In the opening match in the Champions League Stage 2 in Group C the French team GRAND-QUEVILLY ALCL caught LINZ AG Froschberg off guard. With a 2:3 loss in the home game Linz women find themselves under pressure unusually early. Now Etival ASRTT (FRA) a team from France that can be considered stronger is coming to Linz and they caused quite a headache for the Linz team last year. In contrast to the first ECL game the Linz women are well-prepared this time and they go into the game against Etival with renewed confidence. LINZ AG Froschberg under high tension Sofia POLCANOVA who after her strong performance at the Frankfurt Masters with absolutely sensational world-class rallies against China’s WANG Yidi the world’s number 5 managed to forget her perceived training gap. Certainly POLCANOVA’S incredible fast “come-back” once again should provide her and the Froschberg team with the necessary support and self-confidence for this crucial home game on Sunday. “I felt really good in Frankfurt I realized that things are heading in the right direction again both physically and mentally. My hip held up very well. I’m ready for Sunday very positive.” Unlike the last Champions League match Suthasini SAWETTABUT who could only arrive at the game on the day of the match due to being extremely tired from the WTT tournament in Antalya was able to arrive in time this time and prepare accordingly. With Yana NOSKOVA who in 2018 alongside Sofia POLCANOVA won the silver medal in the women’s doubles at the European Championships in Alicante the Linz team can deploy an internationally experienced player in this encounter and strengthen the Linz Team.
Felix LEBRUN reached the quarterfinals in Frankfurt
At the WTT Champions Frankfurt 2023 the 17-year-old French player Felix LEBRUN reached the quarterfinals after securing a straight games victory over Germany’s DANG Qui (8 9 8). The two highest-ranked penhold grip players on the planet LEBRUN and QIU have faced each other five times so far and this marks LEBRUN’s second win. “I did a lot of things better than in the last match against him when he won 4-2 at the World Championships. I watched that match so I tried to adjust my tactics a bit. It worked and I’m happy about this. I attempted to attack the first ball which led to my victory. That was the key for today. It’s very satisfying to compete in front of such a large crowd and for me it doesn’t matter whether they support me or my opponent. I also received some French support which was nice.” In the quarterfinals LEBRUN will face LEE Sang Su: “I think he’s very strong because he recently defeated FAN Zhendong so I know it will be a tough match. However I believe I can win against LEE Sang Su because I previously won 3-1 against him. I will try to replicate that performance.” QIU said “I was initially very disappointed because I was leading in the second and third games 5-1 in the second and 7-3 in the third. It’s quite rare for me to let such leads slip away. Essentially I wasn’t in as good form today as I was two days ago. I found it very challenging to get into the match and struggled with my own game in particular. It wasn’t so much about what he did but I was preoccupied with myself and missed many easy shots that I usually feel confident about. This struggle persisted throughout the entire match.”
Bernadette SZOCS beat CHEN Meng
World No. 12 Bernadette SZOCS defeated the second seed China’s CHEN Meng in the Round of 16 at the WTT Champions Frankfurt 2023. Romania’s star caused a major upset by beating the Olympic champion in a closely contested five-game match (4-11 11-8 13-11 5-11 12-10). With this victory SZOCS secured her spot in the WTT Finals. “I am very proud that I managed to beat her once again. I wanted to prove to myself that it wasn’t just a ‘lucky’ match last time at the WTT Champions in Macao 2022; I did it again ” said Bernadette SZOCS. Spaking of the her victory SZOCS added: “I think the secret is that I believe in myself and always think positive . It is very important to be calm when you play a Chinese player because they are calm and they like to play many balls on table. I always need to find many different good tactics against them. If I just play one tactic they find it out too quickly. So well for today I prepared many tactics as I definitely wanted to beat her. My last matches against her I lost because I made some mistakes I did not want to make them again. So I practised a lot for the big match and make sure that I don’t make the same mistakes like last time.” It seems that the Chinese superpower also remembers that match very well. It also seems that only Romanian players can rise to the challenge. SZOCS entered the arena as one of just two women outside of Asia to ever defeat CHEN the other being fellow Romanian player Elizabeta SAMARA. After such an astonishing achievement the bar is set much higher. “I’ve proven to myself not only that I can beat CHEN but also that I can win an Olympic medal. I don’t think that the level of my game is far from the Chinese stars. I feel I am close and I believe I can reach the top five in the world ” explained SZOCS. Bernadette expressed great gratitude for the people who work with her especially Coach Seni IONUT. “I am happy that I am surrounded by people who believe in me who help me and work with me. I am aware that I am not the easiest person to work with; I have a strong character and it takes a lot of patience. Despite that I have a coach who believes in me and helps me build my career both physically and mentally. He spends 7-8 hours with me each day at the venue ” said SZOCS.
