Pre-Selection Camp I – Stockerau 2016 (July 26th – August 2nd ) The first Pre-selection camp in new season of ETTU / ITTF – Europe Eurotalents Project Talent Identification & Selection started in Austria. The young players 16 of them from 7 countries are together from July 26th .  ”Perfectly organized by Stanislaw FRACZYK (UTTC STOCKERAU) and with experts help from Ferenc KARSAI Attila HALMAI Levente ARANYOSI players and their coaches enjoyed quality time together. The conditions are very good and the atmosphere is the fantastic ” stated ETTU Development Manager Eurotalents TI&S prof. Neven CEGNAR. Next step is Pre-Selection Camp II in Kiskunfelegyhazi. For the Hungarian’s camp we broke the record in ETTU / ITTF – Europe Eurotalents Project Talent Identification & Selection program – 47 players from 17 counters already send their aplications.
The ITTF Renews Double Fish for Four More Years
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) through it’s marketing partner TMS International have extended it’s deal with table tennis equipment manufacture for four more years. The deal which now runs until 2020 continues Double Fish’s tradition of being the official table supplier at the prestigious World Tour Grand Finals which will be held this year in Doha Qatar on 8-11 December. TMS International’s Managing Director Anders THUNSTROM stated:”TMS International is very happy to extend the agreement with Double Fish for the World Tour Grand Finals until 2020 (2017-2020). Double Fish has now been the Official Table supplier for the World Tour Grand Finals since 2004 and it was a priority for us to extend with with Double Fish for another four years. I also take it as confidence and satisfaction from Double Fish towards TMS and the World Tour Grand Finals to make the commitment for another Olympic cycle.” ITTF’s President Thomas WEIKERT was equally pleased with the resigning of ITTF’s long term partner: “Double Fish has always been a very solid and reliable partner for the ITTF so I am very happy they will continue as the table sponsor at the World Tour Grand Finals. For the World Tour Grand Finals they have provided us with some veryaestheticallypleasing tables and we look forward to some more amazing designs over the next four years.” General Manager of Guangzhou Double Fish Sports Goods Group Corporation Limited YE Yiqiang added: “I would like to express our sincere thanks to ITTF and TMS for their trust and support in our company. We are really happy to extend our cooperation with ITTF and TMS. For the coming four years we will continue to provide high-quality equipment for the World Tour Grand Final.”
Russian Table Tennis Players Cleared to Play at 2016 Olympic Games
Alexander Shibaev & his Russian teammates will be playing at Rio 2016. After careful review of the criteria set up by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 24 July 2016 following the release of the McLaren report the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has determined that the three Russian athletes qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be allowed to compete. ITTF’s investigation of the matter included individual test analysis of these players outside the Russian anti-doping system and confirmation by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that none of the concerned players were implicated in the McLaren findings released on 18 July 2016. ITTF believes that the provided evidence meets the requirements of the IOC and confirms the eligibility of the three qualified Russian players Polina MIKHAILOVA Maria DOLGIKH and Alexander SHIBAEV to play at Rio 2016. If ITTF’s ongoing testing program and/or further findings from Prof. McLaren’s extended mandate reveals any potential anti-doping rule violation or wrongdoing the ITTF will take immediate action to investigate and take sanction within the framework of the World Anti-Doping Code and the ITTF’s applicable regulations. The ITTF will continue to take doping issues very seriously and do everything in its power to ensure that table tennis stays clean not just at the Olympic Games but in all levels of table tennis. The Olympic table tennis event runs between 6-17 August at Riocentro Pavilion 3.
LIU Jia Austrian flag bearer in Rio Timo BOLL one of candidates in Germany
The 2005 European Champion in Women`s Singles Event leads Austrian Olympic Team represented by 68 athletes One star of European table tennis is already elected as a flag bearer for the August 5th opening ceremony of Rio 2016 Olympic Games but one more could join her in the next five days. LIU Jia is set to lead Austrian Olympic Team during the ceremony while Timo BOLL is one of five candidates of German Olympic Committee. LIU Jia approaches to her fifth consecutive Games reaching each time Round of 32 in the Women`s Singles Event: Sidney 2000 Athens 2004 Beijing 2008 and London 2012. Her best team`s result is the 7th place in Beijing 2008. She won gold medal in Women`s Singles Event of 2005 European Championships in Aarhus. As LIU Jia German star will inscribe his fifth Games after one quarter final (Athens 2004) and three Round of 16 (Sidney 2000 Beijing 2008 London 2012). Regarding Team Events six times individual European champion has silver from 2008 and bronze from 2012. He has a chance to become first ever table tennis player-flag bearer in German sport. Election of the flag in Germany was entrusted to the fans who can vote until August 2nd. Beside Timo BOLL candidates are twice Olympic champion in field hockey Fürst MORITZ Olympic champion in eventing (equestrian) Ingrid KLIMKE the2008 modern pentathlon Olympic champion Lena SANBORN and the team`s gold medalist of the 2012 Games in Cycling Kristina VOGEL. Four years ago in London the German flag at the opening ceremony was carrying the player in field hockey Natasha KELLER. Basketball super star Dirk NOWITZKI was in that role in Beijing 2008.
