Li Jiao beat LI Jie to clinch the title in Women’s Singles Event in Baku In the first ever all-Dutch final at the major events Li Jiao beat LI Jie to clinch the gold medal at the European Games in Baku. In addition LI Jiao booked her place for the Olympic Games in Rio 2106. It is going to be her third appearance at the Olympics after Beijing 2008 and London 2012. LI Jie won silver whilst HU Melek of Turkey won bronze. Netherlands concluded their journey to Baku with total of three medals; beside gold and silver in singles they won silver in Team’s Event. In the final duel of the Women’s Singles Event experienced 42-years old LI Jiao dominated 4:0 (13:11 11:5 12:10 11:5).  “Our aim was to secure good result here and we had very strong preparations. In past three weeks I had hard trainings and I dedicated my full time to be ready for the challenge in Baku ” explained LI Jiao who also works as a coach of the men’s team. That role affected her play and results so last month she was completely dedicated only to her game.  The improvement comparing to the performance at the World Championships in China was drastic. “I preformed at my best level. I feel like I am 18 again. I had a little bit shaky start in Baku. It was difficult to overcame Yana NOSKOVA at the beginning but latter everything was easer. “ On her way to the gold LI Jiao also overcame no. 2 seed LIU Jia of Austria and no. 7 seed Petrissa SOLJA of Germany. “The match against LI Jie was mentally strong. We knew each other for 16 years but I had to think about it like it is just another match.” LI Jie also admitted it was mentally difficult. “At the Dutch championships we met each other dozen time. I never managed to beat her before ” said LI Jie. Jie’s way to the final was equally impressive. She overcame no. one seed HAN Ying of Germany. LI was fantastic at the World Championships in China earlier this year when she won the medal with LI Qian in doubles and it seams that her game improved even further.  “I never played against HAN. I was not confident before that game. It was very difficult match.” In the match for the bronze no. 8 seed Turkey’s HU Melek beat the player who made the biggest upset at the Event Slovakia’s Eva ODOROVA 4:1 (12:10 12:10 11:8 11:13 11:7). After two close games HU settled in more safe rhythm but ODOROVA did not want to give up easily. “We do not know each other. I have never played against ODOROVA. I got few tips from the coaches and the players before the match but there is a big difference when you actually play against someone. It took me two games to read her game. In third I felt little bit relieved. ODOROVA changed her tactic in fourth game. I saved two game points and leveled to 10:10 and then I had a match ball. I thought it is the end but I did not put enough of power in my stroke just blocked and it opened the door for ODOROVA. She seized the opportunity and won that set. I am happy that I managed to seal the match after in the next game ” said HU.  HU admitted the most difficult part of the tournament was the great number of the players with defensive style of play. “I am not good against them I do not have enough power. Yesterday I played two matches against LI Qian and Tetyana BILENKO and I injured my shoulder. I made many forehand mistakes earlier today in semis against LI Jiao which is why I lost..”  