Five German Players in the Round of 16
After three days of fierce competition the first round of the WTT Champions Frankfurt featuring the world’s top 32 players concluded with 13 Europeans still in the running. The competitions will continue tomorrow with Round of 16 matches. In Men’s Singles Liam PITCHFORD of England will face the second seed WANG Chuqin of China. The 31st ranked Jonathan GROTH of Denmark will clash with the world’s 5th-ranked Tomokazu HARIMOTO of Japan. Benedikt DUDA of Germany will compete against LIN Yun Ju of Taipei. In an all-European clash another host nation representative Dimitrij OVTCHAROV will play against Swede Mattias FALCK. The third German player who booked his place in the Round of 16 QIU Dang (ranked 14th) will try to overcome Frenchman Felix LEBRUN (ranked 9th). In the Women’s Singles event French representative Prithika PAVADE (ranked 41st) will play against the top seed SUN Yingsha of China while Romania’s Bernadette SZOCS (ranked 13th) will meet the 2nd seed CHEN Meng of China. Germany will have two representatives in this event: Sabine WINTER (ranked 70th) will play against SHIN Yubin of Korea (ranked 8th) and Nina MITTELHAM (ranked 21st) will meet Japan’s Mima ITO (ranked 9th). Monaco’s Yang Xiaoxin (ranked 12th) will play against Korea’s JOO Cheonhui (ranked 20th) and YUAN Jia Nan of France (ranked 27th) will face the world’s 3rd-ranked WANG Manyu of China.
Bosnia and Herzegovina to Join European Youth Series in 2024
During its recent meeting the ETTU Executive Board awarded the hosting rights for the Europe Youth Series’ events to six federations. All the hosts from 2023 have reaffirmed their interest in hosting these events and this year an additional host has joined the circuit – Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 2024 season will commence with the Croatia Open just like this year with Osijek once again serving as the host. The tournament is scheduled from February 21st to 25th and will feature boys and girls singles and doubles events for Under 15 and Under 13 categories. Mixed teams will also compete in both categories. The tournament in Türkiye will be held from March 13th to 17th in Nevsehir – Cappadocia featuring the same list of events as Croatia. Loutraki Greece will once again host the Greece Open from April 3rd to 7th. In this edition young players will participate in teams mixed doubles and doubles events instead of mixed teams. Bosnia and Herzegovina will make its debut on the circuit with tournaments scheduled between April 29th and May 3rd. Sarajevo will serve as the host for 10 events matching the events in Croatia and Turkey. The Serbian Open will relocate to the capital city Belgrade from September 25th to 29th offering the same program as the Greece Open. The final event of the 2024 Europe Youth Series will once again be hosted by Czechia taking place in Plzen from October 16th to 20th. This event will feature singles teams mixed doubles and doubles events much like previous year.
OVTCHAROV to Face FALCK in Round of 16
On the second day of play at the WTT Champions Frankfurt featuring the world’s top 32 players and offering a prize of 500 000 US dollars 11 European players have so far advanced to the Round of 16. On the opening day Dimitrij OVTCHAROV brought joy to home nation supporters by defeating Portugal’s Marcos FREITAS. OVTCHAROV was in peak form securing his 14th victory in as many international matches against Freitas. Although he faced stiff resistance from this year’s European Games finalist OVTCHAROV came out on top with an 11:9 8:11 11:7 and 11:6 win. OVTCHAROV will play his Round of 16 match on Wednesday. His opponent will be Swede Mattias FALCK who overcame Germany’s Ruwen FILUS. The 2019 World Championship runner-up and double world champion of 2021 beat FILUS in five games (7-11 11-5 8-11 11-7 11-4). Liam PITCHFORD of England overcame Japan’s Hiroto SHINOZUKA 3-1 (4 -8 11 5) to book his place in the Round of 16. “The third game was pretty tight 15-13. When I lost the second game I think he would have had a lot of confidence but to win that game and then start well in the fourth was very important. We both had a good performance. He played very well today. I think he was probably dominant in the long rally ” explained PITCHFORD. “He was keeping his backhand really well but I just tried to fight and keep myself in the points and I think I won a lot of points especially on my serves. I think that was very important for me today. I needed to serve well against him and receive well and it was my first time in the arena so it took a little bit of time to get used to the conditions. But I’m very happy to win this match.” The duel between two French players Felix LEBRUN and Simon GAUZY ended in favor of the younger LEBRUN brother who reached his place among the World’s top 10 this week 3-2 (7-11 11-8 7-11 11-7 11-7). “It was a very important match for me. Simon played very well today and especially the last two games were on a very high level from both of us. The key to win was that at the end of the match I was physically in better condition. At the beginning I didn’t win many points when he was in defense but I was able to change that towards the end of the match. I was stressed in this match but at the same time I was self-confident as I played well during the last two three months. The crowd was amazing today. I felt super good to play in front of such a crowd ” said LEBRUN. In the next round he will meet Dang QUI who overcame Slovenia’s Darko JORGIC 3-0 (8 8 8). In Women’s Singles Nina MITTELHAM joined her teammate Sabine WINTER in the Round of 16. Nina overcame Egypt’s Hana GODA after a full-distance match (-5 7 -5 6 5). On the previous day French Prithika PAVADE beat CHENG I Ching while her compatriot Jia Nan YUAN overcame Australia’s Yangzi LIU and Bernadette SZOCS of Romania prevailed against Germany’s Annett KAUFMANN.
