Highest sports and state authorities held press conference today   The highest sports and state authorities held the press conference today at the venue of the 2015 LEIBHERR ITTF European Championships. The interest of media and spectator for the Event is huge in Ekaterinburg and the organizers absolutely stood up the great challenge.   Ronald KRAMER ETTU President praised the efforts of the organizers.   “I would like to thank everybody who took part in the organization of the 2015 LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships. Ekaterinburg was selected as it is a historical place. In this case it comes not only to its history but also to its traditions as to promotion of our sport. This is a truly wonderful place. If you are keen on sport especially if you are keen on table tennis Ekaterinburg is that very place to be these days.   Igor LEVITIN Head of TTFR Board of Trustees ITTF President Advisory Council Member Russian Olympic Committee Vice Presidentalso addressed to media.   “ I would like to thank everybody who took part in the organization of such a large-scale sports event. I also would like to express my gratitude to ETTU for Ekaterinburg selected for these Championships venue. These Championships are historical as they are held in Individual and Team Events within the same tournament for the last time. In our process of development we are focused on our athletes and we have a potential to raise our champions. We will do our best not to lose the youth training in sports schools and to prepare them for the national team.   Evgeny KUIVASHEV Governor of Sverdlovsk region welcomed the guests.   “ I would like to thank the organizing committee for the work that’s been done. Sverdlovsk region pays much attention to promotion of table tennis. Over 17 thousands of region’s residents play table tennis 3 thousands of them attend sports schools. We have prepared a new site for the Championships. Now I’m sure EXPO can host other large-scale events as well.   Alexander BABAKOV President of TTFR: “We hope for great success of our team at the European Championships. Our athletes has high potential. It is the result of hard systematic work. We use our best efforts to maintain continuity of sports generations develop sports schools and arrange competitions of different levels. “

Top seeds in Group D Croatia lost their match at the opening   Not all the results at the opening day at the 2015 LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships went according to the rankings. Greece upset the order in the Group D by beating Croatia in the Men’s Teams Event.   Andrej GACINA gave Croatia good start with the victory over Kalinikos KREANGA earned after five games. In the second duel Panagiotis GIONIS beat Filip ZELJKO.   “Filip is very young player but players like that can be very dangerous. He risked a lot. I know I had to stay calm and to maintain my focus. Eventually it worked fine.”   Konstantinos PAPAGIORGIU came to the game at 1:1 and beat Tomislav KOLAREK.   “I like this kind of games. Coming to arena at 1:1 is something I enjoy. Of course it was not easy at 1:1 and 8:8; you realize your game might be vital and the pressure is high ” stated PAPAGIORGIU.   GACINA preserved his unbeaten status after the match against GIONIS. KREANGA suffered by the hands of Andrej but in decisive match beat Tomislav PUCAR.    “PUCAR was not in the right frame at the very beginning so I even surprise myself with the easy lead. However after 2:0 it was different story. He played much better and put me under great pressure.”   In the duel between Belarus and Czech Republic Vladimir SAMSONOV brought two victories. He beat Pavel SIRUCEK and Dmitrij PROKOPCOV. In the decisive fifth match Evgueni CHTCHETININE overcame Pavel SIRUCEK.

OVTCHAROV: I saw myself in hotel already when he beat Patrick   Germany safely concluded the opening round of the Men’s Team’s Event in Ekaterinburg. Vice-champions from Lisbon 2014 beat Poland in the first match of the 2015 LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships.   Patrick BAUM beat Daniel GORAK Dimitrij OVTCHAROV prevailed against WANG Jakub DYJAS before WANG Zeng Yi overcame Patrick FRANZISKA.    “We started very well with two straight games victories made by Patrick BAUM and me; and I am sure that Patrick FRANZISKA had a very good chance to seal the match against WANG Zeng Yi.  He had 2:1 in advantage but WANG recovered. I saw myself already in the hotel after Patricks’ lead. Then it was 9:5 again for Patrick and I was ready to go. However FRANZISKA lost unfortunately my focus also suffered so I entered in the match against Daniel GORAK with lack of concentration. After 1:1 and 8:6 for GORAK I finally found my rhythm finished that game at 11:6 and finish the match successfully.”   Jorg ROSSKOPF was pleased after overall result.   “Patrick had few chances for victory in each game but it is not easy to play against WANG. There were few vital moments but the crucial is that we won. We had a good start and we are looking forward match against Spain.”   Spain was stretched to full distance against Ukraine. Lei KOU won his both duels against Marc DURAN and Carlos MACHADO but all three players in Spain scored today to bring their team to the victory.

