This Friday (13h20 CET live on LAOLA1.tv) returning final leg will be held in Russia after 3:1 home win of German champion After the returning final TTCLM leg this Friday (13h20 CET live on LAOLA1.tv someone will become 11th time European club’s champion Borussia Dusseldorf or Fakel Gazproma`s player Vladimir SAMSONOV who did it three times with German side. The ultimate MECL showdown will be held in Russian city Orenburg where these two title contenders closed the 2010/11 season (German champion took its last crown). Borussia went to Russia with a big advantage from ARAG CenterCort 3:1 (10:6) thanks to Timo BOLL who defeated two Top 10 players from ITTF World ranking list Vladimir SAMSONOV and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV. Greek Panagiotis GIONIS prevailed against Alexey SMIRNOV while OVTCHAROV brought unique point to his side beating Patrick FRANZISKA. In the crucial moment for the 1st game’s outcome BOLL saved match ball in the fourth encounter against OVTCHAROV. The finalists successfully defended their titles in the national leagues last Sunday and both are approaching to the upcoming meeting in a good shape. Three weeks ago it was clear that German club has to continue until the end of the season without Indian Kamal ACHANTA due to injury that he got on the 2015 QOROS World Championships in Suzhou. Borussia amazingly survived twice this season first in the MECL and recently in the Bundesliga thus they are now fully determined to avoid destiny of Pontoise and Saarbrucken who both missed a big advantages against Timo BOLL & Company in the MECL quarter-final and German League semi-final respectively. Dusseldorf`s team has eliminated the reigning MECL champion thanks to better set-ratio (1:3 3:1 17:16) while they did one more unbelievable comeback against Saarbrucken who won 3:0 (9:4) first leg (in the second one Borussia beat them 3:0 9:3). German side is the record holder being 10 times European champion (6 Cup of Champions era 4 MECL era). There is just one club in all sports who did it more times CSKA Moscow in the volleyball (13 titles). Real Madrid also has 10 in football basketball department of this Spanish club lifted the trophy nine times Barcelona did it eight times in handball Pro Reco Mladost Zagreb and Partizan Belgrade 7 times in vater polo… On the other side Vladimir SAMSONOV has the best individual table tennis score fighting now for his 11th European title. Great Byelorussian took two Cup of Champions and eight MECL: 1997 1998 2000 with Borussia 2001 2002 2003 2004 and 2007 with Charleroi and 2012 and 2013 with Fakel Gazproma Orenburg. In last six editions the actual finalists were five times in total MECL winners: Borussia 2009 2010 and 2011 Orenburg 2012 and 2013. French Pontoise beat all predictions last year defeating Russian champion in the final. The ultimate MECL match will determine the best individual score in the 2014/15 season. Timo BOLL enters upcoming clash with 15-2 whilst Dimitrij OVTCHAROV has 13-2. It could be expect that one of these two Germans will be a man of decision. Men’s ECL final 2nd leg (May 29th 13h20 CET) Fakel Gazproma Orenburg – Borussia Dusseldorf Men`s ECL final 1st leg (May 10th 13h00 CET) Borussia Dusseldorf – Fakel Gazproma Orenburg 3:1 Timo BOLL – Vladimir SAMSONOV 3:0 (11:3 11:7 14:12) Patrick FRANZISKA – Dimitrij OVTCHAROV 1:3 (2:11 11:6 8:11 7:11) Panagiotis GIONIS – Alexey SMIRNOV 3:1 (11:3 11:5 8:11 11:4) Timo BOLL – Dimitrij OVTCHAROV 3:2 (7:11 11:7 8:11 11:7 12:10)
New titles boost self-confidence of MECL finalists
