Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Qatar Open   After two days of qualifications at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Qatar Open Women’s and Men’s Singles events main draw commences tomorrow. Top seeded player is MA Long followed by FAN Zhendong and XU Xin who is on the quest for fourth title in Doha. He won in 2011 when he beat Germany’s Timo BOLL in the final before the following year overcoming colleague WANG Hao to collect the title. In 2014 he secured his third such title when overcoming Chinese Taipei’s CHUANG Chih-Yuan.   A possible four if he succeeds he will surpass the current records held by Croatia’s Zoran PRIMORAC and Chinese colleague WANG Liqin; both now retired from international play.   Timo BOLL of Germany was forced to withdrew due of injury but Europe has very strong line up of challengers of Chinese supremacy. After three titles in the row Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV is on duty again seeded at position no. 6 whilst Belarus Vladimir SAMSONOV is no. 8 seed.   Leading name in the Women’s Singles is ZHU Yuling of China followed by Kasumi ISHIKAWA of Japan and FENG Tianwei of Singapore. HAN Ying of Germany is listed at position no. 5 whilst European champion HU Melek of Turkey is at position no. 10.   In the qualification tournament in the Men’s Singles event few surprise names secured top spot in the group stage. Sweden’s Anton KÄLLBERG Spain’s Alvaro Robles were among them. Surprising win came from Anton KÄLLBERG who beat Russia’s Alexander SHIBAEV (11-5 11-13 11-9 11-3 11-7). Presently KÄLLBERG is listed at no.87 in the global order Shibaev is at no.35.   Japan’s Masaki YOSHIDA Frenchman Tristan FLORE the Czech Republic’s Tomas KONECNY and Germany’s Steffen MENGEL all finished in first positions contrary to expectations.   Slovak Republic’s Barbora BALAZOVA in the Women’s Singles qualification tournament also recorded important victory. On her way to the main draw she faced Japan’s Honoka HASHIMOTO a defensive player with a classic style. Presently HASHIMOTO is listed at no.25 on the Women’s World Rankings; BALAZOVA is named at no.77; against the odds Barbora emerged successful in five games (11-7 12-10 11-7 12-14 13-11).   The Czech Republic’s Hana MATELOVA having beaten Chinese Taipei’s CHENG Hsien-Tu on the first day of play she caused Japan more pain; she overcame Yui HAMAMOTO World ranked no.16 and the highest rated player on qualification duty. MATELOVA won in six games (7-11 4-11 11-7 12-10 11-6 11-5).     In Men’s Under 21 Singles Event final LAM Siu the no.12 seed overcame Croatia’s Tomislav PUCAR the no.8 seed in three straight game to arrest the title (11-3 11-5 11-9). For PUCAR who clinched the title recently at the European U21 Championships in Sochi it was his second runners up spot in three ITTF World Tour Under 21 Men’s Singles finals.        

Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour India Open   Occupying the top seeded position in the draw Dimitrij OVTCHAROV beat Tomokazu HARIMOTO the no.14 seed in four straight games (11-6 11-8 11-4 14-12) and thus stopped the Japanese prodigy from being the youngest player ever to win an ITTF World Tour Men’s Singles title. Today was also a great day for another European. Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden won gold in Women’s Doubles and silver in Women’s Singles Event.   Success for Dimitrij OVTCHAROV means that he has enjoyed a dream start to the year; it is three consecutive titles in February. On Sunday 5th February he won the Europe Top 16 event in the French Riviera coastal resort of Antibes; one week later he clinched the Men’s Singles title at the DHS Lausanne Open before today succeeding in India’s capital city.    “I felt a lot of support here in New Delhi I am so glad that I was able to defend my title that I had won seven years back in 2010. I really thank the Indian fans for the support. I received so many messages from people who kept saying- Dima this guy is 13 years old but don’t think about his age think about your own game. I have heard his age so many times in the last 24 hours. I felt a bit of a pressure. But Harimoto is an amazing player for his age and I think he has a very very bright future ”- said Dimitrij OVTCHAROV.   At the final hurdle in the Women’s Singles Japan’s Sakura MORI the no.6 seed accounted for Sweden’s Matilda EKHOLM the no.4 seed to arrest the title in a full seven games duel (7-11 11-5 11-8 12-10 6-11 8-11 11-6).   “I’m obviously very happyabout my performance lately. In Swiss open I played really well and got some confidence that followed me to India. I feel I have become stronger physically and improved my backhand greatly “ said EKHOLM.   Matilda had her consolation in gold in the Women’s’ Doubles Event. EKHOLM and Hungary’s Georgina POTA clinched the gold. It was their second appearance at the ITTF World Tour this year; previously they had been beaten in the gold medal contest by China’s CHEN Xingtong and LI Jiayi at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open in Budapest. However they had already shared the experience of being at the top. In the Czech Republic city of Olomouc in September they overcame Russian defensive pairing of Maria DOLGIKH and Polina MIKHAILOVA in the final.   In the Men’s Doubles Event final Japan’s Masataka MORIZONO and Yuya OSHIMA accounted for the German combination formed by Ruwen FILUS and Ricardo WALTHER the second seeds 3-1 (9-11 11-7 11-6 11-9). For FILUS and WALTHER in New Delhi it was only their second ITTF World Tour Men’s Doubles final; in 2015 in Belarus they had been beaten in the final by Denmark’s Jonathan GROTH and Kasper STERNBERG.  