2015 LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships started today   Reigning champions team of Portugal started their journey at the 2015 LIEBHERR ITTF European Championships in Russian city of Ekaterinburg in victorious way. In their opening match in Group Stage of the Team’s Event Portugal overcame Hungary. It was straight matches victory but there were no lack of excitement.   “The outcome is the same like last year but it is different situation. We won 3:0 and it was hard earned victory. We went full distance in two matches. Of course we expect that; knowing Hungary has two very strong players ” explained FREITAS.   In the opening duel Tiago APOLONIA beat Adam PATTANTYS.   “PATTANTYS defensive skills could made a great damage so that victory was important for us. APOLONIA opened the door for the overall win with his triumph and certainly helped me to start my match with some sort of advantage.”   Marcos FREITAS overcame Daniel KOSIBA to wide the gap.   “KOSIBA was very good today in long rallies put a many balls on the table; it was very open game. The third match between Joao MONTEIRO and Tamas LAKATOS also went full distance. LAKATOS risked a lot and at some point it proved as a good tactics. However at the end MONTEIRO had a better touch and better finish.”   In Group A France was severely tested against Serbia but eventually prevailed in full distance contest.   Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC proved too strong for Antoine HACHARD. Zolt PETE taste the same medicine in the duel against Simon GAUZY so after 1:1 the real battle started. Marko JEVTOVIC went full distance against Emmanuel LEBESSON to give Serbia the lead again. GAUZY was at the top of the game once again against KARAKASEVIC and PETE and OUAICHE entered the field at the decisive match. After 2:0 and 4:1 in third game PETE missed the opportunity to give Serbia victory. OUAICHE embraced the opportunity and with extraordinary backhand from the ring saved the match ball and soon after scored to win the match.   “If he would play 10 times this same stroke there is no way he could repeat this and win the point like he did against me ” Pete was desperate after the defeat. 

Quotes from LIEBHERR 2015 ITTF European Championships press conference   Day before the official kick off of the LIEBHERR 2015 ITTF European Championships in Ekaterinburg all the tables in the International Exhibition Center “Ekaterinburg-EXPO” are already occupied. Players are warming up for the first challenges.   Some of them reveailed their thoughts at the press conference at the done of the team’s Event.   Team of Russia will be under great pressure here:   “We are going to play at home soil; of course it is a great responsibility because we should not let fans down as well as people who have organized this big tennis holiday. We have been training during many months there is competitive spirit in the team and our team is motivated for fight and victory. That is why I am sure we will show our best table tennis “ said Grigory VLASOV.   Three times European champion Vladimir SAMSONOV added: “Everything looks well here in “Ekaterinburg-EXPO” I am sure that we will not have any problems here. Big events are always very well organized in Russia I like everything here. Before the start of the tournament we will still have time for trainings and I hope we will not disappoint our sports fans.    The best ranked European player at the ITTF rankings no. 5 Dimitrij OVCHAROV of Germany came to Russia as a big favorire and the leader of the team with great aspiration to the throne.   “ I have been preparing in China during the whole summer. Last two weeks I have decreased the training load in order to be in the peak competition form in the tournament. It’s difficult to say in which form I am. I think that the Championships will show. Everything can change very quickly: one-two successful games and I will be among the favourites and vice versa something may go wrong and I will tumble out from the favourites. Last two weeks I have been training much. I may say that I have done everything to show here my good skills and I think I can outplay others.    The member of the team of Portugal reigning champions Marcos FREITAS stated: “First we need to get to the quarter final and then we need to show everything we are capable of and of course we would like to win as we did it a year ago in Portugal but it will be difficult we have serious competitors serious teams but we will do our best for the victory. “   In Women’s Team’s Event Russia count on strong team.   “Of course we will strive for victory. We are expecting the good result. We have a good group in team events. It’s good we don’t have dangerous competitors as German tennis players because it’s difficult to fight against them. I consider them the favourites. Four teams are all different; it is possible to become both the first and the last ones. We will try to become the first ones of course “said Polina MIKHAILOVA.   Speaking in the name of favorites member of Team’s Champions Petrissa SOLJA stated: “I hope we will be able to show a good game at the European Championships. We would like to win both in team events and doubles. Besides this year I think we have a strong and well-trained team. And the time will show if we can execute our plans. “  