Orenburg and Borussia who will meet this Friday succesfully defended their crowns in Russia and Germany respectively Two European biggest trophy collectors in last ten years will meet in the ultimate clash of the 2014/15 Men`s European Champions League this Friday in Orenburg (May 29th 13h20 CET) aiming their second titles in just five days! Last Sunday both defended their crowns in national leagues Borussia Dusseldorf in Germany and Fakel Gazproma Orenburg in Russia but now they will fight for the most prestigious trophy in the club`s competition of Old Continent.Borussia secured a big advantage for the returning leg beating at home Russian side 3:1 (10:6). Timo BOLL contributed with two points against two Top 10 players on ITTF Ranking list (Vladimir SAMSONOV and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV) while Panagiotis GIONIS added one against Alexey SMIRNOV.“Of course it will be difficult to win back after 3:1 defeat but we`ll know the MECL winner only after the second final match. Our team is aimed at winning the second match” stressed Orenburg`s coach Valeriy SALABAEV.Borussia goes to Russia in super mood with 27th title of Bundesliga in its history. Two days ago in Frankfurter Fraport Arena they defeated Fulda 3:1 playing in front of 3.200 spectators. BOLL again did his job against WANG Xi and former Borussia`s player Christian SUSS as well as Greek GIONIS who prevaileg against Ruwen FILUS. Borussia`s manager Andreas PREUSS repeated that it was like in previous games the success of all players including Patrick FRANZISKA who brought some important wins during the season (despite he missed few months due to injury):“Now we are focused on one more big step to win TTCLM”.In the same time Orenburg defended its title in Russia after exciting final encounters against its biggest rival UMMC. The final tournament of Russian League was held in Yekaterinburg and as it was expected these two clubs fought for the crown. Verkhnaya Pyshma`s side won first final match 4:3 last Saturday but next day Orenburg secured new title by 4:2 victory. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV won all his four games beating twice Jun MIZUTANI and Alexander SHIBAEV.
Patrick FRANZISKA entered Top 10
May’s European rankings are available now At the European rankings in May Dimitrij OVTCHAROV and Timo BOLL holds the top two positions on Men’s list however at the lower positions in Top 10 there are few changes. Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus took Portugal’s Marcos FREITAS position no. 3 whilst from place no. 8 Panagiotis GIONIS of Greece moved to spot no. 5. Patric BAUM of Germany Tiago APOLONIA of Portugal and Robert GARDOS of Austria all moved down for one place. Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany entered the top 10. He moved from position no. 21. HAN Ying of Germany and LIU Jia of Austria still stands on the top of the Women’s’ Rankings with Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania at the position no. three. LI jie of Netherlands progressed to position no. 6 and SHEN YAnfei of Germany also moved up to Top 8. At the top of the U21 lists are Simon GAUZY of France and Petrissa SOLJA of Germany. The best ranked Junior Boy is Anton KALLBERG of Sweden whilst in the Junior Girl’s category Adina DIACONU of Romania is at the top. Romania is once again at the top in the Cadet Boys list with Cristian PLETEA being no. one again. In Girls category Russia’s Maria TAYLAKOVA is the best ranked cadet.
37th Flanders International Tournament in Oostende
The 17th Flanders ITT Ostend Masters is on Saturday 15 August 2015 with Jean-Michel Saive The 37th Flanders International Table Tennis Tournament will be held in Oostende. The tournament starts on Friday August 14th with the competition for veterans. The 17th Flanders I.T.T. Ostend Masters Players with Jean-Michel SAIVE will be on program next day whilst Flanders Youth Cup and 13th Flanders Seniors Cup will be played from Monday 17th. The tournament will be played on 50 tables with white 40 mm new plastic balls new rankings will be used and one player can enter only for up 2 series each day.