Table Tennis Hall Turns Pink
On Saturday the PRiPING Ping Pong Club hosted the traditional “PINK-PONG Breast Cancer Awareness Table Tennis Tournament” with a significant mission: to raise awareness about breast cancer. The color pink transformed the ping pong hall emphasizing the collaboration in raising awareness about this disease. This tournament was unique and held as part of the “Prishtina Pink” campaign. In addition to ping pong matches informative sessions were organized featuring Dr. Ilir KURTISHI from the Oncology Department Ms. Nafije LATIFI from Jeta Vita and Dr. Izet SADIKU from the Health Directorate who shared valuable information about breast cancer and the importance of early screening. In this context ping pong became more than just a sport; it became a means to unite the community and raise awareness about this serious health issue. The use of the pink color on ping pong balls rackets and shirts symbolized solidarity with women seeking early diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer. The participation of women and girls was crucial as they played a pivotal role in disseminating information and raising awareness about this issue through their social networks and communication with their families. Kastriot ORANA the chairman of the PRiPING Club expressed his satisfaction with the massive participation in this event and emphasized the key role of sports organizations and other partners in promoting women’s health. He extended his gratitude to Jeta Vita the Municipality of Prishtina the Oncology Clinic and Rotary Club Newborn Prishtina for their collaboration. In this context it is crucial to acknowledge and support the efforts of various companies and organizations that support such awareness events. Corporations like Rugova Vitabiotics Kosovo and 2U made the realization of this tournament possible.
Europe Youth Loutraki: Five gold medals for Greece two for Denmark and one for Georgia
The Greek Open which was part of the ETTU’s Europe Youth series concluded in Loutraki Corinthia with thrilling finals a vibrant atmosphere from all the young athletes and many smiles. For four days 37 athletes from three countries gave their best for honors and enjoyed the matches at the Sport Camp facility. Denmark’s Malik SEVERINSEN was the victor in the boys’ Under 13 singles. In the girls’ Under 13 singles Greece’s Anna-Fanouria MITKA claimed the title. In the Boys’ Under 15 singles Greece’s Ioannis KOUTRA lifted the cup adding to his victory in Croatia in the Europe Youth Series last April. The girls’ Under 15 singles was dominated by Anastasia CHKHARTISHVILI of Georgia. In the doubles gold medals were earned by Denmark’s Emil HASSELBLANK/Malik SEVERINSEN in the boys’ Under 13 Anna-Fanouria MITKA and Elpida TASIOU of Greece in the girls’ Under 13 Ioannis KOUTRA/Ioannis KIOSELOGLOU in the boys’ Under 15 and Vassiliki BOULA/Stella MAVROMATAKI of Greece in the girls’ Under 15. The tournament which didn’t have strong international participation nevertheless featured excellent organization and suitable conditions for the athletes. It marks a new beginning for the Greek federation. The president of the H.T.T.F. Kostas PAPAGEORGIOU was present. Awards on behalf of the federation were presented by Stefanos STOGIANNOPOULOS general secretary of the local Sports Club Poseidon Loutraki. The finals saw an enthusiastic audience creating an incredible atmosphere alongside the athletes. In the mini cadet boys there was a field of eight players. Left-handed Malik SEVERINSEN and right-handed Emil HASSELBACK from Denmark advanced to the final. SEVERINSEN