Jersey Open 2018 The beautiful Channel Island of Jersey is once again the venue for this highly popular 3 day table tennis tournament held over Easter. Many International and club players from the UK and Europe have graced the courts at the superb purpose built Geoff Reed Centre over the years and Table Tennis Jersey looks forward to welcoming new and old friends. Jersey is particularly beautiful in April and further information about the Island can be found on https://www.jersey.com
Germany’s top guns on duty in Magdeburg
Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open The Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open begins today with a qualification tournament whilst the main event commence on Friday 10th November. The crowd will have great opportunity to cheer for two best Europeans at the World Rankings host nations favorites Dimitrij OVTCHAROV and Timo BOLL seeded at the position no. three and four. Since the German Open joined the ITTF World Tour in 1999 BOLL has just claim to holding the status of the tournament’s most successful ever player. He has won the Men’s Singles title on four occasions the same as China’s Ma Long but in addition Timo BOLL has been the Men’s Singles runner up twice and the Men’s Doubles winner four times. Dimitrij Ovtcharov won in 2012 in Bremen and in 2014 in Magdeburg. Meanwhile China’s FAN Zhendong the top seed and ZHANG Jike the no.5 seed have both enjoyed success; conversely for colleague XU Xin the no.2 seed he has never appeared in a German Open final. In Women’s Singles Event China’s WU Yang is the defending champion Austria’s LIU Jia the host nation’s SHAN Xiaona and Japan’s Mima ITO are past winners; they all appear on the Women’s Singles entry list.
Germany’s top guns on duty in Magdeburg
Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open The Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open begins today with a qualification tournament whilst the main event commence on Friday 10th November. The crowd will have great opportunity to cheer for two best Europeans at the World Rankings host nations favorites Dimitrij OVTCHAROV and Timo BOLL seeded at the position no. three and four. Since the German Open joined the ITTF World Tour in 1999 BOLL has just claim to holding the status of the tournament’s most successful ever player. He has won the Men’s Singles title on four occasions the same as China’s Ma Long but in addition Timo BOLL has been the Men’s Singles runner up twice and the Men’s Doubles winner four times. Dimitrij Ovtcharov won in 2012 in Bremen and in 2014 in Magdeburg. Meanwhile China’s FAN Zhendong the top seed and ZHANG Jike the no.5 seed have both enjoyed success; conversely for colleague XU Xin the no.2 seed he has never appeared in a German Open final. In Women’s Singles Event China’s WU Yang is the defending champion Austria’s LIU Jia the host nation’s SHAN Xiaona and Japan’s Mima ITO are past winners; they all appear on the Women’s Singles entry list.
NING BOGDANOVA URSU and STANKEVICIUS will feel Olympic spirit
2018 Youth Olympic Games Continental Qualification – Europe in Split At the end of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games Continental Qualification – Europe in Split all eight passengers to Buenos Aires are known. After the third day NING Jing of Azerbaijan Nadezhda BOGDANOVA of Belarus Vladislav URSU of Moldova and Medardas STANKEVICIUS of Lithuania joined Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS of Greece Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia Mariia TAILAKOVA of Russia and Lucie GAUTHIER of France. Top seeded in Girls Singles Event NING Jing beat Sabina SURJAN of Serbia no. 4 seed (-8 7 8 4 5) Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania seeded no. 3 (6 -8 8 -8 3 5) and Veronika PEREBEINOS of Ukraine on her way to the final. Nadezhda BOGDANOVA of Belarus overcame Christina KALLBERG of Sweden no. 8 seed (9 6 -9 8 8) Franziska SCHREINER of Germany (5 6 -10 4 -12 -10 4) before she beat no. six seed Andrea PAVLOVIC of Croatia in semifinal (14 6 9 8). “I am happy I managed to reach the Youth Olympic Games but I do not know what I can expect there. There are so many players from Asia ” said Nadezhda. Andrea PAVLOVIC overcame Veronika PEREBEINOS for the place first reserve. Vladislav URSU reached the final after impressive run. He overcame Volodymyr LUSHNIKOV of Ukraine (-10 6 9 11 -6 1) Laurens DEVOS of Belgium (6 -9 5 10 -9 8) and no 5 seed Bastien REMBERT (5 -9 3 8 -7 9). “I had a very tough Group but at the end everything concluded well ” said URSU. Medardas STANKEVICIUS accounted for Jose Pedro FRANCISCO of Portugal (8 6 -9 7 -9 2) YU Khinhang of Azerbaijan (10 9 -14 -5 7 -10 9) Matteo MUTTI of Italy (12 11 10 -1 -8 9). “I did not expect I can make it. It makes victory even greater ” admitted STANKEVECIUS. Matteo MUTTI is first whilst Bastien REMBERT second reserve.