Volunteers from 56 countries from all over the World came to Azerbaijan Thousands of the enthusiastic friendly welcoming efficient and always smiling Flamekeepers spread the spirit of the European Games in Baku. Around 12.500 volunteers or Flamekeepers as it is their name here coming from the Azerbaijan but also from 56 countries from all over the World.  They are all under the guidance of Sharon MCMICHAEL Workforce Director Baku 2015 who already worked as a Head of Accreditation and Uniforms – for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  However it is not only the volunteers that Sharon MCMICHAEL is looking after:  “I am looking after planning the attraction the recruitment and the deployment of all the work forces across the games; 2.500 members of staff 20.000 contractors and 12.500 volunteers. I also look after uniforms as a part of the deployment process and the entire accreditation process ” explained Sharon.  Planning for the Games started two years ago.  “I came to Baku in October 2013 and that is when we started the planning. We started with calculating how many volunteers we would need and what skills we would require. We then identified the target market to attract our volunteers from.   A multisport event in Azerbaijan is a relatively new concept so recruiting such a large number of Volunteers had never been tested it was important to get the target market right. In London for example applications were over subscribed as there is a strong culture of volunteering. In our research with the Azerbaijan Youth Foundation we identified a strong target market as 18 to 22 year olds who would be on leave from University during the period of the Games.  Our target market were the people who we felt were most motivated to be volunteers.  “When you see them here they are great. The wonderful thing is that they are very proud of their country they want to be the part on such historic event they want to get skills to help them after university in their future jobs and they want to be a part of the international event . So we identified that group as been a very motivated and very positive group of people and one year before the event we started the process of receiving the applications.”  The team received over 40.000 applications.  ” We have done about 15 000 interviews to deploy 12 500 volunteers. It have been a quite a big logistical operation to get them through interview process. ”  Sharon and her team needed to find which skills perfectly match against all different functions in business.  “We have done probably 110 000 hours of training with volunteers in six months and most of them have been conducted in last three months. We take them through four different types of training. The first type was general training or common role training where we teach them about the European Games about the environment they will working the idea and the history of the Games and how it relates in the European Olympic Committees; we tell them about the clients groups we introduce them to the common themes such as uniforms and accreditations.”  The next phase is more specific.  “We introduce the volunteers to the functions that they will be deployed in. They learn about what they are going to do about the type of service and for most people the final type of training is when we bring them into the venues and show not only what they should do but the basics of the operations in the venue. To make sure they are aware of basic health and safety requirements and emergency exits in the event of any emergency situation. The next type of training is the leadership training. It is for the volunteers who showed great potential and leadership skills and have been engaged as Team Leaders.”  There are not only volunteers from Azerbaijan but also a lot of volunteers from abroad helping in Baku.  “We had applications from 3550 internationals coming for 107 different countries mostly from Russia Britain and Italy. In the end we only had spaces for around 350 international volunteers who were specialists as we wanted the vast majority of the Flamekeepers to be from Azerbaijan.  We had 1800 volunteer applications from Russia 420 from Britain and 300 from Italy. The figures are big and it reflects the fact that these countries have hosted an Olympic or Olympic Winter Games in the past decade. It begins to build the picture of legacy of volunteering that big events leave behind. People have had such a great time they want to come back and to do it again. That is something that I want to leave after this Games. The group of 12 500 trained people that can be and want to be the part of events like Formula one or Islamic Solidarity Games. I believe that the European Games will leave a lasting legacy of talent and enthusiasm for future events” said Sharon MCMICHAEL. 

OVTCHAROV SAMSONOV and KOU LEI joins him In Men’s Singles Event at the first European Games in Baku top seeded Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany booked his place in the semi final but still the tournament was not saved of surprises. OVTCHAROV recorded two straight games victories today; he beat Adrien MATTENET of France before he accounted for Andrej GACINA of Croatia. “Against GACINA I had my best performance in Baku especially the third game that I won at 12:10. I moved very well. I must say the doctors did a great job. I only feel the pain when I put my trousers but I do not have to do that in the match so everything is fine ” explained OVTCHAROV laughing. Tomorrow he will meet Paul DRINKHALL of England. DRINKHALL emerged as a surprise winner after the duel against Marcos FREITAS of Portugal no. 4 seed. “It is going to be very difficult match. Last time he beat me at the Russian Open. He is inconsistent; Paul plays two tournaments well then in four next lose in first round…however through out this tournament he showed impressive performance and that is something that could not be changed for a day ” said OVTCHAROV. Before FREITAS DRINKAHALL beat Bojan TOKIC but after Portugal won gold in Team’s Event victory over world’s no. 10 is big upset. “I beat him last time we played in the Russian Open quarterfinals. Some might say that he is a better player than I am but I would disagree. However what Portugal are doing for the game is great. They won the European championship on home soil last year beating Germany and got the gold here. It is great for table tennis that they are the new kids on the block so to speak.” LIAM PICHFORD also had a chance to book his place in semis but he lost against KOU Lei. “The level at European Games is like the European championships. It’s been a great 12 months for us and I think it’s only a matter of time before we really take off and do something.” Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus overcame Simon GAUZY of France and Tiago APOLONIA of Portugal today. “The duel against Simon was much more difficult. It was 2:2 in games then 10:10 and 11:11…very close game with Simon changing the pace through the match. At some point he was very passive and then he changed but at the end I had a little bit more luck ” explained SAMSONOV who won in six games. Against Apolonia he faced difficulties only in the opening game. “In the opening game he was in the lead 9:7 but I won 11:9. That was the turning point. After that I got complete control ” said SAMSONOV. APOLONIA admitted that he always play hard against Vladimir. “I never beat him. I think I lost last 10 encounters ” said Tiago.

