Martin Khatchanov beat top seeded Barry WIJERS and Michel de BOER On Thursday May 5th Enjoy & Deploy Taverzo claimed the league title with a 3-1 victory in the final against Itass DTK’70. Unlike other years the team from Zoetermeer was not the absolute favorite. The routine and good performances of the two seeded players in the Dutch League Barry WIJERS and Michel de BOER played in the adversaries team. All together it promised to be a guarantee for an exciting fight. In the past the team practiced at the National Training Centre in the Netherlands. This year lot of practice was done in the brand new centre in the home town of the club. Particularly Martin KHATCHANOV took the Zoetermeer centre as his base. A conscious choice for the young player clearly has found his place and he grew throughout the season to be the captain the team. Julien INDEHERBERG the Belgian top player had a season of ups and downs after his hip surgery last summer. Last Monday Julien relapsed by an acute pain in the muscle group that ensures the movement of his leg and the hip. The player got absolute rest prescribed on doctor’s orders until the day of the finals. Coach Gerald van GRUNSVEN and manager Ruud van GRAAFEILAND chose to take a limited risk and put INDEHERBERG at position 3. Peter Sebestyén was chosen for the last spot in the final above YANG Ming and Roel BoGie. Manager Ruud van Graafeiland said: “Yang Ming unexpectedly had to go through a selection procedure during the season for his future academic career in China despite the fact that he had played the requisite six games to play the final we wanted to finish the season with the players who have formed the base for reaching the final. The 15 years old Roel BOGIE showed a clear progression with 11 wins in 17 games in his second year in the league. Peter Sebestyén who started the season as a backup proved more than once important to the team. First he replaced Julien and then easily took over the role of YANG Ming. “ Peter SEBESTYÉN said afterwards: “I am very happy with this title despite my earlier win against Barry Wijers I had absolutely no grip this time on his game and could therefore hardly concentrate myself on the game. If you see what Martin and Julien have shown I am proud to be part of the team and be the champion of the Netherlands. We all had great victories to get into the final and Julien Indeherberg and Martin Khatchanov actually finished it to win the title. I have always called after the departure of Ming with a smile we have three good players but one is ridiculous. Cool to see that Martin really showed that in the final.” Enjoy & Deploy Taverzo- Itass DTK ’70 3:1 Martin KHATCHANOV – Michel de BOER 3:0 (11:9 11:7 11:7) Peter SEBESTYEN – Barry WIJERS 0:3 (9:11 8:11 5:11) Julien INDEHERBERG – Patrick OEij 3:0 (11:7 11:6 11:5) Martin KHATCHANOV – Barry WIJERS 3:0 (11:5 11:9 11:7)
Romania’s Buzau hosts ETTU young talents
ETTU Development Camp U-18 ETTU Development Program in cooperation with Romanian Table Tennis Federation organize first Development Camp U-18 in Buzau Romania from 4th to 10th of June 2016. ETTU Development Program invites : Cristian PLETEA and Adina DIACONU of Romania Maria TAYLAKOVA of Russia Medardas STANKEVICIUS of Lithuania Irvin BERTRAND of France and Truls MOREGARDH of Sweden to participate on this camp. SCHEDULE: 4th of June Arrival Day 5th – 9th of June Training Camp 10th of June Departure Day Coaches: Anders JOHANSSON (SWE) – Head Coach Andrei FILIMON – Head Coach Assistant Madalin IONASCU – Assistant Coach (Organizer) Neven CEGNAR ETTU Development Manager Accommodation is in Hotel Sport B90 and the venue is „Romeo Iamandi Hall“
Pontoise wants to extend its celebration in Sweden
AS Pontoise Cergy defended its crown in France two days ago and now wants to secure favorable result against Eslovs (May 7th 16:00 live on www.laola1.tv) in the first final leg of TTCLM AS Pontoise Cergy hopes that this May will be historic month for them. Two days ago they secured second consecutive title in the French ProA League but now want more. Next challenge is the 2015/16 Table Tennis Champions League Men final against Eslovs Al Bordtennis and first leg will be held this Saturday (May 7th 16:00 live on www.laola1.tv) in the Swedish city of Eslov (returning match on May 29th). In the last two seasons Pontoise has achieved its two biggest successes taking TTCLM trophy in 2014 and national championships in 2015 but now has a chance for the very first double crown. Coach Christian ADAM is aware of the importance of this moment. Speaking yesterday about upcoming clash in Sweden he stressed: “We were fighting until last night for the title of French champions in ProA league and have got it for the second consecutive season. We will now be able to focus on our matches against Eslovs. We know it will be very difficult as we have already met in the group. One match won in Sweden and a defeat at home”. Pontoise confirmed its readiness two days ago as they beat the biggest rival in the ProA and the 2012 TTCLM finalist Chartres three rounds before the ending of the season. Tristan FLORE brought two points in the 4:2 win against Robert GARDOS (in straight games) and Alexandre ROBINOT. “The fitness of players will make the difference in the final. We hope a good match and a favorable result for our team in Eslovs” concluded Coach ADAM.