NING BOGDANOVA URSU and STANKEVICIUS will feel Olympic spirit
2018 Youth Olympic Games Continental Qualification – Europe in Split At the end of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games Continental Qualification – Europe in Split all eight passengers to Buenos Aires are known. After the third day NING Jing of Azerbaijan Nadezhda BOGDANOVA of Belarus Vladislav URSU of Moldova and Medardas STANKEVICIUS of Lithuania joined Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS of Greece Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia Mariia TAILAKOVA of Russia and Lucie GAUTHIER of France. Top seeded in Girls Singles Event NING Jing beat Sabina SURJAN of Serbia no. 4 seed (-8 7 8 4 5) Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania seeded no. 3 (6 -8 8 -8 3 5) and Veronika PEREBEINOS of Ukraine on her way to the final. Nadezhda BOGDANOVA of Belarus overcame Christina KALLBERG of Sweden no. 8 seed (9 6 -9 8 8) Franziska SCHREINER of Germany (5 6 -10 4 -12 -10 4) before she beat no. six seed Andrea PAVLOVIC of Croatia in semifinal (14 6 9 8). “I am happy I managed to reach the Youth Olympic Games but I do not know what I can expect there. There are so many players from Asia ” said Nadezhda. Andrea PAVLOVIC overcame Veronika PEREBEINOS for the place first reserve. Vladislav URSU reached the final after impressive run. He overcame Volodymyr LUSHNIKOV of Ukraine (-10 6 9 11 -6 1) Laurens DEVOS of Belgium (6 -9 5 10 -9 8) and no 5 seed Bastien REMBERT (5 -9 3 8 -7 9). “I had a very tough Group but at the end everything concluded well ” said URSU. Medardas STANKEVICIUS accounted for Jose Pedro FRANCISCO of Portugal (8 6 -9 7 -9 2) YU Khinhang of Azerbaijan (10 9 -14 -5 7 -10 9) Matteo MUTTI of Italy (12 11 10 -1 -8 9). “I did not expect I can make it. It makes victory even greater ” admitted STANKEVECIUS. Matteo MUTTI is first whilst Bastien REMBERT second reserve.
SGOUROPOULOS SIDORENKO TAILAKOVA and GAUTHIER booked their places for Argentina
2018 Youth Olympic Games Continental Qualification – Europe in Split At the end of the Day two at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games Continental Qualification – Europe in Split four passengers already booked their visas for Buenos Aires. In Split Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS of Greece and Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia reached the final of the Boy’s Singles Event whilst Mariia TAILAKOVA of Russia and Lucie GAUTHIER of France were the finalists of the Girls Event. European Champion from Portugal earlier this summer SGOUROPOULOS had a very big challenge from the very first match of the day. No. two seed meet leading player in Croatia Cristian PLETEA of Romania in the opening round and prevailed in six games (5 8 -9 9 -11 6). In second round he beat Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK of Austria no. 7 seed by same margin (-5 -6 8 4 9 5) before he overcame Truls MOREGARD OF Sweden seeded at position no. 4 in five games (11 12 9 -6 10). “I am very happy and I am looking forward my trip to Argentina. It will be first time for me and I will give my best to arrive there fully prepared ” said SGOUROPOULOS. No. three seed SIDORENKO had less stressful start against Medardas STANKEVICIUS of Lithuania (8 9 7 8). In second round he overcame Bastien REMBERT of France no 5 seed (7 -6 3 7 9) and then he eliminated the biggest upset of the event YU Khinhang of Azerbaijan (-5 7 -7 8 8 6). “The feeling is great. It will be my first Youth Olympics. My coach had a crucial role here. He managed to motivated me the right way. It is all about what is in your head. Here there are too many players and all of us have only one goal- to reach Argentina ” said SIDORENKO. On her way to Argentina GAUTHIER no 7 seed eliminated top seeded NING Jing of Azerbaijan in second round (-3 -10 -8 6 14 11 11). She beat Katarina STRAZAR OF Slovenia (9 3 3 -15 -10 3) and Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania no three seed (5 -5 8 10 -5 9). “I am overwhelmed by this victory. The match against the Azerbaijan representative was the toughest of my life. Now everything ends well and I am happy I will see Buenos Aires ” said Lucie. No. two seed TAILAKOVA overcame Anna WEGRZYN of Poland (6 -7 2 5 8) Jamila LAURENTI of Italy (-7 2 8 6 -8 -9 9) and Zdena BLASKOVA of Czech Republic. “The pressure was very high. It is very difficult to play tournaments like this. I knew I could reach Olympics it was my big dream ” said TAILAKOVA.