Only one match in the quarterfinal of the Women’s Singles Event at the European Games in Baku went according to seeding Only one match in the quarterfinal of the Women’s Singles Event at the European Games in Baku went according to seeding. In three other matches lower ranked player prevailed and among the casualties were the number one seed as well.  World’s no. 10 and top seeded HAN Ying of Germany suffered by the hands of LI Jie of Netherlands. LI recovered from 2:0 in reverse leveled at 3:3 and eventually won the decisive game. “I felt so tired this morning. I could not get up from my bed. Not only that my body was tired but my mind as well. I thought I have a medal and if I lose it would not be so bad after all. I took me a while to get up but then I forced myself to face the challenge and to give my best. I beat LI Xue of France in the Round of 16 and I found strength to overcame HAN ” explained LI Jie. After two opening games LI gained the control in the match. “I barely made any mistakes. I did not panic just trying to play any ball safe. The major problem was that I play against so many defenders here and I am so tired. But in the third game I felt there is something; I can beat her.” HAN Ying admitted the pressure of being no. one was very strong. “In opening games I played the way we planed. I preferred when the expedite system started but in the third game I lost control. I could not find the answer to her service game. I had big problem finding the tactics ” explained HAN.”I came here as no. one seed and everyone was after me. In addition I put an extra pressure by wanting so much to qualify directly to the Olympic Games.” Eva ODOROVA of Slovakia plays the tournament of her career. So far the best result for player. No. 115 at the World rankings was the quarterfinal of the Mixed Doubles Event at the World Championships in Yokohama in 2009. Today after she beat Renata STRBIKOVA of Czech Republic ODOROVA succeeded against Margaryta PESOTSKA of Ukraine. “I have never played against PESOTSKA before so I study her game from video. Also I talked with few coaches what to do and their advices proved worthy ” explained ODOROVA. ”For the match against STRBIKOVA there was no need for any advice. We knew each other something like forever. From age of 10 we played against each other and at this point the question of motivation and who has a better day is the crucial for victory.” The short time between the matches and long distances between the Village and the venue gave ODOROVA opportunity to see the city between two matches. “I went out to eat something and the rest of the time I spent on massage. I have a problem with my arm and shoulder. I did not want even to practice. I exchanged few balls with Barbora BALAZOVA for a 15 minutes in order to preserve some strength for the quarterfinal match.” There is a big chance we could see the all-Dutch final tomorrow. Netherlands will have two representatives in semis; LI Jiao also booked her place among top 4. She also had incredible journey to the ultimate day. In the morning hours first time after 10 defeats in the row she managed to beat LIU Jia of Austria no. two seed at the tournament. Latter she accounted for Petrissa SOLJA of Germany. Night before the Round of 16 Jiao was sure she would not be able to play but after the mixture of ice cold and hot showers she went to bed and early in the morning she recovered enough to clear her way to the semis. “Against SOLJA I won two opening games and then I started to play faster. I made few mistakes before I asked myself ‘Where are you running?’ I started to play with less pressure more relaxed and regain my control ” explained LI Jiao. SOLJA was disappointed. “Never mind the rankings with her experience LI Jiao was the favorite here. I am disappointed but still there is a gold medal in team’s to make me feel better.” The only player who justified her rankings was HU Melek of Turkey. Seed no. 8 overcame LI Qian of Poland no. 11 seed and it was the hard task since previously LI Qian overcame Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania no. 3 seed. “I was so nervous at the beginning. When won three opening games t put some extra pressure off my shoulders but unfortunately I became too relaxed because LI took the control over the match. I lost next game before I started to feel the pain in my arm. Soon I lost two next games and LI QIAN recovered completely. We started from the very beginning from that point. I knew there is no place for any mistakes any more ” explained HU.

