Managers expectations for the 2017/18 TTCLM – ANDREEV: “All players of our team are in good form and ready to compete for the new title” PREUSS: “Our goal is to reach the final again and to fight for the title” Top two seeds and 2016/17 TTCLM finalists champion Fakel Gazprom Orenburg (actual no. 1 seed) and runner-up Borussia Dusseldorf (no. 2) are planning to meet again in the final showdown next spring. Speaking about expectations for the Round 1 two managers emphasize that their clubs have the highest possible aims. “Many teams have very strong players – the leading players of the world and Europe. The path to victory will be very difficult. We need the highest skill many forces both psychological and physical. All players of our team are in good form and ready to compete for the new TTCLM title. We wish everyone good luck in the new season of the European Champions League” stated Orenburg`s manager Victor ANDREEV whose side will host K.S. Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki in the Group A Round 1 game (Sep 28 15:00 CET). Borussia commences new season against Hennebont (Group D) playing on its soil (Sep 29 18:30 CET). Manager Andreas PREUSS speaks: “We had a fantastic year in 2016/17 when we played the TTCL-final against Orenburg. We have great players and a special team spirit and so it´s our goal is to reach the final again and to fight for the title. But first of all we have to play group stage with the strong teams Dzialdowo and Hennebont. The first match on Friday in our hall ARAG CenterCourt will be already a very important one.” Coach of German team Danny HEISTER confirmed that his side faces Hennebont in a good shape: “We already started in German Bundesliga and had European Championships a few days ago. So we are happy to start now in the new TTCL season too. Our players are in a good shape and so I hope that we will open this TTCL-year with a victory against Hennebont. The French team with Chen Pitchford and Robinot is tough and we have to play on a high level to beat it.” In other Group D clash Danish side Roskilde travels do Poland to play against TTCLM newcomer K.S. Dekorglass Dzialdowo. Team manager-player of Roskilde Allan BENTSEN is happy that his club will play again in this prestigious competition: “Roskilde Bordtennis BTK61 looks forward to play in the Champions League once more. It will even this year be a hard one but we hope that our players can play some good matches and show some good table tennis. We specially look forward to present all the good players in Roskilde. Our team is ready to fight for some win in the group matches. ZHAI looks really good so hope he can continue his good performance from last year”.
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen beats TTC Ostrava 2016 in four games
German side won 3:1 in the opening match of the 2017/18 TTCLM season Simon GAUZY provided two points German TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen beats Czech Republic`s TTC Ostrava 2016 3:1 in the opening game of the 2017/18 Table Tennis Champions League Men. Actual individual silver medalist of the 2016 European Championships Simon GAUZY was man of the match providing two points to the 2009 TTCLM runner-up. The best ranked French player on the ITTF World Ranking list current no. 16 beat both Tomas TREGLER and Panagiotis GIONIS. GAUZY defeated TREGLER in straight games of the opener. Guest actual World no. 135 showed better table tennis than his ITTF ranking speaks. He forced Frenchman to play his best losing all three sets by a narrow margin. Current World No. 26 Hugo CALDERANO defeated no. 27 Panagiotis GIONIS after full five games. Host refused to give up in late fourth set in spite of being three points down (7:10) but managed to level the score at 10:10. Greek won that game (concluded with a nice serve on Calderano`s backhand side) and pushed encounter to the fifth set. However CALDERANO dominated in the deciding game winning it 11:5. Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC (actual World no. 119) who spent several seasons in Bundesliga won unique point for Ostrava as he beat Joao GERALDO (no. 77) in straight games. Serbian player dominated in the opening set collecting points thanks to his powerful backhand like in his best days (10:1). Other two sets he won by a narrow margin. GAUZY provided first victory to his side as he overcame GIONIS in four sets. Leading Ochsenhausen`s player did his job tonight… 2017/18 TTCLM Round 1 Group C TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen – TTC Ostrava 2016 3:1 Simon GAUZY – Tomas TREGLER 3:0 (12:10 11:9 12:10) Hugo CALDERANO – Panagiotis GIONIS 3:2 (14:12 8:11 11:8 10:12 11:5) Joao GERALDO – Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC 0:3 (2:11 10:12 12:14) Simon GAUZI – Panagiotis GIONIS 3:1 (11:2 8:11 11:5 11:5)
TTCLM GROUP B: There will be big fight for the quarterfinals!