New Women’s Team Super Cup will be held in Berlin
The European Table Tennis Union and TTC Berlin Eastside are pleased to announce the new Women’s Team Super Cup will be held in Berlin on Saturday 25thand Sunday 26th August 2017. This new event will focus on exciting technical and presentation innovations to present a modern state of the art sport. Europe’s top women table tennis athletes will show their skills and enjoy the opportunity to present the sport to a wider audience. “In our quest for finding new ways to play and present our sport to new audiences I am excited about the idea for this new Women’s Team Super Cup event. TTC Berlin Eastside’s and our common strive is for the innovation that our sport needs. ETTU and the club will work very closely together in our aim to surprise not only the table tennis family but even more so to attract new audiences. I surely hope that this event in Berlin will be the start of an inspiring future for women’s table tennis ” said European Table Tennis Union President ronald KRAMER. TTC Berlin Eastside President Alexander TEICHMANN expresed his pleasure to work together with ETTU on new project. “TTC Berlin Eastside sees this cooperation as an ETTU appreciation for the work that European clubs have done for many years. It also justified the Union and the clubs’ common will to find improvements in the presentation of the club matches in order to attract new audience to our fascinating sport. The new Women’s Team Super Cup is the first step on our common path to the better table tennis ” said TTC Berlin Eastside President Alexander TEICHMANN.
SCHILTIGHEIM the place -to -be for the young players
EuroMinichamp August 26th to 28th 2016 Like the « Petits As » tournament in tennis the French Table Tennis Association offers an individual European event on the last weekend of August for the very young players (boys and girls born in 2004 and 2005 for the twelfth edition in 2016). The choice of Schiltigheim and the Strasbourg Euro Metropole is symbolic and interesting because of its geographic location for a lot of countries and its assets relative to the access facilities and the welcome’s possibilities. The event takes place in the Gymnasiums of Malteries and Leclerc in SCHILTIGHEIM on 60 tables. The accommodation of the participants is exclusively in the hotels of the Euro Metropole (players leaders officials coaches and accompanying persons). “The Federation 16 years ago has launched an important detection program towards the very young children in order to train top level players. The current results of our young elite seem to show that we are on the right way. The Euro Mini Champ’s fully play their role in this renewal since the best current European players under 15 which include numerous French have already participated successfully and won one edition in this event ” explained Thierry WICK Coordinator of the Euro Mini Champ’s communication. Under the auspices of the French Table Tennis Association the European countries are “invited” to participate according to the methods fixed by specific regulations. More than 30 European nations are regularly waited and the French Table Tennis Association is able to have “surprise” guests like it was the case for the Chinese delegations or for the ITTF in the past years. Extra individual registrations are also possible but they are only reserved to the French players. Almost 400 participants who are accompanied by trainers and often by their parents will come to Alsace. An original option allows each participant to play numerous games and to be associated all along these three days at this big sport celebration.
ETTU Development Program 2017: National Associations Development Support
The first CALL for 2017 applications The European Table Tennis Union is inviting all ETTU member Associations to submit their proposals for development program assistance and support for 2017. The areas to be supported by ETTU include: Organising national training camps for cadets and mini cadets Organising national educational seminars for coaches Organising national educational seminars for referees and umpires Support for the participation of the most talented players of a member Association to attend Eurotalents pre selection camps Support for the participation of the member Association’s coaches to ETTU educational seminars and to the annual ETTU Coaching Conference A specific need in development for a member Association with all necessary details explained and reasoned Further details and information may be obtained from Ivo-Goran Munivrana ETTU Deputy President responsible for development igmunivrana@gmail.com or Neven Cegnar ETTU Development Manager ncegnar@gmail.com. The closing date for applications to be returned to Ivo-Goran Munivrana igmunivrana@gmail.com and Neven Cegnar ncegnar@gmail.com is Thursday 15th September 2016.