LIEBHERR 2015 ITTF European Championships starts on Friday   On Friday September 25th at 10 AM European Champions team of Portugal will start defending their title at the LIEBHERR 2015 ITTF European Championships. The opening contest against Hungary at the table no 1 in the International Exhibition Center “Ekaterinburg-EXPO” will kick off the Team’s Event.   In the Men’s Teams Event Vice champions team of Germany will play at the same time as Portugal at table no. two against Poland. Unfortunately once again they will be weakened. At the last moment Timo BOLL was forced to withdraw.   Women’s Team champions from Lisbon 2014 Germany will play against Czech Republic their opening duel in Group Stages. Their rounds start at 1 PM on Friday. The matches in groups stage will be played for two days – knock out phase starts on Sunday whilst Individual Events starts from Wednesday 30th September.   For the first time ever the European Table Tennis Hall of Fame will be presented at the European Championships in Ekaterinburg. This is a new project of the European Table Tennis Union. It is already known that 19 male and 17 female athletes will be the first to become part of the Hall of Fame among them there are Zoya RUDNOVA Valentina POPOVA and Flura BULATOVA – legendary Soviet athletes. Certainly the European Table Tennis Championships will arouse much interest not only among citizens of Ekaterinburg but also the whole Russia.   Participants and guests will be able to get to know the legends of our sport. The exposition will be open for visitors from the first day of the Championships and the official opening with the participation of the authorities of the European Table Tennis Union will take place on September 28th.   According to the plan the number of participants of the project will be increasing year by year. Later players will be joined by outstanding coaches as well as those who have made a considerable contribution to the development of table tennis in Europe.   For the first time the individual and team European Table Tennis Championships will be held in the capital of Urals. It is the second European Championships to be held in Russia in its contemporary history. Before that Saint Petersburg hosted the European Championships in 2008. Also Moscow hosted the European Table Tennis Championships twice in 1970 and 1986 at that time women’s teams of the USSR won golden medals.   In Ekaterinburg more than 800 participants and their representatives will come to the EXPO. The matches will be judged by 130 international referees and umpires.     Results page here   hashtag: #ITTFEuroChamps

The international training – group of the Werner SCHLAGER Academy is present at the LIEBHERR 2015 ITTF European Championships in Russian Ekaterinburg from 25th September to the 4th of October with a bombastic contingent. Not less than 24 players from 15 different countries who permanently or to a predominant part live in Schwechat will compete in the continental title-matches.   Some of the “Schwechater” travel to Russia with large (medal-) aspirations. Led by the the Portuguese World – Ranking no. 9 Marcos FREITAS who will be seeded as number 2 in the singles event and on top has to defend the gold medal in the teams event from last year (together with another Schwechater: Joao MONTEIRO). Chances for a medal are also good for the Austrian Men the WSA – player Tetyana BILENKO (from WSA partner club SVNÖ Ströck) and Daniela DODEAN – Monteiro who lives in Schwechat since 5 years already and together with her Romanian team is counted to the favorites.   The WSA contingent in Ekaterinburg:   Men: PORTUGAL: Marcos FREITAS Joao MONTEIRO AUSTRIA: CHEN Weixing Robert GARDOS Daniel HABESOHN Dominik Habesohn Stefan FEGERL ITALY: Mihai BOBOCICA Niagol STOYANOV CZECH REPUBLIC: Tomas KONECNY Lubomir JANCARIK BULGARIA: Stanislay GOLOVANOV LUXEMBOURG: Eric GLOD ENGLAND: Daniel REED Women: AUSTRIA: LI Qianbing CROATIA: Lea RAKOVAC (SVNÖ Ströck) UKRAINE: Tetyana BILENKO (SVNÖ Ströck) SWEDEN: Matilda EKHOLM (SVNÖ Ströck) SLOVENIA: Alex GALIC ISRAEL: Nicole TROSMAN SWIZERLAND: Rahel ASCHWANDEN SERBIA: Andrea TODOROVIC LUXEMBOURG: Sarah de NUTTE ROMANIA: Daniela DODEAN-MONTEIRO

KONG Guoping leads the 2014 gold medalist at the LIEBHERR 2015 ITTF European Championships   The 2014 Team`s champion of Old Continent will defend its crown with new coach as KONG Guoping replaced Pedro RUFINO on the bench. Portugal`s Table Tennis Federation FPTM announced also men`s and women`s rosters for the LIEBHERR 2015 ITTF European Championships which will be held in Ekaterinburg Russia from September 25th to October 4th.   Born in China in 1963 KONG had a successful career as an athlete. He has worked in Germany and after that spent ten years as a coach of Mirandela.   KONG counts on next six players: Marcos FREITAS (Pontoise-Cergy world`s no.9) Tiago APOLÓNIA (FC Saarbrucken 21) João MONTEIRO (Chartres ASTT 39) João GERALDO (ASV Grünwettersbach 90) Diogo CHEN (Sporting CP 224).   Women`s team contains FU Yu (Metz TT no. 39) Jieni Shao (Ala Nun’Alvares 78) Leila OLIVEIRA (CP Madalena 330) Rita FINS (CTM Mirandela 395).