Round 1 will be held this Thursday and Friday: UMMC – Chartres (Sep 28 16:00 CET) Saarbrücken – Eslovs (Sep 29 19:00 CET). – What Slobodan GRUJIC (Saarbrucken) and Tatiana KUTERGINA (UMMC) expect from their teams…. Group B is probably best balanced out of all four groups in the 2017/18 Table Tennis Champions League Men as it has three former TTCLM runner-ups UMMC Chartres and Eslovs and 2011/12 semi-finalist Saarbrucken. In the opening round Russian club hosts Chartres whilst Swedish side travels to Saarbrucken. “Of course we want to see our rookie Maharu YOSHIMURA (world no. 25) in the game although I understand that this will be his first match for UMMC and it is quite possible that he will be worried. Nevertheless I hope for the better” says Tatiana KUTERGINA coach of no. 4 seed UMMC. “Unfortunately our Russian players – Grigory VLASOV and Alexander SHIBAEV – still suffer from old injuries: SHIBAEV has a problem with his knee and VLASOV – with his back. However all the athletes have already arrived and started training; we still have time to properly prepare for the match. “ KUTERGINA stressed that Chartres is a serious contender: “Few years ago this team played in the final of the TTCLM. Our old friend Robert GARDOS plays for this team and we very well know his ability to pull off the most difficult matches. There is information that one of the leaders of Chartres Par GERELL will not come to the opening match of the Champions League in Verkhnaya Pyshma. However with any team we will do our best to win. After all fans have missed table tennis: because of the European Championship this season starts a little later so we cannot disappoint our fans. “ TTCLM no. 5 seed Saarbrucken enters new season with same top four players: World no. 39 Tiago APOLONIA no. 53 Patrick FRANZISKA no. 62 Bojan TOKIC and no. 91 Patrick BAUM. Coach Slobodan GRUJIC who won twice TTCLM as a player stated: “There will be big fight for the quarterfinals in our group bearing in mind that we have four equal teams. That`s why we must be ready from the very first match and to use an advantage playing in front of our fans. I hope that our players will have special motivation as each of them took medal at the recent 2017 ITTF LIEBHERR European Championships in Luxembourg.” No. 14 Eslovs created one of biggest upsets in the TTCLM history two seasons ago. Finalists from that season XU Hui and Robert SVENSSON will lead again their side. Eslov`s PR Viktor SODERLUND said that his side will play for the victory n Germany: “We are excited for the first match in the 2017/2018 Champions League. We have respect for the Saarbrucken team who seems to be a strong team but we go for the victory on Friday!”
African Champion Aruna QUADRI to debut in TTCLM
“I am really so happy that my dream of playing with the best in Europe is becoming a reality” stated QUADRI By Olalekan OKUSAN ITTF Africa Press Officer African Champion – Aruna QUADRI has scored another first as the Nigerian and African to feature in the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) Champions League this year. QUADRI who plies his trade with Portuguese league champion – Sporting Lisbon will lead his team in the six-team championship (group stage) which kicks off in September across Europe. First game his side plays away against two times TTCLM champion AS Pontoise Cergy on September 28th. In the seeding for the 16 teams QUADRI’s Sporting Lisbon is rated 13 as the only team from Portugal competing against star-studded teams from Germany France Russia Poland Sweden Austria Denmark and Czech Republic. An excited QUADRI said that he cannot wait to compete in the tournament as the best players in the world feature in the lucrative league. “I am really so happy that my dream of playing with the best in Europe is becoming a reality. It is indeed a new challenge for me because my president and coach are not really happy that we might lose early in the tournament and ended up not making it to the ETTU Cup for the third placed team in the group of four teams. They actually wanted us to play the ETTU Cup but our European ranking was good enough to qualify us for the Champions league and that was why we were included in the 16-team tournament ” he said.
