 2017 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup brought the group stage of the tournament to a close and for one player in particular the wait for her progress to be confirmed was a lengthy process. With one win to her name heading into the evening’s action Germany’s Sabine WINTER knew that she would need to be at her best and beat Polina MIKHAILOVA. WINTER held up her end of the bargain but now everything hinged on the outcome of another tie. WINTER was forced to wait until the conclusion of the other group match and when LIU Jia recovered from 0-2 down to beat Barbora BALAZOVA 3-2 the dream of reaching the last eight became a reality for WINTER. “I won 3-0 and okay the first end I was done 4-10 but then I started to play really well and I’m satisfied with my performance. I hope to play well in the next round perhaps I can win perhaps not. I have a go and play my game and have some fun” Sabine WINTER. Another German player to advance is Petrissa SOLJA after she came through her group with maximum points following up her earlier victories over Tetyana BILENKO and Matilda EKHOLM with a commanding performance against the host nation’s Stephanie LOEUILLETTE. EKHOLM also progresses from Group C after she overcame BILENKO in her final group match in straight games (11-7 11-8 11-7) and will have her name included in the draw for the last eight. “It’s always difficult against Tetyana because she’s a good player but I played very consistently and on the table so I made her miss which was my plan. Usually when I play against defenders I try to wear them out with my spin and today I succeeded. It was a good start with the 3-1 victory in the morning and against Petrissa SOLJA I had some difficulties but it was overall a good match also so I cannot be too disappointed” Matilda EKHOLM.
Comeback joy for LI Jie in Antibes
ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup There was a major comeback performance in the Women’s Singles match at the ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup between LI Jie and LI Qian as the full five game distance was required to find a winner. Poland’s LI Qian made the stronger start of the two players as she captured games one and two without too much difficulty but a wonderful effort by LI Jie saw the next three games go in the Dutch player’s favour to complete the comeback (7-11 6-11 11-9 11-9 12-10). “I’m feeling victorious after the match. I’m very happy. At 0-2 down I was thinking it was better to play like in practice and this way I was able to stay mentally calm” LI Jie. The other match in the group saw another powerful showing from Romania’s Bernadette SZOCS after she came out on top against Viktoria PAVLOVICH of Belarus. SZOCS was a late addition to the Women’s Singles competition following the injury withdrawal of her fellow compatriot Elizabeta SAMARA prior to the event and now SZOCS who has never progressed beyond the group stage of the Europe Top 16 leads Group D after her four games triumph over PAVLOVICH (11-4 11-6 8-11 13-11). Earlier on the opening day of the 2017 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup tournament HU Melek suffered a surprising defeat at the hands of Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN putting the top seed in a difficult position as she headed into the afternoon session of play. Hungary’s Georgina POTA was the next opponent for HU Melek and as expected the match produced several moments of class. While very little separated the two contestants on the table there could only be one winner and as the match drew to a close it was HU Melek who left the court the happier player (18-16 13-15 11-9 11-13 12-10). “I don’t feel so good today because this morning I lost the first match 0-3 and this is also very difficult. But now I feel a little bit better than this morning” HU Melek. Elsewhere there were victories for Petrissa SOLJA and Tetyana BILENKO against Matilda EKHOLM and Stephanie LOEUILLETTE respectively while Group B saw LIU Jia prevail over Sabine WINTER in five ends and there was a first win for Barbora BALAZOVA after the Slovak Republic representative defeated Russia’s Polina MIKHAILOVA.