2017 French Junior and Cadet Open   Japan was crowned the Cadet Girls’ Team champions at the 2017 French Junior and Cadet Open after the no.1 seeded team saw off Hong Kong ‘A’ in the final while the Cadet Boys’ Team trophy ended up in the hands of France A.   Dorian ZHENG and teammate Bilal HAMACHE proved to be the perfect combination for the category and prior to the final the duo representing France ‘A’ built up momentum as they followed up their 3-0 success against Denmark with a strong 3-1 result against Belgium to book their spot in the final round.   The opposition for France ‘A’ in the final was Hungary’s Csaba ANDRAS and Oliver BOTH with the duo having registered positive outcomes against Czech Republic and France ‘B’ on day four of the tournament. However claiming the winners medals turned out to be one step too far for the Hungarians with France ‘A’ taking the glory.   Japan ‘B’ and Azerbaijan claim Junior Team success in Metz. Heading into the Junior Boys’ Team competition Japan ‘B’ was named at 15th position in the seeding table and so qualification from the group stage had already ensured that the team would finish above its assigned seeding.   Therefore when Japan ‘B’ beat the no.1 seeds France ‘A’ by a 3-1 score line in the quarter-finals; they completed its road to the final after the team recovered from a trailing position in the last four to beat Japan ‘A’ in a 3-2 thriller.   Awaiting Japan ‘B’ in the final was another surprise package Azerbaijan after the 14th seeded team picked up 3-1 victories over the no.2 seeds France ‘B’ in the last eight and France ‘C’ in the semi-finals and the Azerbaijan side consisting of WANG Chenxi YANG Xinyu and Vazir ALLAHVERDIYEV was looking to finish the tournament in style as the team went into the final with confidence.   The final turned out to be a rather interesting encounter and while Japan ‘B’ ran out comfortable winners Azerbaijan put up a good fight.   There may have been disappointment for Azerbaijan in the Boys’ Team final but the story couldn’t have been more different in the Girls’ Team competition as the second seeds secured the silverware. Azerbaijan’s CHEN Xingtai NING Jing and DENG Simeng negotiated the encounter in the semi-finals against Turkey with a 3-0 triumph and their reward was a place in the final where the top seeds Japan awaited.  

2017 French Junior and Cadet Open   Japan was crowned the Cadet Girls’ Team champions at the 2017 French Junior and Cadet Open after the no.1 seeded team saw off Hong Kong ‘A’ in the final while the Cadet Boys’ Team trophy ended up in the hands of France A.   Dorian ZHENG and teammate Bilal HAMACHE proved to be the perfect combination for the category and prior to the final the duo representing France ‘A’ built up momentum as they followed up their 3-0 success against Denmark with a strong 3-1 result against Belgium to book their spot in the final round.   The opposition for France ‘A’ in the final was Hungary’s Csaba ANDRAS and Oliver BOTH with the duo having registered positive outcomes against Czech Republic and France ‘B’ on day four of the tournament. However claiming the winners medals turned out to be one step too far for the Hungarians with France ‘A’ taking the glory.   Japan ‘B’ and Azerbaijan claim Junior Team success in Metz. Heading into the Junior Boys’ Team competition Japan ‘B’ was named at 15th position in the seeding table and so qualification from the group stage had already ensured that the team would finish above its assigned seeding.   Therefore when Japan ‘B’ beat the no.1 seeds France ‘A’ by a 3-1 score line in the quarter-finals; they completed its road to the final after the team recovered from a trailing position in the last four to beat Japan ‘A’ in a 3-2 thriller.   Awaiting Japan ‘B’ in the final was another surprise package Azerbaijan after the 14th seeded team picked up 3-1 victories over the no.2 seeds France ‘B’ in the last eight and France ‘C’ in the semi-finals and the Azerbaijan side consisting of WANG Chenxi YANG Xinyu and Vazir ALLAHVERDIYEV was looking to finish the tournament in style as the team went into the final with confidence.   The final turned out to be a rather interesting encounter and while Japan ‘B’ ran out comfortable winners Azerbaijan put up a good fight.   There may have been disappointment for Azerbaijan in the Boys’ Team final but the story couldn’t have been more different in the Girls’ Team competition as the second seeds secured the silverware. Azerbaijan’s CHEN Xingtai NING Jing and DENG Simeng negotiated the encounter in the semi-finals against Turkey with a 3-0 triumph and their reward was a place in the final where the top seeds Japan awaited.  

Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour India Open   It seems that the winners of the DHS Lausanne Open in Switzerland week earlier Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany and Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden still ride the winning wave at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour India Open. Both reached the ultimate stage of the Singles Event today in new Delhi.   In Men’s Singles Event semifinal Dimitrij OVTCHAROV the top seed won a hard fought seven games encounter (8-11 11-2 9-11 12-10 14-16 11-2 11-8) against Koki NIWA the no.3 seed.   The top seed in the Women’s Singles Event DOO Hoi Kem was beaten by Sweden’s Matilda EKHOLM the no.4 seed. Matilda emerged successful in six games (11-8 11-7 5-11 11-9 8-11 11-3).   She will meet Japan’s Sakura MORI who beat Ng Wing Nam in a full distance seven games duel (13-11 12-10 10-12 9-11 11-8 9-11 11-6). MORI was the no.6 seed NG Wing Nam occupied the no.8 seeded position in the competition.   It is the first time that Sakura Mori has reached an ITTF World Tour Women’s Singles final; for Matilda EKHOLM it her third. In 2013 she was the runner up in Croatia beaten by Korea’s Lee Dasom in the final one year earlier she had won in Morocco when overcoming Spain’s Sara Ramirez in the title deciding contest.    

Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour India Open   It seems that the winners of the DHS Lausanne Open in Switzerland week earlier Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany and Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden still ride the winning wave at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour India Open. Both reached the ultimate stage of the Singles Event today in new Delhi.   In Men’s Singles Event semifinal Dimitrij OVTCHAROV the top seed won a hard fought seven games encounter (8-11 11-2 9-11 12-10 14-16 11-2 11-8) against Koki NIWA the no.3 seed.   The top seed in the Women’s Singles Event DOO Hoi Kem was beaten by Sweden’s Matilda EKHOLM the no.4 seed. Matilda emerged successful in six games (11-8 11-7 5-11 11-9 8-11 11-3).   She will meet Japan’s Sakura MORI who beat Ng Wing Nam in a full distance seven games duel (13-11 12-10 10-12 9-11 11-8 9-11 11-6). MORI was the no.6 seed NG Wing Nam occupied the no.8 seeded position in the competition.   It is the first time that Sakura Mori has reached an ITTF World Tour Women’s Singles final; for Matilda EKHOLM it her third. In 2013 she was the runner up in Croatia beaten by Korea’s Lee Dasom in the final one year earlier she had won in Morocco when overcoming Spain’s Sara Ramirez in the title deciding contest.    

the Italian northwest coastal region of Liguria will host the forthcoming 2017 European Para Youth Games. Proceedings are scheduled to start on Monday 9th October and conclude on Sunday 15th October. One of the 11 sports on program is table tennis.   In addition to table tennis the sports listed are: archery athletics boccia football 5-a-side football 7-a-side goalball judo sailing sitting volleyball and swimming.   A player must be born on or after Saturday 1st January 1994. However there is a younger age limit; in order to compete a player must be at least 12 years of age.  

the Italian northwest coastal region of Liguria will host the forthcoming 2017 European Para Youth Games. Proceedings are scheduled to start on Monday 9th October and conclude on Sunday 15th October. One of the 11 sports on program is table tennis.   In addition to table tennis the sports listed are: archery athletics boccia football 5-a-side football 7-a-side goalball judo sailing sitting volleyball and swimming.   A player must be born on or after Saturday 1st January 1994. However there is a younger age limit; in order to compete a player must be at least 12 years of age.