2018 European Championships in Alicante offers a new innovative concept
The European Table Tennis Union is pleased to announce the 2018 European Championships (individual events) have been awarded to the Real Federación Espanola de Tenis de Mesa to be held in the city of Alicante Spain from 18th to 23rd September 2018. ETTU President Ronald Kramer is delighted with the choice for Alicante for hosting the 2018 European Championships. “Not only because of the city and its facilities but more so because of the Table Tennis Festival concept that the Spanish Table Tennis Association and the city are working on. I sincerely congratulate our Spanish Association with their proposal to look for new ways to enhance the attractiveness of our sport. This innovative concept combines our wish to see the best players from Europe participating in our individual championships supported by table tennis fans who can play their own ‘holiday’ matches and visit the European Championships matches as spectators. The tourist city of Alicante – with its experience in hosting the World Veterans Championships in 2016 – in cooperation with the Spanish Table Tennis Association should be more than capable to meet the challenges of this new concept ” said ETTU President KRAMER. Real Federación Espanola de Tenis de Mesa President Miguel Angel MACHADO is looking forward another big event in Spain. “I am very pleased with the awarding of the 2018 European Table Tennis Championshps to the Spanish Table Tennis Federation and to the city of Alicante. Alicante organised the World Veterans Championships in 2016 and we are delighted to have another big table tennis experience in this beatiful city” The hosts are preparing completely new concept for the 2018 edition of the Championships. “I am very happy to contribute to this project. The 2018 European Table Tennis Championships in Alicante will be a new challenge for the Spanish Table Tennis Federation as it was the World Veterans Championships held in this city in 2016. For next year we would like also to start with a new concept with the organisation of the European Table Tennis Championships as the main sports event of a big EURO TABLE TENNIS FESTIVAL with sports education entertainement and solidarity as a much wider frame of this table tennis event; we would like to have a full table tennis atmosphere during the week of the European Table Tennis Championships ” said Jordi SERRA CEO of the 2016 World Veteran Championships or the former ITTF Executive Director for the period 2000 to 2012.
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen and TTC Ostrava 2016 open 20th edition of TTCLM
First out of eight Round 1 games will be held this Wednesday in Germany (Sep 27 19:00 CET). Defending champion Orenburg again No.1 seed and clear favorite having three Top 10 players at the ITTF World Ranking list The 20th edition of the Table Tennis Champions League Men will be opened this Wednesday by the Group C match between TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen and TTC Ostrava 2016. Seven more Round 1 games are scheduled for this Thursday and Friday (September 28th and 29th). Bearing in mind all facts – one out of it is that five Top 10 players from the ITTF Ranking list will participate: No. 4 Dimitrij OVTCHAROV No. 6 Timo BOLL No. 7 WONG Chun Ting No.8 Jun MIZUTANI No. 10 Vladimir SAMSONOV – we can expect one of the best TTCLM seasons so far. GROUP A Winners of the last six seasons are favorites of Group A four times champion and actual title holder TTC Fakel Gazprom and double winner AS Pontoise Cergy. Russian club plays against K.S. Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki from Poland while French team hosts newcomer from Portugal Sporting Clube de Portugal. No. 1 seed Orenburg continues with its strong line-up: Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (actual World No. 4) Jun MIZUTANI (No. 8) Vladimir SAMSONOV (No. 10). Club signed World No. 132 Alexey LIVENTSOV having also promising 18-year-old player Denis IVONIN. No. 8 seed Pontoise still has Marcos FREITAS (No. 17) as their leading player followed with two more familiar names: Tristan FLORE (No. 44) and Niagol STOYANOV (No. 154). One of most talented French players Can AKKUZU (No. 123) are ready for his TTCLM debut. No. 12 seed Bogoria targets quarter-finals