Nearly 2.000 veterans on their way to Tampere
Veterans European Championships will be played from June 28th to July 4th in Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre. The final number of the officially registered participants is 1 850. They are coming to compete on 90 brand new Stiga Expert tables in the main hall plus 40 more in the practice hall. Tampere 180 km from Helsinki to North is the biggest midland city in the whole Scandinavia with more than 200.000 inhabitants.Finnish Table Tennis Association and the local organizer PT 75 expects more than 2 500 guests from 35 European countries in total. German team is the biggest group with close to 700 players.“The competition brings in Tampere many former Continent’s top players. One of the most famous of them is probably Austrian DING Yi. One of the best Finnish players ever Jukka IKONEN is also going to show his famous defensive skills again in his hometown after a few years break” announced FTTA President Esko HEIKKINEN.
Baku 2015 completes final tests of all 20 European Games sports
Baku 2015 European Games yesterday held successful sport tests in Volleyball and 3×3 Basketball completing its preparatory programme for all 20 sports which will feature at the inaugural event.Mr Simon CLEGG Chief Executive Officer of Baku 2015 said: “The successful close of the sport test series together with our test events brings us one step closer to the start of the Games on 12 June. Delivering the first European Games has been a massive undertaking for BEGOC and our partners in the Azerbaijani government involving preparations on a city-wide basis but we have always kept a strong focus on the athletes’ experience. “Our test events and sport tests have allowed us to learn some important lessons based on a philosophy of ‘plan implement execute review and refine’ and we are now better placed to deliver a successful Games as a result of these collective learnings. It is my firm belief that great sporting competitions make for successful sporting events and at Baku 2015 we have spared no effort to ensure the stage will be perfectly set for Europe’s competitors to deliver the performances of a lifetime.”Sport tests are events designed to ensure the readiness of Baku 2015 from a sport competition perspective while test events are stand-alone competitions in their own right with a broader range of functional areas involved.Mr Pierce O’CALLAGHAN Baku 2015 Director of Sport explained: “The series of sport tests has confirmed our readiness to host the European Games ensuring that everything is in place for the athletes to shine across all 20 Baku 2015 sports. The sport tests have complemented the six major test events that we held which allowed us to simulate Games-time operations across the full range of functional areas. By combining test events in key venues with a full series of sport tests we have fully tested our operational readiness in the most resource-effective manner.”
Borussia Dusseldorf clinched second trophy and still counting
Borussia Dusseldorf came one step closer to the triple – crown. After they clinched the German Cup Trophy in December last year the team led by Timo BOLL defended their Bundesliga title in the Frankfurt Fraport Arena today. In the re-run of last year’s final in front of 3200 spectators they beat TTC Fulda-RhönSprudel Maberzell – 3:1. The only title still missing is the one in European Champions League. This Friday (29 May) in Orenburg they will have the opportunity to unified all big trophies in same season. Borussia Dusseldorf had a shaky start. Surprisingly Patrick FRANZISKA lost his match against Christian SUSS in straight games. SUSS even forced his long time doubles partner Timo BOLL to go full distance. It was the last match for 29-years old SUSS who announced few weeks ago that he will retire after the TTBL final due the health reasons. TTC RhönSprudel Fulda- Maberzell – Borussia Dusseldorf 1:3Christian SUSS – Patrick FRANZISKA 3:0 (11:4 11:8 11:7)WANG Xi – Timo BOLL 0:3 (5:11 9:11 4:11)Ruwen FILUS – Panagiotis GIONIS 1:3 (12:10 6:11 5:11 6:11)Christian SUSS – Timo BOLL 2:3 (12:10 11:9 2:11 7:11 5:11)
Korea won both team’s titles in Slovakia
Selecting from a squad comprising AN Jaehyun HWANG Minha LEE Jangmok and KANG Jihoon Korea won the Boys’ Team title at the 2015 Slovak Junior Open.The top seeds they surrendered just two individual matches en route to gold the player to suffer defeat being HWANG Minha the winner of the Boys’ Singles title at the 2014 ITTF Cadet Challenge staged some six months ago in Barbados.In the final against Japan ‘B’ the second seeds he was beaten by Tomokazu HARIMOTO after earlier in the proceedings having experienced defeat against Daniele PINTO in a close full distance five games duel when Korea had overcome Italy ‘A’ at the quarter-final stage of proceedings.Top seeds Korea proved irrepressible in the Girls’ Team event as well; the trio formed by CHOI Yelin KIM Jiho PARK Seri showed no mercy. At the final hurdle the Koreans overcame the fourth seeded Italian trio formed by LE Thi Hong Loan Veronica MOSCONI and Elisa TURGANTI by three matches to nil without surrendering a single game.