Top seeds in good shape
2017 STAG European Under 21 Championships The second phase of the Men’s Singles Event at the 2017 STAG European Under 21 Championships brought many upsets. In the first Group with the top seeded Anton KALLBERG of Sweden Tobias RASSMUSEN of Denmark was first in line to suffer against determined Swede (11-6 11-8 11-13 11-7 15-13). Although everyone expects Kalberg will continue in the same style Tomasz KOTOWSKI of Poland had different plan. He beat the main favorite in five games (8-11 8-11 12-10 9-11 9-11) in next round. “The key was to make no mistakes on the receive game. He plays unbelievable. So far we never played against each other but I study his game on the You Tube ” said KATOWSKI who previously lost his encounter against Tom JARVIS of England (11-6 9-11 0-11 7-11 8-11). In the last round KALLBERG beat JARVIS and that launched him at the top position of the Group. With only one defeat JARVIS will follow him tomorrow in the Round of 16. No. two seed Tomislav PUCAR of Croatia faced no difficulties against Patryk ZATOWKA of Poland (11-8 8-11 11-9 11-7 11-9) on his first entrance to the playing box today. “I expected I can beat him it was good match for the start ” said PUCAR. Pucar justified his reputation and recorded all three victories. Next in line to fall were Simon BERGLUND of Sweden and Alexandru MANOLE of Romania. ZATOWKA secured second place in the group. Darko JORGIC of Slovenia seeded no. three beat Abdullah YINGLER of Turkey in the opening round. “It is little bit strange to play within such system with another round of group matches for the seeded players but I do not expect any troubles on my path to the knock out phase tomorrow ” said JORGIC. He continued in the same pace and succeeded against Marek BADOWSKI of Poland and Gleb SHAMRUK of Belarus. Marek is second. Seeded no. 4 Elisa RANEFUR was forced to withdrew due the injury. He injured his hand this morning. Same fate just a round later faced Adama SZUDI of Hungary who lost against Andreas LEVENKO before he withdrew. Deni KOZUL another Slovenian representative booked his Top 16 place from the top in front of Anders LIND of Denmark. In the Group where SZUDI was top seeded QIU Dang of Germany seized his opportunity. He will play tomorrow in the Round of 16 as a winner of the group. Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS of Greece is second. Simon BERGLUND of Sweden beat Alexandru MANOLE of Romania (11-6 6-11 11-5 11-6 9-11 11-6). “I was forced to change the pace of the game to use various tactics. It was difficult match ” admitted BERGLUND. Seeded at the position no. 8 Tomas POLANSKY prevailed against Nandor ECSEKI of Hungary (11-4 11-4 11-8 6-11 11-5). “One of the biggest benefits here is the opportunity to practice in the same hall. I started from day two but I am well prepared on the conditions; as well as all the players that have been played yesterday’s matches “said POLANSKY. “Against ECSEKI I played twice before and two months ago I beat him easily so it boosted my confidence before the start. I was not under pressure.” From position no. one POLANSKY moved forward followed by ECSEKI. The match between Rares SIPOS of Romani and Sadi ISMAILOV of Russia caught the most attention in the morning program. Sadi’s numerous supporters gave their best to push their favorite to the victory but SIPOS was inspired (12-10 8-11 8-11 9-11 11-5 7-11). “I finished yesterday’s group stage on position no two with one defeat but I was not unhappy with my performance. I can only congratulate Marek BADOWSKI on his excellent performance. The level of shape I showed yesterday gave me confidence today. I did not mind loud crowd. I love that kind of atmosphere. It inspires me. I enjoyed playing against Sadi ” said SIPOS. Killian ORT of Germany with all three victories booked his place in the Round of 16. SIPOS joined him. His teammate Cristian PLETEA seeded no. 6 was forced to go full distance marathon against Aliaksandr KHANIN of Belarus; six games concluded by narrow margin (6-11 12-10 12-10 12-10 10-12 15-17 13-11). “My confidence was the key point today. It was a long match but I had a faith I can win it. I did not lose my grip and I gave my pest to impose my style of play. I did not want to give him chance to took the control over match ” said PLETEA. However in the next round Martin ALLEGRO who already beat Konstantin CHERNOV of Russia continued his winning row. He accounted on PLETEA (11-9 11-13 5-11 11-8 8-11 11-9 7-11) Both ALLEGRO and PLETEA progressed further.
Marcos Freitas keeps group campaign alive
ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup After enduring a tough opening match defeat Portugal’s Marcos FREITAS has put his name back into contention in Group D following his victory over Kristian KARLSSON in the afternoon encounter at the ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup in France. FREITAS lost out by three straight games in his first match in Antibes but against KARLSSON he only required three ends to earn his first win of the tournament (12-10 11-4 11-8) and after the match the no.4 seed stated that he would continue to fight for a place in the last eight in his final group match. “I’m happy. I didn’t have the best start today I lost to Andrej GACINA in the first match but this is the group stage so anything is possible I must fight until the end. After losing the first match 0-3 I was a little bit afraid I was not feeling very confident and didn’t have a feeling for the ball. But now with this victory I think I’m slowly coming back I will fight in the last match and hopefully I can get through the group” Marcos FREITAS. Another competitor who managed to put his name back into contention was Greece’s Panagiotis GIONIS following his Group C success against Mattias KARLSSON. Having missed out in the fifth game against Stefan FEGERL in his early match GIONIS was put under pressure to deliver a positive result in his second group fixture and the Greek representative managed to keep his cool as he saw off KARLSSON by a 3-0 scoreline (11-5 11-9 13-11). “I think I played quite good against Mattias KARLSSON I was concentrating well. I think also that I like how my opponent was playing this time… I was very focused I needed to win this game 3-0 or 3-1 to have a very small chance to qualify and if I beat Stefan FEGERL after so the game was good for me. Okay maybe in the second end I maybe lost a little bit of my concentration but in the end I was fine” Panagiotis GIONIS.