with two strong international names: actual World No. 19 Japanese Masaki YOSHIDA (reached his best place No. 18 last month) and non-ranked Chinese HAN Chuanxi who was one of the best players of the 2016/17 Swedish Super League playing for Halmstad BTK. HAN had 10-1 individual score (he beat among others Eslovs` XU Hui who has one the beset individual scores in last couple of TTCLM seasons). Coach Tomasz REDZIMSKI believes that HAN could be a good replacement for Greek Panagiotis GIONIS. Other Bogoria`s members are No. 99 Daniel GORAK and No. 162 Pavel SIRUCEK. No. 13 seed Sporting starts its very first TTCLM season with two Top 50 players: No. 33 Aruna QUADRI (after Omar ASSAR from Egypt No. 31 best ranked African player) and No. 48 Joao MONTEIRO. Two options for the team`s no. 3 in the line-up will be No. 185 QUADRI`s compatriot Bode ABIODUN (Nigeria) and No. 278 Diogo CARVALHO. GROUP B Three TTCLM runner-ups will play in the Group B UMMC Chartres and Eslovs and one forms semi-finalist Saarbrucken. In the opening round Russian club hosts Chartres whilst Swedish side travels to Saarbrucken. No. 4 UMMC again has well balanced squad. This time their best ranked player will be Japanese Maharu YOSHIMURA (No. 25) while last season`s trio is still on disposal for the coach Tatiana KUTERGINA: No. 36 Alexander SHIBAEV No. 51 Andrej GACINA No. 98 Grigory VLASOV. No. 5 Saarbrucken didn’t have significant changes. Two promising players 19-year-old Czech Republic Tomas POLANSKY (No. 180) and 20-year-old Slovenian Deni KOZUL (No. 226) have been added to No. 39 Tiago APOLONIA No. 53 Patrick FRANZISKA No. 62 Bojan TOKIC No. 91 Patrick BAUM. No. 10 Chartres is not strong as it was in GAO Ning `s era but still has good players. They are No. 39 Par GERELL No. 57 Robert GARDOS No. 134 Alexandre ROBINOT No. 169 Romain LORENTZ. No. 14 Eslovs created one of biggest upsets in the TTCLM history two seasons ago. XU Hui and Robert SVENSSON experienced TTCLM final playing many exciting games in this prestigious competition. Two more names will be Hungary`s No. 192 Daniel KOSIBA and No. 332 15-year-old domestic player Truls MOREGARD. GROUP C The 2009 TTCLM runner-up TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen (no. 3 seed) and actual ETTU Cup Men winner Stella Sport La Romagne (no. 7) are the best ranked Group C teams. German side hosts TTC Ostrava 2016 in the Round 1 while French club welcomes Austrian SPG Walter Wels No. 3 seed Ochsenhausen secured its promising team for the upcoming seasons. They showed against Borussia last year in the quarter-final stage how they could be dangerous. Same quintet will represent German club in the 2017/18 season all five born from 1994 to 1996: World No. 16 Simon GAUZY No. 26 Hugo CALDERANO No. 32 Yuto MURAMATSU No. 59 Jakub DYJAS No. 77 Joao GERALDO. The 2016 silver medalist in the Singles Event of the LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships GAUZY is the oldest one being 22 year old. No. 7 seed Stella Sport La Romagne has the same trio who won 2016/17 ETTU Cup Men: Chinese WEI Shihao No. 84 Adrian CRISAN. They beat Angers twice in the final as WEI overcame twice in straight games 2016 individual ECH gold medalist Emmanuel LEBESSON. Ollivier BRICE is fourth player of this French side. No. 11 seed Ostrava hopes that two experienced players two former individual bronze medalists from European Championships can provide them good results in the upcoming season. They are current World No. 27 Panagiotis GIONIS and No. 119 Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC. Other Ostrava`s players are No. 135 Tomas TREGLER No. 301 Ondrej BAJGER and legend of Czech table tennis Petr KORBEL. No. 15 seed SPG Walter Wels` leading player will be World No. 61 Korean CHO Seungmin. He joined two players from the 2016/17 line-up World No. 163 Zsolt PETO and Chinese WANG Jianjun as well as Dominique PLATTNER and newcomer World No. 151 Robin DEVOS who replaced Mihai BOBOCICA. GROUP D TTCLM record holder ten times champion Borussia Dusseldorf faces a real challenge in the Group D in the battle for the top spot. Timo BOLL & Co. comence against French Hennebont while the strong newcomer from Poland K.S. Dekorglass Dzialdowo expects Roskilde Bordtennis BTK 61 No. 2 seed
Lin & Wang Claim First ITTF World Tour Titles in Austria