Jakub DYJAS clinched the Under 21 Men’s Singles title
Japan’s Maharu YOSHIMURA clinched the Men’s Singles title at the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Zagreb (Croatia) Open. He inflicted the pain in the hearts of the host nation supporters by beating TAN Ruiwu at the final hurdle (9-11 11-9 11-9 6-11 5-11 3-11). In semi final TAN overcame Alvaro ROBLES of Spain in six games (11-7 8-11 11-7 6-11 11-3 11-9) whilst YOSHIMURA needed five to beat LEE Sangsu of Korea (11-4 11-7 11-4 7-11 11-8).In the final duel of the Women’s Singles Event between SHAN Xiaona of Germany and CHOI Hyojoo of Korea Asian player prevailed in five games (11-5 11-7 7-11 11-9 11-3). Previously CHOI beat Mima ITO of Japan in full distance thriller (11-7 9-11 10-12 10-12 11-8 11-7 11-7) whilst SHAN halted the progress of YANG Haeun of Korea (11-6 5-11 11-7 4-11 6-11 11-7 11-13) in another seven games match. Poland’s Jakub DYJAS and Korea’s CHOI Hyojoo won the respective Under 21 Men’s Singles and Under 21 Women’s Singles titles. It is the first time either player had won an ITTF World Tour title.Jakub DYJAS occupied the no.2 seeded position in the draw. In the later stages he overcame Frenchman Alexandre CASSIN in the round of the last eight (11-5 9-11 12-10 11-8) before accounting for Portugal’s João GERALDO the no.3 seed (11-9 11-3 11-8) to book his place in the final against Germany’s Benedikt DUDA the no.4 seed. DYJAS emerged successful by the very narrowest of margins in a tension packed full distance five games final (9-11 11-7 10-12 11-8 13-11) against a young man very much in form.After beating Croatia’s Tomislav PUCAR in the quarter-finals (11-9 9-11 11-3 12-10) he overcame Japan’s Yuya OSHIMA the top seed in the penultimate round (11-9 3-11 11-9 13-11).In an all Korean Women’s Doubles final the seeded outfit succeeded against the partnership that had been required to negotiate the preliminary rounds. Second seeds JEON Jihee and YANG Haeun overcame CHOI Hyojoo and JUNG Yumi in three straight games (11-5 11-6 11-9).
Minsk hosted High Performance Coaching course
Supported by the Ministry of Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Belarus and High School of Coaches Minsk the capital of the Republic of Belarus hosted the High Performance Coaching course. The total of 14 coaches (7 women) attended the course which included practical and theory sessions. The intensive program has been included in the Educational program of High School of Coaches of Republic of Belarus. This School gathers many sports: fencing figure skating ace hockey volleyball handball light and weight athletics cycling table tennis etc. “I am very proud to come to my home town and conduct the coaching course I haven’t been in Minsk for 4 years and I feel very happy to do something for my colleagues from Belarus. Almost of all them knows me from small age and understanding between us was incredible also I understand very well needs and requirements of Belarus coaches and players. I am from Table Tennis family: my father Vladimir YEFREMOV and my sister Asia YEFREMOVA (Sazonova) lives in Minsk and teach Table Tennis on daily basics. All my friends are table tennis players or coaches… It help em understand the situation here much better. After this course I come will back to Medellin where is based my family and will prepare next challenge Egypt Hopes and Youth training camp previous GJC Egypt open 8-12 of June ” said coach Aleksey Yefremov