SGOUROPOULOS SIDORENKO TAILAKOVA and GAUTHIER booked their places for Argentina
2018 Youth Olympic Games Continental Qualification – Europe in Split At the end of the Day two at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games Continental Qualification – Europe in Split four passengers already booked their visas for Buenos Aires. In Split Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS of Greece and Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia reached the final of the Boy’s Singles Event whilst Mariia TAILAKOVA of Russia and Lucie GAUTHIER of France were the finalists of the Girls Event. European Champion from Portugal earlier this summer SGOUROPOULOS had a very big challenge from the very first match of the day. No. two seed meet leading player in Croatia Cristian PLETEA of Romania in the opening round and prevailed in six games (5 8 -9 9 -11 6). In second round he beat Maciej KOLODZIEJCZYK of Austria no. 7 seed by same margin (-5 -6 8 4 9 5) before he overcame Truls MOREGARD OF Sweden seeded at position no. 4 in five games (11 12 9 -6 10). “I am very happy and I am looking forward my trip to Argentina. It will be first time for me and I will give my best to arrive there fully prepared ” said SGOUROPOULOS. No. three seed SIDORENKO had less stressful start against Medardas STANKEVICIUS of Lithuania (8 9 7 8). In second round he overcame Bastien REMBERT of France no 5 seed (7 -6 3 7 9) and then he eliminated the biggest upset of the event YU Khinhang of Azerbaijan (-5 7 -7 8 8 6). “The feeling is great. It will be my first Youth Olympics. My coach had a crucial role here. He managed to motivated me the right way. It is all about what is in your head. Here there are too many players and all of us have only one goal- to reach Argentina ” said SIDORENKO. On her way to Argentina GAUTHIER no 7 seed eliminated top seeded NING Jing of Azerbaijan in second round (-3 -10 -8 6 14 11 11). She beat Katarina STRAZAR OF Slovenia (9 3 3 -15 -10 3) and Andreea DRAGOMAN of Romania no three seed (5 -5 8 10 -5 9). “I am overwhelmed by this victory. The match against the Azerbaijan representative was the toughest of my life. Now everything ends well and I am happy I will see Buenos Aires ” said Lucie. No. two seed TAILAKOVA overcame Anna WEGRZYN of Poland (6 -7 2 5 8) Jamila LAURENTI of Italy (-7 2 8 6 -8 -9 9) and Zdena BLASKOVA of Czech Republic. “The pressure was very high. It is very difficult to play tournaments like this. I knew I could reach Olympics it was my big dream ” said TAILAKOVA.
Great run for Nadezdha BOGDANOVA
2018 Youth Olympic Games Continental Qualification – Europe in Split Day one at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games Continental Qualification – Europe in Split concluded with few upsets. In the Group stage of the Boy’s Singles Event the biggest upset came from YU Khinhang of Azerbaijan who beat no. two seed Greek’s Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS. Further the draw showed no mercy. We will see the clash between no. one seed Cristian PLETEA of Romania and SGOUROPOULOS at the very start of the Day two in the knock out phase. The great clash between the European champion from Greece and the winner of the Europe Top 10 from Romania is scheduled for the first round. Unlike SGOUROPOULOS Cristian PLETEA cruised toward second day of the competition as well as other favorites: no. three Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia and no four seed Truls MOREGARD of Sweden. Laurens DEVOS of Belgium upset the favorite. He recorded all three wins in Group 8. He accounted for Kay STUMPER of Germany the leading name in his Group. In the Girl’s Singles Events two lower ranked players crated the upsets. Zdena BLASKOVA of Czech Republic pushed host nation’s player Andrea PAVLOVIC to second position in Group 6 with surprising victory. There were no comfort with draw for Croatia’s player. She will meet no one seed NING Jing of Azerbaijan tomorrow. Zdena will meet Franziska SCHREINER of Germany. Nadezdha BOGDANOVA of Belarus followed the same path. She overcame no. 8 seed Christina KALLBERG of Sweden. KALLBERG will play against Andreaa DRAGOMAN of Romania tomorrow whilst Nadezdha will meet Jamila LAURENTI of Italy. Top four seeds NING Jing Mariia TAILAKOVA of Russia Dragoman and Sabina SURJAN of Serbia concluded the day undefeated.