LIN Gaoyuan & WANG Mangyu China’s next generation of table tennis superstars took their first step to stardom today by becoming champions at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Hybiome Austrian Open in Linz Austria. Fresh from his 2017 ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup victory just last week in India LIN was on fire against YAN An (CHN) in the final racing to a 3-0 lead to start his road to glory today 24 September 2017. Despite YAN having much more experience than the 24-year-old LIN the up and coming star of global table tennis dominated the match to start to finish to claim his first ITTF World Tour 12-10 11-9 12-10 10-12 11-7. LIN who had to fight through qualification to even make the main draw of the event stated: “I’m very happy to be able win my first World Tour title claiming another title after the Asian Cup with such a tight schedule. “I was looking forward to making my first appearance at the World Tour final but nervous at the same time especially playing against Yan An he has won World Tour titles in the past. I think I played well on court in the final. I have played in so many World Tour events and now finally with a title it’s a dream come true for me.” In the Women’s Singles battle for Gold it was a matchup between two up & coming stars WANG Manyu (CHN) and GU Yuting (CHN) both fighting for a career first ITTF World Tour title. The more experienced WANG who had made it to the finals at the Qatar and Australian Open earlier this year eventually prevailed over first time World Tour finalist GU to take the title 4-0 (11-9 12-10 11-2 11-9). “Even though I won 4-0 three of the games were won by a narrow 2-points difference so it’s not as easy as the overall 4-0 seems ” stated the 18-year-old. “Of course I’m happy with the victory I have lost 2 final matches on the World Tour this year so this victory is definitely a breakthrough for me. It’s my first World Tour title with a first there will be a second a third and so on. I hope this will be a good start for me.” Chinese duo CHEN Xingtong & SUN Yingsha toppled top seeded Japanese pair of Honoka HASHIMOTO and Hitomi SATO to claim another Women’s Doubles title in 2017 with a 3-2 (4-11 11-7 7-11 12-10 11-4) victory. Lost in the Women’s Doubles final Japan fought hard for the Men’s Doubles title in Linz with Koki NIWA and Jin UEDA taking the crown 3-1 (11-7 9-11 11-9 11-8) over German pair Ruwen FILUS and Ricardo WALTHER on their first partnership. There are just two ITTF World Tour events left for the world’s top players to gain #Race2Astana points for the Seamaster 2017 World Tour Grand Finals to be held in Astana Kazakhstan. With the conclusion of the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum Austrian Open the world’s top table tennis stars have some time off before preparing for the Men’s & Women’s World Cups later next month: Liebherr 2017 ITTF Men’s World Cup – 20-22 Oct 2017 Liege (BEL) Uncle Pop 2017 ITTF Women’s World Cup presented by Polar Naturals – 27-29 Oct 2017 Markham (CAN)
Anna HURSEY goes down in history
11-year-old Wales` girl played her first LIEBHERR European Championships in Luxembourg last week Anna HURSEY of Wales goes down in history proudly stated Table Tennis Association of Wales! This 11-year-old girl played her first LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships in Luxembourg last week. Fresh from winning the EuroMinis and Qualifying for the ITTF Hopes Team for the World Cadet Challenge in Fiji in October coaching staff of the TTAW thought it may be a risk to put her in the line-up of the senior national team. She played in the Challenge Division having 4-2 individual score in her six matches. It was a great experience for Anna as she was the youngest player by far competing in Luxembourg or for any European Championships ever possibly stated TTAW. Anna HURSEY`s performances in Luxembourg Challenge Division`s Group stage Wales – Bulgaria 3:1 Anna HURSEY – Kalina HRISTOVA 3:0 (11:5 12:10 11:7) Wales – Turkey 2:3 Anna HURSEY – Ece HARAC 3:2 (11:9 11:8 5:11 8:11 11:5) Wales – Azerbaijan 1:3 Anna HURSEY – ZHOU Chuyi 0:3 (7:11 8:11 1:11) Games for 25th to 32nd places Wales – Israel 3:1 Anna HURSEY – Shelli GELMAN 3:1 (11:5 11:7 11:6) Wales – Belgium 0:3 Anna HURSEY – Margo DEGRAEF 2:3 (13:11 8:11 12:14 12:10 10:12 Wales – Slovak Republic 2:3 Anna HURSEY – Lucia TRUKSOVA 3:1 (11:6 8:11 11:9 12:10)
