Romania is in the final of the LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships in Luxembourg. Like in 2015 in Ekaterinburg and in 2013 in Schwechat they will meet Germany. In both previous occasions as well as in 2011 and 2010 against Netherlands the team was halted at the ultimate hurdle. Romania has three titles so far.   “We want that gold again. We won so many silver medals now it is time for title. It is going to be open match against Germany. It will be all about tactics and the right team draw but I believe we can make it ” said Elizabeta SAMARA.   They reached the ultimate stage after impressive straight match victory over Russia although it did not start that impressive. Elizabeta SAMARA currently ranked at the position no. 7 in Europe was stretched to full distance in the match against Yana NOSKOVA Europe’s no. 39 (11:9 6:11 1:11 11:8 11:7).   “We played together for four years in the same club. Russia’s national coach was my coach in the same club. If you look to the picture from that perspective it says much. There was no way I can prepare some special tactics my ultimate advantage was my mental strength. When it came to the fifth game I was stronger more focused and determined but even in the last game NOSKOVA came close in the middle section. I called for time out and then I concluded the match in my favor” explained SAMARA.   Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN concluded her match in furious style. Polina MIKHAILOVA was always one step back (11:6 11:7 11:9).   “I have to admit I was afraid of this match. Polina played in superb shape here in Luxembourg. On the other side I am not very happy when I have to play against the player with defensive style. She is not entirely defensive player she is also good with attack but nevertheless I study her game very well because I knew it is not going to be easy ” said Daniela.   Bernadette SZOCS overcame Olga VOROBEVA (15:17 13:11 11:7 11:5).   “It is good for the team spirit and self confidence that we all won point each. I am so happy that I contributed ” said SZOCS.   Polina was disappointed.   ”Today was not our day because we played less well than expected and also anticipated a better result than 3-0. We haven’t played the Romanian team for a number of years and we have never beaten them but we are aware that a bronze medal is the lowest objective we wanted to achieve here as a Russian national team…Some matches and games today were really close but I cannot say that I or the others did anything wrong or that we lacked the mental strength to turn around games or matches when we were 2-1 up plus a lead in the 4th game. On some days you win such matches and on others you don’t….”  

Germany booked another final of the European Championships. In Luxembourg in the semi final of the Women’s Teams Event at the LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships reigning champions will fight for the sixth crown third in the row. Much harder then the rankings predicted they overcame Netherlands on their way to the ultimate stage.   It was Dutch team who was only ranked third in their Group who had a better start. LI Jie needed four games to overcame SHAN Xiaona (11:13 11:8 15:13 11:8) but it did not took long before champions stroke back. HAN Ying responded fiercely and beat Britt EERLAND (2:11 3:11 5:11).   “I did not expect such a close game against Netherlands. I knew we will need a lot of patience but to be honest I thought they would not put us under such pressure. However against Britt I did not have any problems. She is not very comfortable with my defensive style of play ” said HAN.   Kim VERMAAS 21 years old gave Netherlands another chance. She overcame Germany’s youngster 20 years old Nina MITTELHAM (11:7 7:11 6:11 11:7 11:9).   The crucial match was the one between LI Jie and HAN. HAN failed to convert few game balls in two opening sets and she was 0:2 down before she rebuilt her game (13:11 12:10 7:11 11:6 11:6).   “I was not confortable against LI. Generally I found it hard to play against defenders but I had my chances. When I saw that something has to be done and that I had to change the tactics I started to play like I did at the trainings. I do not like that kind of play but it was much safer and it proved as right decision ” said HAN.   SHAN Xiaona overcame Britt EERLAND to seal the match (6:11 5:11 11:3 9:11).   “I was too passive at the beginning. I made same mistakes in the match against Britt EERLAND in the third game like I did against LI but luckily I recovered fast with aggressive approach ” said SHAN.   With the tears in her eyes Britt EERLAND found a strength to look at the defeat from the good angle.   “I am sad we were very close. We came a long way by making the upset and beating Czech Republic in our group for the place in the top 8. I also avenged my Olympic Games defeat in the match against Austria and after 2011 we are at the medal rostrum again…It is wonderful result for such young team ” said Britt.    