Andreea DRAGOMAN showed no mercy
2017 STAG European Under 21 Championships Four top seeds in Women’s Singles event at the 2017 STAG European Under 21 Championships concluded day two of the play unbeaten. Second phase of the Group stage gave last 16 best players who will continue tomorrow battles in the main draw. Top seeded Adina DIACONU of Romania Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania WAN Yuan of Germany and Natalia BAJOR of Poland showed no mercy today. Tin Tin HO showed high level of performance on the opening day of the Championships and today she went further. Although the victory over Anna WEGRYZIN of Poland (11-4 11-4 11-3 11-5) was expected in next round she created the upset by beating the no. two seed Nina MITTELHAM (3-11 7-11 11-5 11- 6 11-8 7-11 7-11). “In two opening game I could control the match with the good service game but after that Nina used to it and I had to change the style. I much aggressive which is not my usual tactics ” said Tin Tin. After being in reverse two games to three what gave you strength to recover? “I think I had much more faith in my game and I was very confident despite the result.” Nina obviously was not on the top of her game since she withdrew in the last round due the injury. Tin Tin HO beat Tatiana KUKULOVA in straight games in the final match of the day to seal the top position and place in Top 16. From the same group KUKULOVA progressed with her. No. one seed Adina DIACONU of Romania prevented any upsets. She beat Eline LOYERN of Belgium in the opening round (5-11 11-4 11-5 11-9 11-7) before she overcame Ekaterina GUSEVA of Russia (7-11 11-6 11-8 7-11 11-8 11-4). “Unlike my usual style and very bad start of almost each tournament in Sochi everything went smoothly. I feel good I play good and I am full of confidence ” said Adina. “Against GUSEVA I lost the opening game but immediately I improved my service game to win next. Maybe at 2:2 and 8:8 in fifth was the turning point. After that I was in complete control ” said Adina. In the last round in seven games duel she overcame Charlotte CAREY and progressed to the knock out phase from the top spot. GUSEVA is second. Chantal MANTZ no. three seed on her opening day at he tournament lost against Dorina REBRNJAK of Croatia (11-9 11-3 11-13 2-11 13-15 11-5 9-11) but after she wormed up she needed two games less to overcame XU Xuan of Spain (11-3 7-11 11-3 11-8 11-2). “For me every match is important I am always trying to give my best ” said MANTZ. She progressed to the third phase but from the second spot. ZHANG Xuan Xu of Spain is at the top. Natalia BAJOR of Poland beat Tilda JOHANSSON of Sweden (11-2 11-8 11-4 11-7) Alina NIKITCHANKA of Belarus (10-12 11-6 11-2 11-9 11-4) and Maria MALANINA of Russia (10-12 11-3 8-11 12-10 11-7 11-9) to reserve the top place in the group Alina is second. “I came here with the hope I can win the medal ” said BAJOR. Tilda inflicted more pain in the harts of the national team supporters by beating Maria MALANINA of Russia in the second round. Zdena BLASKOVA of Czech Republic was required to play the first phase of the tournament but she found her way through the Round of 16 from the top spot. She overcame Nicole TROSMAN of Israel (13-11 9-11 5-11 11-7 12-10 11-7) but more importantly she overcame no. 6 seed Daria TRIGOLOS of Belarus (7-11 9-11 11-4 7-11 9-11) and in the last round Lisa LUNG of Belgium (12-10 11-7 9-11 3-11 12-108-11 11-7). Lisa still managed to reach Top 16 from the second spot. “Opening game was very difficult I had to change a lot in my game to stay in the game in third as well “ said BLASKOVA who admitted she is delighted because in Sochi she saw for a first time snow at the beach. Andrea DRAGOMAN of Romania showed impressing performance today. She beat Karolin MYNAROVA of Czech republic (11-3 11-6 11-6 11-5) Kim VERMAAS of Netherlands (11-3 8-11 11-2 10-12 11-8 11-7) and Klara CAKOL of Croatia (11-4 11-9 14-16 11-7 11-4). CAKOL progressed as second. “I think that the competition here is very strong and I do not expect easy ride in next two days ” said DRAGOMAN. Maria TAYLAKOVA of Russia will give the opportunity to the spectators to cheer tomorrow since she progressed to the round of 16 from the top spot today. She accounted for Kristyna STEFCOVA of Czech Republic (11-5 11-9 11-5 11-8) Hanna PATSEYEVA of Belarus (9-11 15-13 15-13 6-11 7-11 11-5 12-14) and Veronika MOSCONI of Italy (6-11 11-6 11-9 15-17 116-6 11-4). With only one defeat Italian representative crate the upset and reached the third day of the play. WAN Yuan of Germany needed full seven games to beat Andrea PAVLOVIC of Croatia (11-4 9-11 11-7 10-12 11-8 8-11 11-8) in the second round. “PAVLOVIC is a very dangerous player that is why I was so nervous. I have the strong service game but it is also very difficult to return her service. It was hard to control the game.” However victories against Maria YOVKOVA of Bulgaria and Ilka DOVAL of Norway came much easier. Andrea booked second position.