showed his prowess and secured the highest step of the podium with a 3-1 victory (11-4 11-7 11-3). Ioannis KIOSELOGLOU and Konstantinos ALEXOUDIS reached the semifinals but were defeated by the excellent Danes earning bronze medals. Giannis KYOSELOGLOU was beaten 3-0 by SEVERINSEN and Konstantinos ALEXOUDIS lost 3-1 to HASSELBLANK. In the mini cadet girls four Greek athletes secured medal positions on October 27th. In the final Anna-Fanouria MITKA and Athanasia GOGA who overcame their Greek counterparts faced off. In the boys’ Under 15 competition Ioannis KOUTRA and Ioannis KIOSELOGLOU local athletes from the Poseidon team in Loutraki won the gold and bronze medals respectively. KOUTRA emerged as the victor prevailing 3-1 (11-9 11-7 7-11 11-6). KOUTRA eliminated Denmark’s Malik SEVERINSEN in 3-0 sets in the semifinals. KIOSELOGLOU had defeated the second seed Emil HASSELBLANK in the quarterfinals with a 3-2 score and also vanquished Konstantinos ALEXOUDIS with a 3-2 score in the semifinals. In the girls’ Under 15 category Anastasia CHKHARTISHVILI of Georgia secured the top position. She met China-born Sami LU of Denmark in the final. CHKHARTISHVILI demonstrated great consistency after the second set and won 3-1 to claim the trophy (11-6 9-11 11-2 11-5). Vasiliki BOULA and Angela NURE won the bronze medals. The former was defeated in the semifinals by LOU in a five-set thriller. “I am very happy because I managed to win my second tournament in the Europe Youth series. I prepared quite well as I recently returned from an 8-day training camp in Taipei thanks to an Olympic Scholarship secured by the Greek Federation. The camp was very intense and I had a unique experience in general ” said the 15-year-old champion. “It was an honor and a pleasure for us kids from Loutraki to play international games in our city and in front of our own people. The most challenging moment on my way to the three gold medals was in the final of the team event when I faced the Georgian CHKHARTISHVILI. The match went to the 5th set but with composure I managed to win. It’s the end of a fantastic year for me in the youth category. We promoted the national team to the A category in Europe barely won the bronze medal at the Balkan Championships secured four first-place finishes in the Europe Youth Series and I believe I’ve made significant progress in my competitive skills.” In the final of the girls’ Under 13 doubles Anna Fanouria MITKA and Elpida TASIOU defeated Andrea GREGERSEN/Celinda VUNG of Denmark 3-1 (11-8 11-13 11-5 13-11). In the boys Under 13 doubles final Denmark’s Emil HASSELBACK/Malik SEVERINSEN defeated Konstantinos ISAAKIDIS/Konstantinos ALEXOUDIS 3-1 (16-14 12-10 11-13 11-8). In the thrilling final of the girls’ Under 15 doubles Vasiliki boula/Stella Mavromataki overcame Anastasia tskartishvili/Tekla Liparteliani of Georgia 3-1 (11-8 15-17 11-6 11-3). The boys’ Under 15 doubles final was a Greek affair. Yiannis KOUTRA/Yiannis KIOSELOGLOU celebrated the first place defeating Theofanis-Giorgos MITKAS/Kosta FAKAROS 3-0 (11-9 11-3 11-4). The bronze medals had been secured since Friday: The Greek pairs Sophia filis/Athanasia Goga and Despina DEMETRIOU/Afroditi-Ioanna SARIKAKI in the girls U13 category. Sally LOU/Filippa MIKELBORG from Denmark and Alexandra BITCHAVA/Angela NURE from Greece in the girls U15 category. Dimitris ALEXANDRIDIS/Giorgos SASSANIS and Dimitris GEORGALLIDIS/Nikos ANGELIDIS also from Greece in the boys U13 category. Denmark’s Vilage BERGHOLT/Gustav HOYSLETT and Georgia’s Nikola CHKHARTISHVILI/Mate GABARASVILI in the boys U15 category.