Great run for Nadezdha BOGDANOVA
2018 Youth Olympic Games Continental Qualification – Europe in Split Day one at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games Continental Qualification – Europe in Split concluded with few upsets. In the Group stage of the Boy’s Singles Event the biggest upset came from YU Khinhang of Azerbaijan who beat no. two seed Greek’s Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS. Further the draw showed no mercy. We will see the clash between no. one seed Cristian PLETEA of Romania and SGOUROPOULOS at the very start of the Day two in the knock out phase. The great clash between the European champion from Greece and the winner of the Europe Top 10 from Romania is scheduled for the first round. Unlike SGOUROPOULOS Cristian PLETEA cruised toward second day of the competition as well as other favorites: no. three Vladimir SIDORENKO of Russia and no four seed Truls MOREGARD of Sweden. Laurens DEVOS of Belgium upset the favorite. He recorded all three wins in Group 8. He accounted for Kay STUMPER of Germany the leading name in his Group. In the Girl’s Singles Events two lower ranked players crated the upsets. Zdena BLASKOVA of Czech Republic pushed host nation’s player Andrea PAVLOVIC to second position in Group 6 with surprising victory. There were no comfort with draw for Croatia’s player. She will meet no one seed NING Jing of Azerbaijan tomorrow. Zdena will meet Franziska SCHREINER of Germany. Nadezdha BOGDANOVA of Belarus followed the same path. She overcame no. 8 seed Christina KALLBERG of Sweden. KALLBERG will play against Andreaa DRAGOMAN of Romania tomorrow whilst Nadezdha will meet Jamila LAURENTI of Italy. Top four seeds NING Jing Mariia TAILAKOVA of Russia Dragoman and Sabina SURJAN of Serbia concluded the day undefeated.
Three Cities Bid for 2020 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has confirmed expressions of interest from three cities to host the 2020 World Team Table Tennis Championships after the closing of the interest phase on 15 October 2017. The expressions of interest were received by Ekateringburg (Russia) Busan (Korea Republic) and San Jose (USA) to bring the world’s biggest table tennis event and the best teams into their city. The bid from San Jose also meant that USA is in the running to have the second only ITTF World Championships to be held outside Asia & Europe the first and only being in Cairo Egypt in 1939. This portrays the global rise of table tennis especially in North America who have successfully hosted the last two editions of the ITTF Women’s World Cup in the USA and Canada. ITTF CEO Steve DAINTON stated “We are glad to receive expressions of interest from three new cities to bid for the hosting of the 2020 edition which is a sign that more cities are now interested in bringing major table tennis events into their annual calendar.” “The World Table Tennis Championships is the world’s biggest table tennis stage and the ITTF’s most important event of the year that brings great opportunity for city promotion and tourism boost for the host city. With the success of the recently concluded edition in Düsseldorf Germany I believe it was a great motivation for Ekateringburg Busan and San Jose to bid for the hosting of the event in 2020.” The ITTF President Thomas WEIKERT added: “Having three cities showing strong interest is a clear sign that the new ITTF management’s hard work is paying off and is well supported around the world. We have been promoting the benefits of hosting the world’s biggest table tennis event more strongly as well as looking at how to make the event more successful to ensure its long future. All of this on the back of one of the best ever World Championships this year in Germany shows that the ITTF is performing better than ever before and we are so happy to have three fantastic cities keen to host the World Championships.” The Liebherr 2017 World Table Tennis Championships which was held in Düsseldorf Germany from 29 May to 5 June 2017 was followed by over 355.6 million audiences worldwide and smashed social & viewership records of any table tennis event in history. Following the closing of the interest phase the three interested cities will have to submit their detailed bids and commitment to bid which the ITTF Selection panel will analyze and conduct inspections in the bid phase which closes on 1 February 2018. The ITTF Executive Committee will then have to decide on the final shortlist by 15 February. The shortlisted bidders will be invited to present their final bid book to the ITTF and all National Associations for voting at the ITTF Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Halmstad Sweden where a final decision on the host will be made.