Legendary Soviet coach Yuriy GAZARIAN passed away
It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of legendary Soviet coach Yuriy GAZARIAN. GAZARIAN has passed away today at the age of 82. He was especially praised in Soviet Republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan. GAZARIAN`s coaching career has started in 1952 in his hometown Baku. During his tenure as a coach Yuriy raised more than 20 Soviet players who later became notable coaches by themselves. His most outstanding students were Nikolay NOVIKOV and Nina POGOSOVA. To his last days Gazarian was active member of Russian table tennis community providing his incredible knowledge to the youth. Participants of the STAG 2017 European Under 21 Championships showed respect by dedicationg a moment of silence during the todays program.
Shock outcomes take headlines in opening matches in Antibes
2017 ITTF Europe Top 16 Friday 3rd February marked the start of the 2017 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup competition in Antibes France and the morning session of action on the opening day was filled with much drama across both the Men’s and Women’s Singles categories. Emmanuel LEBESSON has given the home crowd plenty to cheer about after he picked up one of the biggest results in his professional career to date. Crowned Men’s Singles champion at the LIEBHERR 2016 European Championships LEBESSON was adamant about continuing his fine form and achieved a shock fifth game win over Vladimir SAMSONOV (15-13 4-11 11-6 6-11 9-11). “It’s a big win for me because I didn’t know my form before this tournament and I’m happy to beat this type of player because he is just hard player in the group and I know that this afternoon will also be very hard to win against two big players. It is really good to win the first match and to win as fast as you can because it’s the first match we will see this afternoon. I will try to rest to have energy for this afternoon…” Emmanuel LEBESSON. The fans were left stunned after the start of play at the Azur Arena as Marcos FREITAS champion from the 2014 Europe Top 12 competition suffered an opening match defeat. FREITAS is seeded fourth for the Men’s Singles competition and was hoping to get his campaign in Antibes off to a strong start. However the Portuguese competitor struggled to get into his encounter against Croatia’s Andrej GACINA and after just three games the match was over and ended up in GACINA’s favor (9-11 7-11 3-11). “I’m happy I played really well and I had good tactics. It was important to change the tactics all the time during the match I was leading the game all the time and this gave me confidence. I received his serve really well which was key and after that it was much easier. We are teammates in Russia we know each other very well we have played many times. I will give my best and see what happens” Andrej GACINA. Romania’s Bernadette SZOCS went into the day having never previously managed to progress beyond the group stages at the Europe Top 16. 2017 could well be her year however after she made the best possible start to the 2017 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup with a breath- taking 3-2 victory over Poland’s LI Qian (6-11 12-10 11-8 8-11 12-10). “I am really happy because I didn’t star well in the last two Europe Top 16 competition and I never went through the group stage. I beat a top player I’m really happy that I beat her because the last time I played against her I lost 0-3 but I have beaten her before. It’s a really good result for me” Bernadette SZOCS. Next up for SZOCS is a tie with Belarusian player Viktoria PAVLOVICH who also picked up a surprising win in her opening match as she saw off the no.4 seed LI Jie in straight games (11-7 14-12 12-10). Elsewhere in the Women’s Singles competition there was a fantastic performance from Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN who overcame the LIEBHERR 2016 European Championships Women’s Singles title winner HU Melek without dropping a single game (…) “I feel very good because I’ve had a long break. For about three years I didn’t play because of my injury and my baby and I’m happy to have a good result in the first match because I have a very tough group. Normally against Georgina POTA I win often and last time I lost also against Sofia Polcanova but this result is good for me and I hope in the next matches that I can do better” Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN.