OVTCHAROV wins in straight games despite injuru Thanks to painkillers and strong efforts from the medical team Dimitrij OVTCHAROV was fit enough to continue the competition in the Men’s Singles Event at the European Games in Baku. Pain in the back caused by the demanding season slowed down Dimitrij a little but still top seeded player from Germany left the arena with straight games victory against Dimitrij PROKOPCOV of Czech Republic (14:12 11:6 11:9 11:6). “I was not moving well at the beginning of the match but as it progressed I was felling better and better ” explained OVTCHAROV. ”I took the advantage of the day- off . Also even on the final day in Team’s Event I have not played in singles. It gave me some extra time for recovery.” In next round he will meet Adrien MATTENET again. France beat Germany in semi final but OVTCHAROV overcame MATTENET 3:1. “Two opening games were close but last two were difficult. Under other circumstances free from injury I would not worry about forthcoming match but in this case I have to be cautious. Everything will depend of my shape tomorrow.” MATTENET beat Poland’s WANG Zengyi on his way to the Round of 16. Another favorite is out Panagiotis GIONIS of Greece no. 5 seed suffered by the hands of KOU Lei of Ukraine. Kalinikos KREANGA of Greece is back in great style after severe injury that left him out of the game for six months. Today he beat Romania’s Adrian CRISAN after he overcame Cedric NUYTINCK day before.“I was not happy how I played yesterday. I had easier adversary but I was not at the top of the game. Today against CRISAN I found my game and despite difficulties I really played good ” explained KREANGA. In the Round of 16 KREANGA will meet Andrej GACINA. “I will have to move well for sure. Look at him. He is in perfect shape ” said KREANGA. There was nothing we could add about GACINA’s shape since he destroyed any winning aspirations of Niagol STOYANOV of Italy in very effective way. However as his next adversary GACINA also recovered from recent injury. “Five days before the World Championships I suffered from a tendon rupture. I was back in the training program only 15 days ago. I am still uncertain about my game ” explained GACINA. Member of the title winning Team in Baku Tiago APOLONIA overcame Marc DURAN of Spain. “I watched him yesterday against Dane Jonathan GROTH. He was very good. That is the reason why I was very cautious before the match. I started the duel very focused and that helped me to establish 3;0 lead. After that he changed the tactics a bit narrowed the game hit few very good points but I recovered quick ” explained APOLONIA. Tomorrow he will meet Kristian KARLSSON of Sweden. “He is one of the few top player who I did not play against. I will have to study his matches tonight.” KARLSSON halted the progress of Jean Michel SAIVE. “You do not have opportunity to play against the athlete who is legend in your sport but you have to forget about it when the match starts. I was exciting because I am going to play against the player I was look up in the past before the duel; in the match I was just focused on tactics. I felt comfortable in smashing and I played aggressive ” explained KARLSSON

Poland’s Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA suffered by the hands of Serbia’s player In the Women’s Singles Event at the European Games in Baku few upsets “spiced” the first round but for sure the match that attracted most of the attention was between Eva ODOROVA against Swede Linda BERGSTROM whilst the one between NI Xia LIan and Lisa LONG provided a great food for the media. 51-year-old NI Xia Lian of Luxembourg beat 15-year-old Belgium’s Lisa LUNG . It was the contest between the oldest and the youngest player in the Event. “It may have looked easy but she is much better than I thought. From my view Lisa is a big talent ” said NI.” I always say ‘never say never’. I never imagined to be playing at this age. The federation in Luxembourg has been so good for me. They love me so much.” On the possibility of playing her own children at international events NI said: “My children don’t like to play table tennis professionally because I am always gone. They play only for fun.” Eva ODOROVA of Slovakia was in the arena for hour and 20 minutes. Her match against BERGSTROM 4:2 (12:10 11:13 11:6 15:17 11:8 11:8) lasted so long that Renata STRBIKOVA from Czech Republic came to coach Barbora BALAZOVA since Valentina POPOVA was involved in first match.  “I lost my focus after I won first game. In next I hade a safe lead and then all of the sudden I was in reverse. I needed time to get back in rhythm and right frame of mind ” explained ODOROVA. Speaking about POPOVA the interesting fact is that she returned to Azerbaijan after 31 year. POPOVA was born here before she moved to Slovakia. In terms of results Gabriela FEHER of Serbia was in charge for the biggest upset. Currently ranked at position no. 128 at the World rankings she beat Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA of Poland currently ranked at position no 75. “After three years of struggling with injury finally I won important match. I have been missing so much major competitions. This victory is very important for me ” said FEHER. In the first round of the Men’s Singles Event Admir DURANSPAHIC of Bosnia and Herzegovina overcame TAN Ruiwu of Croatia to create biggest upset in the evening program. “From the very beginning I felt that I want that victory more. I lost opening game but I saw my chance. He was not determined like I was ” explained Admir. The duel between WANG Yang of Slovakia and Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC of Serbia ended in favor of Slovakia’s player but both players suffered from injuries. The stake was even higher comparing the other players. After withdrawal of Timo BOLL the winner of the match gained free passage to the place among best 16. Russia’s Kirill SKACHKOV suffered by the hands of Jean-Michel SAIVE. Gabriela FEHER upset the rankings  “I am like a kid here. I have nothing more to prove. I am not quite sure what players think when they play ‘old SAIVE’ maybe they think it’s easier because I’m getting old but also they know I know how to win.”

“I am keeping my fingers cross for OVTCHAROV in Baku.” Timo Boll has to withdraw from the singles’ event at the European Games in Baku because of the after-effects of a food poisoning. “I’m feeling too flabby ate almost nothing for two days. My circulation is down ” he said in the Athletes Village where he shares a flat with his colleagues of the German men’s team. “I am not even able to move even here in our apartment properly. There is no chance I could play in the physical state I am in”.  He is now focusing on the European Olympic qualification next year from 6 to 10 April in Istanbul Turkey. “I am not worried that I cannot make it to the Olympics. Here in Baku I am now keeping my fingers crossed for Dima that he gets the direct ticket to Rio ” Boll said.  At the European Games the winner of the singles’ event directly qualifies for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Thus Dimitrij OVTCHAROV is the only German representative in men’s singles event. Team-mate Patrick BAUM cannot replace BOLL as this should have already been done on Sunday before the draw. OVTCHAROV’S problems in the lower back (sacroiliac joint) from which he already suffered in the teams’ competition have improved. “Treatment will continue ” explains German men’s head coach Jörg ROSSKOPF. “It is ideal that he can be looked after by the German doctors’ and physios’ team here almost all around the clock.” His current physical condition was not ideal because he had recently played many tournaments but ROSSKOPF assumes “that Dima will play a good tournament here. Whether it can be a very good tournament for him remains to be seen. This will turn out when he has to go through some close seven-games matches”. 

Ronald KRAMER: Apart from the replacement rule we can be very satisfied with the Games Halfway through the table tennis competition in the Baku Sports Hall at the European Games in Baku ETTU President Ronald KRAMER praises the efforts of the organizers in Azerbaijan. Two sets of medals in Men’s and Women’s Teams Event are distributed and it seems that all systems successfully passed the test. “Hosts are doing a very good job here in Azerbaijan staging the first multisport event in their short history. They are a young independent nation and it is not easy to take up the challenge they did. I want to complement the Azerbaijan organizers and the EOC for staging the event here and taking up the challenge on this big event ” stated President KRAMER at the beginning of the interview. Not all sports are present with the top-level athletes in Baku but table tennis is among the ones that came here with all the top European players. “The differences between the sports are large. Some of federations sent juniors whilst others came here to fight to qualify for the Rio Olympic Games with their top players. I can understand that. For a first time we are at such an event. It is something completely new for all European federations. To fit it into the calendar was not an easy task. We have the same problem but for swimming and athletics are probably bigger. It is normal to allow some differences for a first time ” stated ETTU’s President. Speaking of good points of the European Games KRAMER said: “For Europe it is very good to have these Games like Asia Africa and the Americas have it. It adds to our opportunities and it makes our sport more visible to the public. However there are of course also lessons to be learned from this first experience for 2019. We will evaluate the whole tournament. Now we are just halfway in the table tennis and in first quarter of the Games….We will see what could be done better and learned for future. We have four years to implement some necessary changes.” Regarding table tennis President highlighted few points. “The facility is very good; just the right size for our events. There are a lot of details we can talk about but my general feeling is that everything is very well done. However there is one big exception to this: the tournament does not allow the replacements. It has been a subject of which we were talking a lot in building up the event from last quarter of 2014 but one way or another the organizers did not want to allow the replacements. That hit the German team the most here. I am quite sure that they would have progressed further then they did if they would be allowed to have a replacement. Timo BOLL was ill and it was a mistake not to give the team the opportunity to select another player for the game. “ President KRAMER continued: “Unfortunately that is something that is not in our hands and it is one of the lessons learned for 2019 which – and I find this very disappointing – will not be in Netherlands.  