The LIEBHERR 2017 European Championships continued to entertain on day 3 with a huge surprise an entertaining finish and some intriguing news for our table tennis fans.     The big surprise of the day was in the Men’s Team quarter finals where Slovenia made it through to the semi-final for the first time at the European Championships. In an inspired effort they defeated Sweden in a 3-2 thriller. Leader for the Slovenian team Bojan TOKIC won both matches though was pushed 3-2 by Anton KALLBERG. Darko JORGIC who secured the win for Slovenia with a solid 3-1 victory over Par GERELL summarised the emotions “we tried to fight and we gave our best but nobody was waiting for this result so I think everyone from Slovenia is very happy.” In the semi-final tomorrow at 19:00 they will take on Germany who powered passed Ukraine 3-0 and despite a straight sets win in his singles Timo BOLL wasn’t completely happy “in some parts of the match I didn’t play well I had a good start Kou LEI is a strong player if you let him play he is dangerous. Fortunately I was able to control the match.”   The big finish of the evening was another thriller in the Men’s Team with the togetherness of Portugal seeing off a determined effort by Croatia. Marcos FREITAS secured the overall team match score 3-1 with a hard fought 3-2 win against Andrej GACINA who had earlier defeated Tiago APOLONIA by the same score. Marcus commented “he (GACINA) is my doubles partner through mini and cadet tournaments we practiced together and we are close friends. I know he wants to win a medal for his country. There wasn’t an easy point as we know each other’s serves and top-spins very well.” Portugal will play France who came through very comfortably against Greece without losing a game. Quentin ROBINOT of France appraised his team’s performance “I think that from the beginning we were prepared for this fight. Simon started the match very well 3-0 and then the tough match between LEBESSON and GIONIS which Emmanuel won. So I was very confident that we lead 2-0 so it’s easier for me to play. My opponent played well but today I played better than him. I just focused on his forehand because I don’t like so the pimpled side so much then I fight and I play better and better. We are a strong team because we like each other and train a lot. And then it is easy to play with friends. We are happy with this medal but we will fight for gold.”   In the Women’s Team Quarter Finals there was a superb performance by the young Netherlands team defeating Austria 3-2. In the final match it was Britt EERLAND who pulled out the stops to secure an emphatic 3-0 first time win against the favourite LIU Jia. A delighted LI Jie who won both her singles matches (3-2 against LIU Jia in the opener and 3-0 against Sofia POLCANOVA) put the result into perspective “this victory is a very big thing for us because we are a new team. Li Jiao is now our coach we are a young team and to be in the quarter-finals was our goal so we can be very happy that we won this knockout match.”   The Netherlands will now take on Germany in the semi-final who accounted for Poland 3-0 with relatively easy victories for HAN Ying (3-1 against LI Qian) SHAN Xiaona (3-0 against Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA-FRANC) and Nina MITTELHAM (3-1 against Natalia PARTYKA).   Russia reached the other semi-final with another 3-1 victory in these Championships this time against Hungary. In the first match Polina MIKHAILOVA of Russia defeated Dora MADARASZ 11-9 in the deciding fifth game. Another 3-2 followed this time Georgina POTA levelling the match for Hungary against Olga VOROBEVA. Then two 3-1 wins for Yana NOSKOVA and Polina MIKHAILOVA sealed the victory for Russia. Polina MIKHAILOVA commented “we were satisfied that we qualified for the Quarter Finals in first place from our group yesterday and we are glad to win the match against Hungary. We won’t stop fighting in the next matches but we will play under less pressure for a medal.”   Russia will play Romania at 13:00 tomorrow in the bottom half semi-final. Romania won 3-0 against Portugal although the opening two matches between Daniela MONTEIRO DODEAN (Romania) & YU Fu (Portugal) and Elizabeta SAMARA (Romania) & SHAO Jieni (Portugal) both went the distance five games. An easier outing for Bernadette SZOCS (Romania) winning 3-0 against Portugal’s Leila OLIVEIRA to complete the victory adding “I think that our team is in a really good mood and shape and we are mentally prepared.”   Full semi-finals line-up   Women’s Team:   Germany versus Netherlands at 10:00   Russia versus Romania at 13:00   Men’s Team:   France versus Portugal at 16:00   Germany versus Slovenia at 19:00   In other big news today results have confirmed further qualifiers from Europe for the World Championships in Halmstad Sweden next April. In the Women’s Teams 8 qualifiers include Azerbaijan Slovenia Italy England Turkey Lithuania Greece and Belgium. In the Men’s Teams 7 qualifiers are Hungary Turkey Lithuania Netherlands Switzerland Israel and Finland.   So will Luxembourg provided more fireworks on Day 4 semi-final Saturday? We’ll see you tomorrow to find out!   To note is live coverage continues tomorrow on Eurosport.   And of course you can always continue to follow the live scoring and match scores at ettu.org and keep up-to-date with us on social media Facebook (European Table Tennis Union) Twitter (@ETTU_Ttennis) and Instagram (ettu_official).    