Balkan TT Championships moved to Niksic
The 42nd Balkan (14th U21) Table Tennis Championships will be held from 18 to 22 August in NIKSIC (Montenegro). Due to technical reason City of Aleksinac (SRB) canceled organization allocated at BTTU Extraordinary Congress in Tivat. To avoid the possibility of cancelations of the Championships TRPKOVSKI BTTU General Secretary in cooperation with Mr STEVANOVIC TTA Serbia President and DEDIC TTA Montenegro President reached the agreement that Organizer of the 42nd Balkan Senior (14th U21) Table Tennis Championships will be City of Niksic. “We are very sorry for any inconvenience that you may have due to change of place where the Championships will be held and this late announce ” said Borislav PEJAKOVIC head of BTTU Technical Committee. The deadlines: – preliminary entries 22nd July – final entries 29th July – travelling details 5th August
José Manuel RUIZ will be the standard bearer of the Spanish team
The Paralympic table tennis player Jose Manuel RUIZ table will be the standard bearer of the Spanish team that will participate in the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016. The announcement was made last Tuesday at the presentation of the Spanish Paralympic Team that will compete in these Games. An act that took place at the headquarters of the Higher Sports Council (CSD) with President of the Spanish Paralympic Committee Miguel CARBALLEDA with the participation of CSD President Miguel CARDENAL and other athletes besides Jose Manuel Ruiz who was accompanied by the President of the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation Bureau and member of the Executive Committee of the Spanish Paralympic Committee Miguel Angel MACHADO. In the act José Manuel RUIZ stressed his “happiness” so it is “fulfilling a dream” inside his successful career. “Being standard bearer is something unique and unrepeatable are things that happen once in life so I feel privileged ” said the Paralympian. Jose Manuel Ruiz REYES was born in Granada on 16 July 1978. In his resume playing table tennis are four Paralympic medals: an individual silver plus a silver and two bronzes by equipment. During the 22 years he has been defending the colors of Spain it has also accumulated about 30 metals in European Championships and World several of them gold. Ruiz is facing its sixth consecutive Paralympic Games a fact that makes the athlete more active participation: Atlanta 1996 Sydney 2000 Athens 2004 Beijing 2008 and London 2012. In addition to José Manuel Ruiz will attend this event with Para Table Tennis completing the 9 places that has made Spain Alvaro VALERA Jordi MORALES Alberto SEOANE Jorge CARDONA Juan Bautista PEREZ Miguel RODRIGUEZ Eduardo CUESTA and Bilal the BAQQALI. The Table Tennis competition will be held from Thursday 8 September until Saturday 17 at Pavilion 3 of Riocentro where the Spaniards will try to keep adding medals to the last 3 achieved in London 2012.
Russia at the top of the table with 12 medals
Russia won six gold two silver and four bronze medals at the European Youth Championships in Zagreb.They topping the list with Romania and Italy on second and third position. The Championships in Zagreb is the one with the most participants – 571. During the Team Events 562 matches with 2093 individual duels were played. In sngles we saw 1.295 matches. In total 3.388 matches in 10 days. Most successful players are Kristina KAZANTSEVA (RUS) with 2 gold 2 silver Vladimir SIDORENKO (RUS) 2 gold 1 bronze Adina DIACONU (ROU) 1 gold 1 silver Lev KATSMAN (RUS) 1 gold 2 bronze Truls MOREGARDH (SWE) 3 silver Tomas POLANSKY (CZE) 2 silver 1 bronze ZHANG Xuan Xu (ESP) 3 bronze. Youngest player was Conrad PULI of Malta born 28th January 2004 in girl’s category Elena Adriana ZAHARIA Romania born 4th November 2004. Prithika PAVADE of France (2th August 2004 11 year and 350 days) was the youngest playing EYC finalist when she played the Cadet Mixed final. She is the youngest playing finalist since 2006 when Bernadette SZOCS (Romania then 11 year and 137 days) set the all time record when playing in the Cadet Girls Team final. Most matches played: Vladislav URSU (MDA) 34 Kristina KAZANTSEVA (RUS) 31 (won 28) Truls MOREGARDH (SWE) 30 Roel BOGIE (NED) 29 Maciej KOLODZIECZYK (POL) 29 Tomas POLANSKY (CZE) 28 CHEN Xingtai (AZE) 28 YANG Xinyu (AZE) 28 Jana BERNARD (BEL) 28 Lev KATSMAN (RUS) 28. Gold Silver Bronze 1 Russia 5.5 2 4 2 Romania 2.5 1 3 3 Italy 1 1 1 3 France 1 1 1 5 Belgium 1 1 6 Belarus 1 6 Germany 1 8 Austria 0.5 1 2 9 Moldova 0.5 10 Sweden 3 11 Czech Republic 1.5 2.5 12 Azerbeidjan 1 3 13 Poland 1 13 Serbia 1 15 England 0.5 1 16 Spain 4 17 Slovenia 3.5 18 Croatia 1.5 19 Turkey 1 19 Hungary 1