Difficult start for home favourite Emmanuel LEBESSON
Draw for group stages of the 2017 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup announced The draw for the 2017 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup group stages was conducted at the Azur Arena in Antibes France and as it is to be expected there were eight positively exciting group drawn across the Men’s and Women’s Singles competitions. Emmanuel LEBESSON stunned the table tennis world stage in October of last year when he defied the odds to capture the Men’s Singles title at the LIEBHERR 2016 European Championships in Budapest. Now LEBESSON is preparing to participate in his first Europe Top 16 competition and a baptism of fire awaits for the Frenchman after his name was drawn alongside Vladimir SAMSONOV Tiago APOLONIA and KOU Lei in Group B. However LEBESSON is looking forward to the challenge ahead and is hoping to extend his stay at the competition beyond the group stage. “We knew before the tournament that it was going to be a tough group because only good players will be here. But I will try tomorrow to do the best that I can. I play all the time against these types of players and I will see how I go. I am not the favourite but I will try” Emmanuel LEBESSON. Another eye catching group sees the no.3 seed Timo BOLL joined by Stefan FEGERL Mattias KARLSSON and Panagiotis GIONIS. Boll is making his 11th appearance at the tournament but this will be the German player’s first participation at the event since it expanded from 12 to 16 players in 2015. Five time champion Boll has experience playing against FEGERL and GIONIS but is approaching his match with KARLSSON with caution. “I know Stefan and Panagiotis are very good Stefan is my teammate and Panagiotis played in my team for a few years but Mattias KARLSSON is the big question for me I’ve never played him and he has an unusual style so this will be quite challenging already in the first game.” Timo BOLL. Elsewhere in the Men’s Singles event Portugal’s Marcos FREITAS Sweden’s Kristian KARLSSON Croatia’s Andej GACINA and Russia’s Alexander SHIBAEV have been drawn into Group D while the top seed from Germany and reigning champion Dimitrij OVTCHAROV has been named in Group A with France’s Simon GAUZY Portugal’s Joao MONTEIRO and Jonathan GROTH of Denmark. Earlier in the day Barbora BALAZOVA of the Slovak Republic was brought in as a replacement for Kristin SILBEREISEN who withdrew her name from the tournament due to illness. BALAZOVA will make her debut at the event on Friday but she will need to be at her very best to negotiate a difficult group against Austria’s Liu Jia Germany’s Sabine Winter and Polina MIKHAILOVA of Russia. The player to occupy the top two places in each group will progress to the final eight and Group D looks likely to see an upset or two before its conclusion as LI Jie of the Netherlands will face a tough challenge from the likes of Poland’s Li Qian Victoria Pavlovich of Belarus and late entry Bernadette SZOCS who has travelled to the competition following the withdrawal from fellow Romanian player Elizabeta SAMARA. HU Melek enjoyed a fantastic year in 2016 and the European Women’s Singles champion from Turkey will require all of her skill in Group A of the 2017 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup with fixtures against Hungary’s Georgina Pota Romania’s Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN and Austria’s Sofia POLCANOVA. Group C has pitted Petrissa SOLJA Matilda EKHOLM Tetyana BILENKO and French player Stephanie LOEUILLETTE together. The 2017 ITTF Europe Top 16 Cup Men’s and Women’s Singles group stages will be played out on Friday 3rd February.