Last years European champion and silver medalist in singles Emmanuel LEBESSON and Simon GAUZY alongside Quentin ROBINOT lead France to the medal in the Men’s Teams Event at the LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships in Luxembourg. In the quarterfinal they overcame Greece in straight matches.   In the opening match Simon GAUZY overcame Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS.   “We did not expect 3:0 at the end. Of course we were favorites but no one expected it would end without difficulties. It was easier since KREANGA was not in the team ” said GAUZY. “I never played against SGOUROPOULOS. I know he is European youth champion but I never had watched him play before.”   GAUZY was aware of potential danger.   “I remember well how it was when I was at his age and when I had to play against the players in the top 50 in the World. You are not under pressure and you can easily create the upset. That is why I was cautious ” said GAUZY.   Emmanuel LEBESSON overcame Panagiotis GIONIS whilst Quentin ROBINOT succeeded against Konstantinos PAPAGEORGIOU.   “From the beginning we were prepared for this match. We had a good start and after Emmanuel and Simon with 2:0 on the scoreboard I was very confident. The pressure was on PAPAGEORGIU. I know he could be very dangerous but today I was very good. I was focused on his forehand ” said ROBINOT.     PAPAGEORGIOU said: ”We knew that it would be very hard for us against France because they are far superior to us….On top of that our best player is not in good shape because of a harmstring injury..Our only chance would have been for him to win two matches every time but the way things go with his injury he will not do very well in this tournament.”  

In the powerful style against the 14 time title winners at the Old Continent Slovenia booked first ever medal at the LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships. In the Men’s Teams Event quarterfinal Bojan TOKIC Darko JORGIC and Deni KOZUL overcame Sweden 3:2 to claim their place in the top 4. Tomorrow they will meet six-times winners Germany.   Experienced Bojan TOKIC gave Slovenia dream start with the victory over Anton KALLBERG. Mattias KARLSSON and Kristian KARLSSON responded and overcame JORGIC and KOZUL. However once again Bojan was at the top of the game. He leveled the maters and once again in Luxembourg Slovenia faced decisive match. It was young JORGIC who showed that has the patience for the nervous wrecking finishes. In the fifth match he beat Par GERELL.   “By now we were always far from the top division at the European championships; we were playing in lower one. This is huge success for us. The way we achieved makes us even more pride. It did not come easy and we were far from the lucky draw. In our group we had two former champions Austria and Portugal. It has been tremendous journey so far. It was fantastic that we passed the group ” said TOKIC.   European medalist in singles TOKIC has the experience in the edgy matches but youngster showed they are mature for the big results as well.   “Darko won three out of three decisive matches at this Championships. Now he beat GERELL he overcame GARDOS and PISTEJ in Group satges. That is a really brave effort ” added TOKIC.   Instead of KALLBERG who lost first match in the decisive match coach BLOMQUIST introduced GERELL who is famous for his good service game. Unfortunately for Sweden it was JORGIC who controlled the game with his service game.     “I was ready to play against KALLBERG and GERELL was a surprise for me. I had never played against him. In addition I do not like very much to play against lefthanders. I had 25 minutes to prepare. Coach gave me good advices and I watched you tube video ” said JORGIC.   The sky is the limit now?   “Unfortunately I think Germany is the limit. They are big favorites here ” said TOKIC.   Germany overcame Ukraine in straight matches. Timo BOLL overcame KOU Lei in the opening match and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV and Ruwen FILIUS followed the path to the success.   “Timo did a good job at the beginning. At that point we broke Ukraine’s spirit. That was very important ” said OVTCHAROV.   Timo added: “We are still very far from the title. So far I am satisfied. KOU Lei is a strong adversary and I am happy with my victory and the way I kept everything under control.”