In principal the European Games has a good concept that we have to develop further. Most important is to give it a proper place in the calendars. In 2019 some major federations have already set the dates for their biggest events. If you look in that terms I think that in year 2023 you can implement this Games into the calendar on proper way and I am sure we will have the competition that can level other Continental Games with the high level competitors in each sport for that date. “ One of the major points of the big events are the volunteers. “Volunteers are getting better each day. First day was toughest as it is on every major event but the good thing is that for many of them this is not a first experience. Organizers did it very cleverly to take experienced staff especially in volunteering leading positions. The volunteers are very helpful they are enjoying their work and that helps building the whole good atmosphere at the games. Apart from the replacement issue we can be very satisfied with the Games.” As President of the ETTU Ronald Kramer praises the German team – but as a President of the Netherlands TTA may also have regretted that his compatriots lost. “I congratulate the team of Germany with the title at the team’s event. It was very close. You can differ about how it went but in my opinion it all came down to the three or four balls in the doubles. In the third game if they would have fallen on the other side it might be very different ” says President Kramer. The winners in men’s Teams Event are the European champions – Portugal. “Portugal did what they have to do regarding the fact that Germany suffered from the setback with no replacement. On the other side Portugal was also weakened by absence of Joao MONTEIRO. The good news is that we have a new kid on the block. Joao GERALDO showed brave performance. Portugal justified their status. After the title in Portugal at the European Championships last year they presented table tennis at the highest level here once again. They deserved this title and the place in history books as first winners. “ The history book is open and table tennis has a prominent place in it!

European Champions beat France to secure crown at the European Games Portugal justified their status in Europe. Continental Champions clinched the crown at the first European Games in Baku at the Men’s Teams Event. In the final they overcame France after superb performance.  Tiago APOLONIA once again gave his team dream start with the victory over Adrien MATTENET. He concluded the job in straight games but it was not that close as the result predicts.  “We know each other very well. We play together in Saarbrucken in Bundesliga so it was very close match as I expected. Especially two opening games were close. Adrian had game ball in second set. When I won the game it gave extra confidence to finish the match with less tension ” explain APOLONIA.  In case of Marcos FTEITAS even the results shows how close the game was. Against Simon GAUZY he was stretched to full distance.  “In past few years we played to many matches against each other. He improved his game and he is very dangerous player. I won the opening game but when I lost after 8:2 I lost my focus I become nervous and that affected my game further. Luckily I managed to calm down and to end the duel in my favor ” explained Marcos. After full distance match in Doubles France managed to gain another chance to stay in the match. For 19/years old Joao GERALDO who came at the tournament as last minute replacement for Joao MONTEIRO it was perfect opportunity to conclude the match in great style with fantastic finish and victory over MATTENET. “I was little bit nervous like everybody else but I took the best of it. I attacked ” said Joao. APOLONIA added: ”We proved that the success at the European Championships was not accidental. We had magical moments in Lisbon but we succeeded in Baku as well.” French players were very disappointed.  “Maybe tomorrow this silver will look better but now it is hard for us to talk ” said Emmanuel LEBESSON. Simon GAUZY found the strength to highlight the very important moment of the tournament. “After four of five defeats in the row against Greece we finally beat them. It happened in the first round and I think it was turning point in our success.”