SIDORENKO: Home crowd gives me extra confidence
STAG 2017 European Under 21 Championships The opening day of the 2017 STAG European Under 21 Championships was packed with actions. The Group stages concluded today in Sochi and tomorrow we will continue with the group matches in phase two with eight groups. Two best players from each group will progress to the knock out phase. In Group one Belgium’s Martin ALLEGRO beat Ibrahim GÜNDÜZ of Turkey and Tom Jarvis of England to justified his status. On the other side JARVIS beat the odds and with victory over GÜNDÜZ progressed to the next phase (12-14 8-11 6-11 7-11). “The crucial moment was when I won the opening game. I was 7-10 down. Ibrahim is a very good player; this is important win for me ” said JARVIS who recently moved to play in Sweden. One of the biggest upsets in the morning program was created by Belgium’s Thibaut DARCIS. Seeded only at the position no. 50 he beat host nation ace no. 16 seed Konstantin CHERNOV (14-16 11-8 6-11 11-13 11-13). “It is always like that in the opening matches. It is hard for everyone and I seized my opportunity. I was better in tight finishes; little things prevailed. I was aware of his dangerous service game; in rallies I was very well. We had meet only two years ago but since then we both changed a lot in our games ” said DARCIS. Simon BERGLUND of Sweden overcame Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK of Austria in the opening round in the same group (11-8 11-5 9-11 11-7 11-2). KOLODZIEJCZYK also suffered by the hands of Konstantin CHERNOV of Russia (11-4 11-6 12-14 11-3 11-5) one round later. “I could not believe until the last game I could win ” said CHERNOV. BERGLUND beat DARCIS (11-9 11-8 11-8 11-9) at the end of the day. “I am in a very good shape and I am feeling good playing here ” said BERGLUND who finished first ahead of CHERNOV. In Group 5 Diogo CHEN won all three matches; he beat Samuel KALUZNY of Slovakia (11-9 5-11 9-11 11-8 11-9 11-1) Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS of Greece (11-9 11-5 11-9 11-3) and Carlo ROSSI of Italy (11-7 11-6 11-8 10-12 11-5). SGOUROPOULOS booked second position. In the opening game he prevailed against ROSSI (11-6 7-11 11-4 8-11 11-7 11-7). “I am not afraid of the competition here because I came well prepared. There are very good players in the hall now but I am just thinking about one step ahead. I am focused on my game ” said SGOUROPOULOS. In the opening round Sadi ISMAILOV of Russia beat Alexandru MANOLE of Romania in straight games (11-4 11-9 11-2 11-6). He showed no mercy. “I had to play that way. This is very important tournament for me. Look at the atmosphere – it is great. It is great to play in front of home crowd; my whole family is here. I cannot let this entire audience down. That is why I was so focused not to make easy mistakes especially in the opening match which is always hard ” said ISMAILOV. MANOLE overcame Florian CNUDDE of Belgium in direct battle for the second position (9-11 13-11 11-7 5-11 10-12 11-6 10-12). Vladimir SIDORENKO Russia’s military cadet overcame Aleksandr LUSIN of Estonia (11-6 6-11 11-8 11-8 11-6). “Playing at home gives me extra confidence. I am feeling good.” The youngest member of the Russia’s team 16 years old Vladimir continued in the same pace in the second round. He beat Group’s no. one QIU Dang of Germany (4-11 11-8 11-4 8-11 6-11 11-13). “It was very close at the end. Very tough duel ” said SIDORENKO. SIDORENKO suffered in the last round against Stanislav KUCERA of Czech Republic that launched QIU back to the top of the Group whilst Russia’s player finished second. In Group 7 Marek BADOWSKI of Poland is first ahead of Rares SIPOS of Romania. In the same group Medardas STANKEVICIUS of Lithuania suffered against BADOWSKI in the opening round (11-8 11-9 11-2 11-8) but managed to recover to beat Helshan WEERASINGHE of England (1-11 11-9 6-11 8-11 11-3 6-11). “I do not like short rallies but this time I was forced to change my tactics. WEERASINGHE forced me with his aggressive play ” said STANKEVICIUS who recovered from the injury.” I was out of the game for a six months but now everything is fine.” Patryk ZATOWKA of Poland was not in the mood for mercy today. He beat Mathan SIMON of Israel (11-7 1-7 12-10 12-14 7-11 11-6) Andreas LEVENKO of Austria (11-8 7-11 5-11 9-11 7-11) and Martin KHATCHANOV of Netherlands (11-8 11-5 11-7 11-8). “I am so full of confidence. I just knew I am going to win ” said ZATOWKA. LEVENKO is second. Janos Bence MAJOROS of Hungary confirmed his status as a leader in the Group three and beat Gleb SHAMRUK of Belarus but after full seven games match (7-11 7-11 9-11 13-11 11-6 11-8 11-8). “I am happy with the victory of course bust most important it is good to have such Championships. There are not plenty of opportunities to gain experience in the tough period between junior and senior category ” said MAJOROS. He also prevailed against Alexander VALUCH of Slovakia. Gleb SHAMRUK finished second. With two wins in two opening rounds Anders LIND of Denmark also progressed to the next phase of the competition. In the first round he beat Thomas GRINNIGER of Austria (10-12 11-8 11-4 11-6 11-5) and in next he prevailed against Dennis KLEIN of Germany (9-11 11-5 7-11 8-11 5-11). “ The opening game was very difficult. I had to attack a lot.”