Europe Youth Loutraki: Doubles Finals and Medal Positions in Girls Singles Under 13
The 3rd and penultimate day of the Europe Youth tournament in Loutraki provided exciting matches for table tennis fans. It was the first day of the individual events and it reached the medal matches creating lively interest. On the 27th of October in the Sport Camp gym the final pairs in the doubles of all categories were announced as well as the athletes in the category up to 13 years old who covered the medal positions. Host Greece has its own athletes everywhere. Under 13 Boys’ Doubles: Konstantinos ISAAKIDIS/Konstantinos ALEXOUDIS will face Denmark’s Emil HASSELBALCH/Malik SEVERINSEN in the final. Under 15 Boys’ Doubles: The gold medal match features two Greek doubles Ioannis KOUTRA/Ioannis KIOSELOGLOU and Theofanis-Giorgos MITKAS/Kostas FAKAROS. Under 13 Girls’ Doubles: Anna Fanouria MITKA and Elpida TASIOU will meet Denmark’s Andrea GREGERSEN/Chelinda VOONG in the final. Under 15 Girls’ Doubles: Anastasia CHKHARTISHVILI/Tekla LIPARTELIANI of Georgia will face Vasiliki BOULA/Stella MAVROMATAKI of Greece in the final. In the singles event the women’s category of the age group has already advanced to the four-team stage due to the small participation and it is noteworthy that four Greek women entered the medal positions. Anna-Fanouria Mitka and Athanasia Goga qualified from one group while Aphrodite-Ioanna Sariskaki and Despina Demetriou qualified from the other. The Under 13 doubles finals will be held in parallel at 18:45 with the boys’ doubles on “TV” table 1 and the girls’ doubles on table 2. The Under 15 doubles finals are at 19:15 with the girls’ doubles on “TV” table 1 and the boys’ doubles on table 2. In tomorrow’s finals the program opens at 09:00 with knockout B Finals and includes a morning and afternoon session. At 13:30 the main singles (i.e. A Finals) begin and the finals are scheduled as follows: 19:45 for the Under 13 boys (Table 1) 19:45 for the Girls Under 13 (Table 2) 20:15 for the boys Under 15 (Table 2) 20:15 for girls Under 15 (Table 1) The last session on Friday included the doubles matches which offered wonderful moments. In the semifinals of the girls U13 Anna Fanouria Mitka and Elpida Tasiou eliminated Sophia Phili/Athanasia Goga in 3-1 games. Despina Dimitriou/Aphrodite-Ioanna Sarikaki took the first set against Andrea Gregersen/Chelinda Voong of Denmark but lost the next three for the final 3-1. In the girls U15 matches Vasiliki BOULA/Stella MAVROMATAKI overcame Sally LOU/Filippa MIKELBORG of Denmark 3-0 in sets. Anastasia CHKHARTISHVILI/Tekla LIPARTELIANI of Georgia overcame Alexandra BITKHAVA/Angela NOURE 3-1 in straight sets. In the mini cadet doubles Konstantinos ISAAKIDIS/Konstantinos ALEXOUDIS advanced to the final by beating Dimitris ALEXANDRIDIS/Giorgos SASSANIS 3-0 in sets. In the final they will meet the Danes Emil HASSELBALCH/Malik Severinsen who in an exciting match that thrilled the spectators overcame Dimitris GEORGALLIDIS/Nikos ANGELIDIS (11-8 in the 5th set) with 3-2 sets. Finally in the children’s doubles two Greek pairs will play for the first place. The 1st favorites Ioannis KOUTRA/Ioannis KIOSELOGLOU who were directly in the semifinals defeated the Danes Villads BERGHOLT/Gustav HOJSLET with 3-0 games. Kostas FAKAROS/Theophanis-Giorgos MITKAS have progressed with 2 wins and in the last 4 they overcame the 2nd favorite Georgians Nikolos CHKHARTISHVILI/Mate GABARASVILI. The losers of all semi-finals get the bronze medal as there are no matches scheduled for places 3-4.
French METZ TT Secures Second Win in Group D
In Stage two of the Champions League Women the French club METZ TT achieved their second win defeating the Italian QUATTRO MORI Cagliari in straight matches. The hosts dominated the matches with confident performances. Adina DIACONU set the pace with a very convincing performance against WU Xinxin. Mariia TAILAKOVA and Christina KALLBERG also secured wins beating Tania PLAIAN and Arianna BARANI in a similar manner. “It’s a very positive start for us in the Champions League group with two wins so we’re quite happy about it. Tonight I think I played very well against the Chinese player trying to adapt to her style of play and being more aggressive. Considering that I’m also a bit tired since last week I played in WTT Antalya I’m happy with my performance. Maria also did an excellent job; she played really well and managed to defeat Tania Plaian the leader of the opposing team in straight sets. Stina finished the match strongly against the Italian Briana Baranni also winning 3-0 ” explained Adina. In the opening match in Group D Metz had previously overcome the Hungarian team SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club also on their home turf. The next match in the group will be played in Hungary where Budaörsi Sport Club will welcome QUATTRO MORI Cagliari on November 21st. Two days later Metz will play in Budaörsi. Metz TT – QUATTRO MORI Cagliari 3-0 Adina DIACONU – WU Xinxin 3-1 (11-3 11-4 8-11 11-4) Mariia TAILAKOVA – Tania PLAIAN 3-0 (11-6 11-9 12-10) Christina KALLBERG – Arianna BARANI 3-0 (11-5 11-6 11-4)