In the semi final of the Women’s Teams Event at the LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships Germany will meet Netherlands whilst Romania will play against Russia. In quarterfinal reigning champions beat Poland in straight matches whilst runners up from Ekaterinburg Romania prevailed against Portugal by the same margin.   Germany is on the good track to defend the title again. They are on the mission to continue the row that started in Schwechat. After 2013 they succeeded to the title in 2014 and 2015. Poland today showed no power to stop them.   “On paper it looks like the easy win but for us it was challenging task. It was not easy for me to play against LI Qian. She is very good against the players with the defensive style of play ” explained HAN Ying. “I had to be patient. The umpires asked us before if we wanted to play according to the expedite system but both of us declined. Only the first set seemed to be too slow. In the second set I used a more offensive tactic which helped me to win a close game.”   Against Netherlands they expects a hard match.   “A semi-final is a different game we have to be at our best if we want to win. Especially because the Dutch women are playing an excellent tournament so far. We have to be well prepared. “   SHAN Xiaona overcame Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA-FRANC whilst Nina MITTELHAM overcame Natalia PARTYKA .   Another straight match victory launched Romania to the semis but Portugal did not went down easy. Daniela DODEAN MONTEIRO was stretched to full distance against YU Fu; it was the same in the duel between Elizabeta SAMARA and SHAO Jieni. Bernadette SZOCS beat Leila OLIVIERA.   “The crucial match was between Daniela and YU it was 2:2 and Daniela was down 5:9 but she recovered to win. In my match I repeated the mistakes I always do with SHAO. I played good at the start and then I eased the pressure and let her took the control. However it ended well because generally I played good. I am also happy with the performance of the whole team. We all one points and that is important for all of us. It boosted our self-confidence before the closing stages. We are ready for the gold now ” said SAMARA.   In recent history the Romanian team clinched silver in 2015 2013 2011 and 2010.  

After the morning session at the LIEBHERR European Championships in Luxembourg two women teams already secured medals. In the quarterfinal Netherlands beat Austria 3:2 whilst Russia prevailed against Hungary 3:1.   The only women’s team in history of European championships who managed to win 4 gold medals in the row (in the period between 2008 and 2011) Netherlands was stretched to full distance against runners up from Lisbon 2014 – team of Austria.   In the opening match LI Jie gave Dutch team a major advantage by beating LIU Jia in five games. Latter LI added another point to the score line by overcoming Sofia POLCANOVA. However POLCANOVA’s quality was not to be denied; she overcame Britt EERLAND on her first exit to the table; Amelia SOLJA also helped Austria reaching the fifth match after victory over Kim VERMAAS.   “The chances in both matches were very open. I didn’t think about winning or losing I played only point for point. Now I only want to enjoy the victory and I am not thinking about our next adversaries. This victory is important for our new team; we have LI Jiao as our coach not as a player any more ” said LI Jie.   In the decisive game Britt EERLANDS overcame LIU Jia. Britt was 2:0 up before she faced three match balls against herself but Dutch player recovered to win.   “We did not came here with great ambitions but we saw our chance after the draw. We were pleased to avoid Germany in the quarters. Against Austria our chances increased and we succeeded ” said EERLANDS.   The duel against LI brought bad memories to Britt.   “She beat me at the Olympic Games Tournament in decisive game. Here every time when I was down I pushed myself to keep playing. I played point for point; I did not want to repeat the history ” said Britt.   LIU Jia reflected: “I feel sorry for the team. If this had been a singles match this loss would be less hard to take. But losing the deciding match is tough. We hope we will be fifth at the end.”   Amelie SOLJA was disappointed after this match: “ We had chances to win. At the beginning it looked good we had a 2-1 lead. Before the match we thought and hoped that we could win these two points. It’s sad that it wasn’t enough for overall victory. “   Russia won the bronze medal in Ekaterinburg in 2015 and they reached medal rostrum again. Polina MIKHAILOVA was the backbone of the team’s success with two victories over Dora MADARASZ and Georgina POTA.   “I had a tough start against Dora in the opening match but I managed to control it eventually. We are club mates in Szekszard and it is always difficult to win such games. In the fourth duel against Georgina POTA it was much easier. The pressure was on her because we were 2:1 up. I also had to underline the great effort of Olga VOROBEVA. She lost against POTA but for sure after playing five games against Olga Georgina was very tired. Olga played fantastic Championships here ” said MIKHAILOVA.