With Olympic Games in focus BOLL made hard decision   Timo BOLL was forced to withdraw from all Events at the forthcoming LIEBHERR 2015 ITTF European Championships in Ekaterinburg (25 Sep – 4 Oct). Despite the hopes he will be able to play at Singles Event today he reviled he will miss this year’s European Championships.   After extensive research BOLL’S medical officer Dr. Johannes PEIL diagnosed the thickening of a “Mocous fold” below the kneecap.   “Almost ten months before the start of the Olympic Games in Rio I will have to undergo a surgery on Thursday in order to preserve the chances of my 5th Olympic participation. If this problem is not solved in time the cartilage may be affected ” explains Boll. “In recent weeks I’ve mostly been playing under pain. This has nothing to do with a surcharge. Now I have to act even if I have to cancel the European Championships and also will some time be not available for my club Borussia Dusseldorf. How long the break will take is not clear at the moment.”

For Germany the goal is always the same – top of Europe   The withdrawal of Timo BOLL from Teams and Doubles Events was a great setback for the German team before the start of the LIEBHERR 2015 ITTF European Championships in Ekaterinburg (25 Sep – 4 Oct 2015) but European vice-champions are still great contenders to the throne. Germany’s lineup also includes names of Dimitrij OVTCHAROV Patrick BAUM Patrick FRANZISKA Ruwen FILUS and Ricardo WALTHER the players who will be very hard to beat in Russia. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV suffered from serious back pain at the Baku European Games and during his Chinese Super League Season but the current situation is much better. “The back is currently much much better than compared to the European Games in Baku or to China during the Super League. I am working very hard on it do a lot of strengthening exercises for the back to move the issue out of the way. I’m on the right track. Sometimes it pinches a bit but overall I’m quite alright ” explained OVTCHAROV.OVTCHAROV talked about the absence of Timo Boll in the team event and about his own goals in Ekaterinburg: “The fact that Timo won’t be present is of course a disadvantage for our team. When Timo is with us and none of us suffers from injuries we cannot be beaten in Europe. We had the situation before: When Timo wasn’t with us in 2013 we could win the title anyway. We are not the clear favorite in Ekaterinburg but winning the title is still possible for our team. I won all the top events in Europe. I am the hunted one everyone wants to beat me. I’m not in the same shape as in 2013 when I played tremendously strong. But already at the European Games in Baku I have won the singles competition without being in top shape.” In the women’s team are: HAN Ying SHAN Xiaona Petrissa SOLJA Irene IVANCAN and Sabine WINTER. Sports Director Richard PRAUSE talked on the objectives of the women’s team: “We have a great generation of players who twice won the European title in a row and additionally the European Games. We want to be as successful again but I must also stress the same thing as for our men’s team: The victory for the ladies is again not a self-selling item. The final in Baku was already on a knife edge. On this level very often nuances decide about who wins and who loses. All other teams are chasing us in Ekaterinburg. Our coaches are preparing our team well before this situation. We are ready.” Women’s Head Coach Jie SCHÖPP on the question of whether something else than the title counts for her: “No nothing else counts. We go out there to win the title. When I look at the world rankings it is even a kind our duty to win. Anyway it’s clear that giving 80 percent would not be enough. If we act like a team and give everything then we are the best. “ SCHÖPP was satisfied with the the current shape of her players:“Technically they are all in very good shape. My task now is to let them gain the necessary ‘freshness’. As we played so many tournaments this year we had to adapt our preparation to it. Currently the second training session of a day is a voluntary one for the ladies. I want them all to be mentally and physically fit for the start of the European Championships.” HAN Ying talked about her experience at the European Games – losing as the top-seed before time – and her current shape “The European Games were a necessary experience for me. Since then I have improved significantly – especially mentally. In Baku I was under huge pressure as the number 1 seeded. Now I’m also placed on 1 but I do not care. I’ll fight until the end in every match and don’t care whether I’m number 1 or number 40.I hope that my shape remains stable – I was very pleased with my performance at the Austrian Open of course – and I can possibly even play a little better. “