TTCL Management Board first meeting in Munich
The TTCL Management Board meeting was held in Munich on 28th April in the presence of ETTU President Ronald KRAMER and all TTCL Management Board members: Andreas PREUSS Loïc BRÉHU (club representatives) Nikolas ENDAL Pierre KASS (ETTU) Philipp MOEHRING and Bianka STAK (tsmg – ETTU´s media & marketing partner). Protocol included eight topics with many important changes for next season in Europe’s elite club competition. The national Associations will receive the new Regulations. May 20th is the deadline of this postal ballot and three days later the clubs can start to register via their national Association for the European Club Competition Men. To avoid the situations like abrupt match endings and participation with an incomplete team it is recommended that a team always arrives at a match with at least 4 eligible players to reduce the risk of walk overs in case player(s) get ill or injured shortly before the match start or during the match. When walk overs could have been avoided by the participation of the club’s reserve player the club may be fined by the Club Competition Official. This recommendation is based on a requirement for fair play towards the TTCL the opponent club spectators media and the Table Tennis sport. To avoid “show matches” with no importance in the 2nd leg the Board discussed a number of suggestions and proposals but after much debate the Board decided to give it further consideration and thought it wiser to postpone a decision. ETTU does no longer prevent players to play during the Club Competition for another club except a club which is playing in the European Club Competition. The responsibility for player participation in competitions other than the ETTU club competitions remains with the national Associations and the clubs themselves. The Board decided the matches will be played Wednesdays till Fridays except for the weeks when European Championships Qualification matches (Tuesdays) are played. In that case TTCL matches will be held Thursdays and Fridays. The Board discussed prize money allocation to the clubs in case of a title sponsor. Further modifications in media and marketing were accepted and the draw for the KO rounds were „opened” so that a group winner and group runner-up from the same group may meet already in the semifinal. The TTCL Group Rounds Draw will take place on 24th June in Vienna followed by the official clubs meeting. The competition starts 5th October. The TTCL Final Rounds Draw will take place on 21st December either in Vienna or in Luxembourg. ETTU will propose its member Associations at the same time also new rules for the Women’s European Club Competition.
PALINA requires one more victory in Berlin
Coach of TTC Berlin Eastside speaks about „victory without any benefits” against Zamek Tarnobrzeg in the first final leg of 2015/16 ECLW TTC Berlin Eastside will play tomorrow in German Bundesliga (against Boblingen) for its 30th consecutive victory in this season. Irina PALINA`s side is unique unbeaten team in the all three competitions (ECLW Bundesliga and German Cup) defeating last Friday Polish champion KTS Spar Zamek Tarnobrzeg 3:2 (9:9) in the first final leg of the 2015/16 European Champions League Women. The rematch will be held on May 27th in Berlin. ”After four hours of fighting we won the match but unfortunately without any benefits. Balance sets speak for themselves 9:9. But in the words of Cicero ’a bad peace is better than a good war ’ and here is the – Victory better than hard defeat! So we have to win our match in Berlin and we hope that the ’house walls’ and the spectators will help us in this” stated Irina PALINA which side has 9-0 score in the ongoing ECLW. Berlin was faced with almost same situation in the semi-finals against Linz AG Froschberg having a very small advantage after the first away game 3:2 (10:9). These two matches were the hardest for SHAN Xiaona Petrissa SOLJA and Georgina POTA in this season so far. They won all other games by 3:0 or 3:1 . Eleven out of 16 Bundesliga`s matches were ended 6:0 in their favor. Berlin has a chance to repeat its best ever season (2013/14) when it took all three titles: ECLW Bundesliga and German Cup. Now they already won national Cup (4-0 score) and have a clear way in the domestic league (16-0). In the last four years they gained seven titles in total.