54-year-old Ni Xialian Wins Longest Table Tennis Match in Modern History
54-year-old NI Xialian (LUX) has made history today at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Hybiome Austrian Open winning the longest table tennis match in modern history that lasted 1 hours 32 minutes and 44 seconds. The legendary two-time European Champion upset world number 13 Honoka HASHIMOTO 4-3 (9-11 5-11 11-6 11-6 5-11 16-14 18-16) to prevail in the table tennis marathon. The marathon match overtook the epic match between LI Jie and Hitomi Sato at this year’s Qatar Open which lasted just under 1 hour and 30 minutes. “Unforgettable match and wonderful wonderful to win ” shared an elated NI after her hard-earned victory. The match overrun so much that the umpires had to call for the expedite rule in the decider to quicken the pace of the memorable encounter. “I have never had the experience of playing with the expedite rule in my entire career I’m a penholder usually I play fast so today is a very special experience for me. I was nearly out I had so many match points but because I’m not experienced enough I couldn’t close the match. It’s never too late to learn!” stated the 54-year-old legend. NI had to recover from 0-2 games down at the start fighting back to level 2-2 and eventually overcoming her 19-year-old opponent 18-16 to advance to the round of 16. “She was leading 2-0 3-2 but I managed to fight back. I’m really strong I’m really proud of myself! At my age now it’s really tough for me with stamina problems with my knee and the lack the lack of training but I’m really excited that I never gave up in the match and finally made it.” NI will be facing off with HASHIMOTO’s teammate Hina HAYATA tomorrow in the round of 16. The Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum Hybiome Austrian Open continues tomorrow with the Men’s & Women’s Singles Round of 16 playoffs as well as Men’s & Women’s Doubles Quarterfinals.
LIEBHERR 2018 World TT Championships: All European national teams are known
The upcoming championships will be held in Halmstad Sweden 29 Apr 2018 – 6 May 2018. The Old Continent will be represented by 29 men`s and 26 women`s teams All European participants for the LIEBHERR 2018 World Table Tennis Championships are announced according to the previous WTTC results and fixed continental quotas. The Championships will be held in the west coast Swedish city of Halmstad between 29 April to 6 May 2018. The LIEBHERR 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships will welcome 72 men’s and 72 women’s team in all divisions. In total 144 teams from 100 nations. Previous WTTC result quota includes top 2 of 3rd and 4th Divisions (top 32 finishers + 49th-50th and 73rd-74th places). Continental qualification quota is fixed and in addition to the previous WTTC result quota (9 teams) Regarding Men`s Team Event England tops the list of the European participants as bronze medalist from the 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championship held in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. It was historical success for Liam PITCHFORD Paul DRINKHALL and Sam WALKER. Other national teams placed in the Top 16 are Sweden (5th place host of the 2018 WTTC) Portugal France (both quarter-finalist) Croatia Austria Poland (three 9th placed teams) Germany Czech Republic (all three 13th) Ukraine and Russia (both 15th). Italy Denmark and Romania shared 17th spot followed by Belarus Greece (both 21st) Serbia (27th) Belgium Spain (29th) and Luxembourg (49th). Nine teams invited according to the continental qualification quota are the fallowing: Slovenia Slovakia Turkey Hungary Netherlands Lithuania Finland Israel and Switzerland. Women`s teams who finished among Top 32 last year in Malaysia secured their places for the LIEBHERR 2018 WTTC. First of others two quarter-finalist Netherlands and Germany (5th place) as well as Austria Ukraine Romania (all three at the 9th place) Hungary (13th) Belarus Czech Republic (15th) Poland France Russia (17th) Spain (21st) Sweden (21st and host) Luxembourg (26th) Serbia Croatia (27th) Switzerland (29th). Nine more participants will be the following: Portugal Slovenia Italy Azerbaijan Turkey England Lithuania Belgium and Greece.