More than 150 guests most of them legendary champions gathered last night in Luxembourg during the LIEBHERR 2017 ITTF European Championships to celebrate the ETTU 60th Anniversary. In Casino 2OOO at glamorous style gala dinner distinguished guests enjoyed good time.   “Thank you all for coming here. 60 years is a big anniversary and it is the right moment to reflect on our past but to seize the opportunity to talk about the future. This gathering came in the very unique moment; in the day when we changed the look of future European championships. Few hours ago at the ETTU Congress we display our unity in aim to work for better future in table tennis ” said ETTU President Ronald KRAMER.   On behalf of the global table tennis family ITTF Vice President for finances Petra SORLING addressed to the guests and presented the symbolic gift to President KRAMER.   “This is the symbolic gift – a pen. It symbolize all the good agreements we made and all the good agreements we will do in the future ” said SORLING.  

It was another action packed day in d’Coque at the LIEBHERR 2017 ITTF European Championships.  In the Men’s Team Event it was Germany who had a clear focus to move through to the last eight of the competition with comprehensive 3-0 wins over Croatia in the morning and Belarus in the evening.   In the Women’s Germany also staked their claim for the title topping Group A undefeated.   As for surprises it was Slovenia who stood out in the Men’s matches going through to the quarter final accounting for reigning Champions Austria. A tough Championships for Austria going down 2-3 two times (the other to Slovakia) which is the reverse of some of their fortunes when they became Champions last time round in 2015 in Ekaterinburg.   It was the Netherlands who upset the apple cart in the Women’s matches qualifying for the quarter final pushing the Czech Republic into third position in the group. The atmosphere was electrifying during these tense matches in d’Coque and with the quarter finals to follow as we move towards the weekend there is much world class table tennis to enjoy.   Action gets underway at 10am in the morning of Friday 15th September.     Both Quarter Final draws have mouth watering prospects:     WOMEN’S TEAM QUARTER FINALS – Germany versus Poland – Netherlands versus Austria – Russia versus Hungary – Portugal versus Romania     MEN’S TEAM QUARTER FINALS – Germany versus Ukraine – Slovenia versus Sweden – France versus Greece – Croatia versus Portugal   See you there – “Lets Make it Happen” as they say here in Luxembourg!   And of note is live coverage starting tomorrow on Eurosport.   If neither of those option sword for you there is always the option to follow the live scoring and match scores at ettu.org and keep up-to-date with us on social media Facebook (European Table Tennis Union)  Twitter (@ETTU_Ttennis) and Instagram (ettu_official).    

With the three straight matches win Germany progressed to the knock out stage of the Men’s Teams Event at the LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships. In the quarterfinal they will play against Ukraine. In the lower half of the draw Portugal will meet Croatia. Slovenia vs. Sweden and France vs. Greece are the matches we are going to watch too in the day three of the Championships in d’ Coque.   On day two today Germany beat Belarus and Croatia who finished at the position no. two.   “ We were focused and we played on high level so it was quiet easy to win the matches. We have five-stars players in good shape. So we are ready to fight to the title of European Championships and we hope that we can go far until the victory. But we have to take care to the adversary and to be stronger in the next round ” said Timo BOLL who arrived in Luxembourg on Tuesday evening.” On Wednesday I had a first practice here and today I played first match. This is the first time that I play in the d’Coque; I tried to find my rhythm and not played on the highest level. “   In Group B Portugal booked the place in the quarters but surprisingly reigning champions failed to reach the top eight. Slovenia is safely through. In Group C Sweden and Greece progressed according to rankings.   France overcame Romania Poland and Ukraine to secure the top of the standings in Group D. Ukraine beats the odds and progressed to position no. two. They overcame both better-ranked teams in the Group: Romania and Poland. Simon GAUZY was in the starting line up against Ukraine and won the opening duel but after Emmanuel LEBESSON suffered against KOU Lei and Tristan FLORE lost against Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA it was Quentin ROBINOT who faced KOU Lei and brought France back to life. LEBESSON beat Viktor YEFIMOV in the decisive match.   “This morning against Romania Simon GAUZY played with pain in his biceps but he will recover completely until tomorrow for the quarterfinals. Our coach’s decision of replace could look like a little bit risky and necessary in same time. But we knew that I was ready to play. Before the match I spoke with Simon about the tactic and he told me that my adversary is very good at backhand. When I played 2-1 my team knew that I will fight until the last point. They had confidence in me. This match was unbelievable long and my team gave me energy to win. We always makes jokes and have fun but in the venue we are always focused ” explained ROBINOT.