Table Tennis Champions League Men (TTCLM) finals live on www.laola1.tv
The first leg of the Table Tennis Champions League Men (TTCLM) finals are about to begin. For the very first time the most important international club competition of Europe is held in a Swedish city this Saturday 7th of May as Eslovs Al Bordtennis hosts 2014 TTCLM winner AS Pontoise Cergy from France. LAOLA1.tv is covering the match live and broadcasts the tournaments around the world. Usually in the Table Tennis Champions League Men (TTCLM) top ranked clubs fight for the crown but this time it is all different. Against all predictions Eslovs Al Bordtennis will challenge AS Pontoise Cergy in the 2015/16 Table Tennis Champions League Men. It never happened before having one finalist with such low seeding place. Thus the 2014 TTCLM champion AS Pontoise Cergy will arrive in Eslovs with a lot of confidence as they eliminated two most powerful European clubs in the last ten years Borussia Dusseldorf (quarter-finals) and reigning champion Fakel Gazproma Orenburg (semis). Swedish champion Eslovs Al Bordtennis actual ETTU Cup winner were able to win against Olimpia Unia Grudziadz and participates in their very first TTCLM final. LAOLA1.TV will broadcast Table Tennis Champions League Men (TTCLM) final live and then provide full match coverage on its website. As an added benefit Premium members will be able to follow the matches on the move on their smartphones on the computer accessing up to four simultaneous live streams or via Smart TV in top HD and commercial-free quality. Table Tennis Champions League Men (TTCLM) live on LAOLA1.tv: Saturday 7th May 4.00 pm: Eslovs Al Bordtennis (Sweden) – AS Pontoise Cergy (France)
TTCLM final: Historic moment for Eslovs
The first final leg between Swedish champion and AS Pontoise Cergy will be held on Saturday May 7th (16:00) The TTCLM final will be held for the very first time in one Swedish city this Saturday (May 7th 16:00) as Eslovs Al Bordtennis hosts 2014 TTCLM winner AS Pontoise Cergy from France. Usually top ranked clubs fight for the crown but this time no. 14 seed goes down in history. It never happened before having one finalist with such low seeding place. Actual ETTU Cup champion Eslovs had 6-4 score in the ongoing season and 1-1 against Pontoise in the Group C. XU Hui & Company beat French champion away 3:2 but lost at home 3:1. XU and Marcos FREITAS confirmed their leading roles in these clashes having each 3-1 score (other Eslovs players Robert SVENSSON 1-2 Mattias OVERSJO 0-2 Pontoise – Kristian KARLSSON 0-3 WANG Jian Jun 1-0 Tristan FLORE 1-0) The game in Eslovs (October 31st) was a turning point for FREITAS (in that moment 3-3 score) who managed to win 11 consecutive matches in the following rounds (6-0 in Group C 5-0 in the knockout stages). XU Hui is the player with the most matches played in the 2015/16 TTCLM. Chinese has 15-4 individual score and 1-1 against Portuguese actual world`s no. 13. Other individual records are – Eslovs: Robert SVENSSON 6-8 Mattias OVERSJO 5-4 Pontoise: Kristian KARLSSON 5-8 Tristan FLORE 4-0 WANG Jian Jun 3-4. Pontoise arrives in Eslovs with a lot of confidence as they eliminated two most powerful European clubs in the last ten years Borussia Dusseldorf (quarter-finals) and reigning champion Fakel Gazproma Orenburg (semis). Two years ago they were underdog in the final against Orenburg`s stars Dimitrij OVTCHAROV Vladimir SAMSONOV and Alexey SMIRNOV but now they must deal with a pressure of favorite.
NECEK: I am proud of the way we played
Zamek Tarnobrzeg`s coach comments on the first final leg of the 2015/16 ECLW against Berlin Eastside Current ETTU Cup winner KTS SPAR Zamek Tarnobrzeg lost at home the first final leg of 2015/16 European Champions League Women but they will fight for the title in Berlin on May 27th. German champion and actual top ECLW seed gained just small advantage in the city of Tarnobrzeg 3:2 (9:9) thus both sides must play for the victory in order to lift the trophy. When HAN Ying beat the best ranked Berlin`s player Petrissa SOLJA in straight games of the opening encounter everything looked perfect for the host side. In the next match Natalia PARTYKA managed to take two sets from SHAN Xiaona who lost just one match in the ongoing season (she has the best one 12-1 score). “It was one of the best Natalia`s games so far in this hall” stressed after the clash coach NECEK. LI Qian explained how hard was her duel against Gaerogina POTA though result was 3:0 in her favor: “I was optimally prepared for the game with POTA but the each point cost me a lot of energy. She is very inconvenient rival and I’m glad that I won”. HAN regrets that she missed a great chance in the late third set when she had a set ball for the 2:1 lead against SHAN. It determined the whole match. After all PARTYKA lost to SOLJA and Berlin won 3:2. “I am proud of the way we played and attitude of my players as well as of the show that both teams created” stated Zamek`s coach Zbigniew NECEK for the club`s website.
Advantage for Weinviertel Niederösterreich
Opening leg of the Men’s ETTU Cup final Weinviertel Niederösterreich took the winning points home after today’s victory over SV Werder Bremen in Germany. In the opening leg of the Men’s ETTU Cup final the club from Austria succeeded 3:1. For the first moment of the duel guests showed they came to Germany ready for the fierce fight. Stefan FEGERL stretched Bastian STEGER to full distance in tense match before the hosts closed the opening match of the first leg in their favour. However the relief did not last for long. HOU Yingcho leveled and left Hunor SZÖCS only with one game on his account. Daniel HABESOHN continued in the same style. Constantin CIOTI won in the opening game but Daniel HABESOHN was in the winning mode. next two games were very close before he sealed the match in furious style. Once again STEGER was forced to play full five games but this time HOU had a better finish. SV Werder Bremen – Weinviertel Niederösterreich 1:3 Bastian STEGER – Stefan FEGERL 3:2 (11:6 9:11 9:11 11:7 14:12) Hunor SZÖCS – HOU Yingcho 1:3 (8:11 7:11 11:5 4:11) Constantin CIOTI – Daniel HABESOHN 1:3 (13:11 10:12 9:11 2:11) Bastian STEGER – HOU Yingcho 2:3 (10:12 11:4 11:6 3:11 2:11)
Liu Shiwen qualifies for her fifth World Cup after beating reigning Olympic Champion Li Xiaoxia
World number one LIU Shiwen has qualified for her fifth ITTF Women’s World Cup after claiming gold at the Nakheel 2016 ITTF-Asian Cup that concluded today 30 March in Dubai. LIU has achieved success on all her four previous trips at the Women’s World Cups and is now the most successful player alongside her senior ZHANG Yining. The 25-year-old will now aim for a historic fifth title at the 2016 ITTF Women’s World Cup later this year. The top seed was able to achieve the feat after overcoming the reigning Olympic Champion LI Xiaoxia 4-1 (11-8 11-9 9-11 14-12 11-3). “I’m really happy to win this title today especially after my early defeat at the ITTF-Asian Olympic Qualifiers just last week ” shared the champion. “I was indeed affected by that defeat so for me to forgo that and be ready within a week for this tournament was a challenge. I’m glad I overcame that.” In the men’s event defending champion XU Xin claims his fourth Asian Cup title against his teammate grand slam champion ZHANG Jike. After losing the first game 4-11 the top seeded Chinese recovered to win 4-2 (4-11 11-7 11-6 11-8 6-11 11-6). “Every time I have come to Dubai I have won a major title so this is definitely my lucky and special place ” shared XU after his victory. “This is a major title won against a very good player (Zhang Jike) so I am very pleased and my confidence is sky high. But this event is just a stepping stone to the Olympic Games. I will now focus on my training to keep my momentum up on the road to Rio.” “This will help my chances to qualify for Rio but the team is still not decided. I am trying to keep this situation out of my head and just playing my best and focusing on getting good results.” Failing to defend her title against LI in the women’s semifinals Singapore’s FENG Tianwei settled for the bronze medal defeating Hong Kong’s TIE Yana in 4 straight games (11-7 11-3 11-4 11-6). FENG’s compatriot GAO Ning however not able to repeat her success in the men’s singles bronze medal match. Despite coming back to win games in the match the 33-year-old Singaporean lost his winning momentum to Hong Kong’s rising star player WONG Chun Ting 2-4 (4-11 12-10 11-9 2-11 6-11 9-11). The Liebherr 2016 Men’s World Cup will be held 1-3 October 2016 in Saarbrucken Germany and the 2016 ITTF Women’s World Cup on 7-9 October in a location to be announced. The ITTF World Cups are the second most prestigious events on the international table tennis calendar with only 20 of the top table tennis players qualifying through their respective Continental Cups together with the current World Champions one host player and a wildcard. As the two current World Champions are both Chinese and only two players from each country able to compete in the World Cup’s only the two Champions LIU Shiwen and XU Xin will be heading to the World Cups from the Chinese team together with the World Champions DING Ning and MA Long. Players who have secured their places at the ITTF World Cups along with LIU and XU are FENG Tianwei (SIN) TIE Yana (HKG) WONG Chun-Ting (HKG0 GAO Ning Quadri ARUNA & Dina MESHREF are Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) SHEN Yanfei Joao MONTEIRO (POR) Alexander SHIBAEV (RUS) HU Melek (TUR) and LIU Jia (AUT) who all qualified through their Continental Cups.
