Sweden reached quarterfinal after they beat Romania In the Women’s Team’s Event at the Baku 2015 European Games Poland is in quarterfinal. They will meet Netherlands whilst Ukraine will play against Sweden. Poland overcame Luxembourg. “LI Qian gave us good start with the victory over Sarah DE NUTTE ” stated Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA.”I also had few chances against experienced NI Xia Lian. We went full distance and I had the advantage 5:2 in decisive game. NI recovered had advantage 6:5 9:7…” The next duel in doubles was very important. Polish partnership of GRZYBOWSKA and Natalia PARTYKA won it. “In past four years from London time Natalia and I paying together. We feel confident together and it brought us success once again. So after our win it was up to LI to seal the victory and she did it easily.” PARTYKA and GRZYBOWSKA were runners up in Bangkok Germany and at Czech open. In the quarters Poland will meet Netherlands the team that has beat them four years ago at the World Championships in Moscow. Dutch team overcame Serbia in the duel that suffered with luck of suspense. Dutch team was a clear favorite but they started their journey in Azerbaijan in full power. Two leading ladies LI Jiao and LI Jie were on duty against second lower ranked team in the field this morning. LI Jiao beat Gabriela FEHER at the opening. “No one fells good in the opening match. We needed good start here and we did our best to get it. Now we are ready for Poland. We hope for the semi final at least in Baku ” said LI Jiao. “I struggled a little against top spins in doubles but everything was all right at the end.” LI Jie overcame Anamarija ERDELJI. “ERDELJI was to nervous.” One of the major upsets came from Sweden. They overcame Romania and the backbone of their success was Matilda EKHOLM who beat both Elizabeta SAMARA and Bernadette SZOCS. “I played against SAMARA at the European Championships in 2014 and I beat her. I know what to do and it gave me some sort of confidence. We were also aware how strong Romania is. We could not let them feel we will give up at any point. We were focused to show that we are strong as a team and that they have to work hard to beat us ” explained Matilda EKHOLM. Opening victory and red alarm came already with Linda BERGSTROM. She overcame Camelia POSTOACA. Linda is currently ranked at the position no. 187 at the World rankings whilst POSTOACA is World’s no 94. EKHOLM overcame SAMARA to widen the gap before victory for Romania in doubles made some space for their recovery. Romania won the doubles but they need to stop Matilda for reaching the decisive match. Bernadette SZOCS only managed to stretch Matilda to full distance. “It was so difficult to play against Bernadette. She is so full of energy and she never gives up ” explained EKHOLM. SAMARA was devastated after the defeat. “I am so upset. It is hard for me to speak now. We were so unlucky with the draw but we should win this one. I should beat Matilda. She is left hander and I usually play very good against such adversaries. Today Matilda seized every chance. She felt the ball well and did not make any easy mistake to made it any easier for me.” On the other side Bernadette was extremely proud with her performance. “I lost but I played very good. I am happy with the way I opposed Matilda. I hope for good results in singles.”

Women’s Teams Event in Baku 2015 starts with good performance of top favorites In the quarter final of the Women’s Team’s Event at the Baku 2015 European Games France will meet Czech Republic and Germany will play against Russia. France of all teams in Women’s Event had a less difficult way to the quarters. Azerbaijan who gained their place as a host nation failed to halt the progress of European Championships’ quarterfinalists from the Portugal 2014. LI Xue who missed the World Championships in China earlier this year due the eligibility rules proved as most valuable player today. She overcame Rufat GULIYEVA before she joined XIANG Yifang in the doubles match to repeat the success. Carole GRUNDISH overcame Maryam IMANOVA on the way to the next round. “I have enough of experience to overcame pressure at such events. I was not nervous and I was self-confident. I want to reach the gold medal. We had a good preparations ” stated Qatar open semifinalist in singles LI Xue. Germany also speared a little bit of energy for further duels. European Champions beat Hungary team who surprisingly reached lower half of the draw list in June according to rankings. The adversary took the best of Germany. “We were ready even for 3:2 match” stated Petrissa SOLJA. “And that is probably the reason why we won 3:0” coach Jie SCHÖPP quickly replied. SHAN Xiona opened the duel with the match against Dora MADARASZ 3:1. “I never had played against MADARASZ so we were very cautious and we talked a lot about the tactics night before. It started good but in the third game Dora adjusted to my style she responded better on my rhythm changing changed her tempo. I was more focused in the fourth game and it went well ” explained SHAN. In doubles with Petrissa SOLJA SHAN added another point to German account. Szandra PERGEL and MADARASZ won only first game. “At Qatar open they beat us so we went through tactical and good mental preparation for this. We had to get over that defeat ” said SHAN. HAN Ying beat Georgina POTA in straight games. “We have not played against each other in past four years but previously we played a lot in Bundesliga. In two opening games I imposed my rhythm I played safe and I faced no difficulties ” explained HAN. SOLJA entered the match in the doubles. “Coach asked me would I be all right with that since I will not have any action in singles. We agree that I should play but I was very nervous. Especially since we lost 3:0 in Qatar recently. They are playing very clever sometimes “dirty”. I also got a lot of support from SHAN. She kept telling me what to do ” stated SOLJA. None of girls was happy with the morning schedule. Getting up early was not the only thing that made them unhappy. “We missed the Opening ceremony yesterday. However I promised myself to make it up in the future. I will watch the re-run with the two medals from Baku ” promised SOLJA with the smile. Asked why she was so nervous SOLJA answered: “In German house I always watch the medals and I want to add one of mine.” Coach Jie SCHÖPP added:” We did not play at the highest level but I can be happy with the result.” Hungarian coach Peter TEGLAS was disappointed: “For a first time we were not among top 8 teams so the draw was ruthless. Against top seeds we had very few chances.”  

The Opening Ceremony of the inaugural European Games was staged in spectacular fashion at the Olympic Stadium in Baku with over 2 000 performers creating a landmark moment in European sport In front of a capacity crowd of 68 000 enthralled spectators and a potential global audience of one billion viewers the first European Games was officially declared open by Ilham Aliyev President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Opening Ceremony – a spectacular display of Azerbaijan’s cultural richness and depth – also included a performance by one of the biggest names in pop music Lady Gaga. Azerbaijan’s rich culture was highlighted by Mehriban ALIYEVA the First Lady of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Chair of the Baku 2015 European Games Organising Committee who said: “Azerbaijan is proud that the first European Games are being held in Baku. “At the sacred temple of Ateshgah the European Games’ Flame was lit and has travelled across our beautiful country touching the hearts of every Azerbaijani along the way. It has carried a message of celebration inspiration and unity. It is the burning spirit that brings us all together. Azerbaijan is a country rich in history culture and traditions. Multiculturalism and tolerance friendship and hospitality harmony and solidarity are an integral part of Azerbaijani life. This year we host the European Games. In 2017 we will host the Islamic Solidarity Games. This demonstrates Azerbaijan’s role in the promotion of a dialogue between cultures. As an independent state we are young only 24 years old so it is fitting that tonight’s Ceremony Countdown started from this number.The last 24 years have seen the rapid development progress and modernisation of our country. Azerbaijan’s economic stability and sustainable development have allowed us to host such a big sporting event.” She added: “I stand here proud and moved by the people of our country and all we have achieved. I thank you all for giving your heart to these Games. However far the Flame of the European Games travels in the years to come the spirit of Azerbaijan and Baku 2015 will be there burning brightly.” Patrick HICKEY President of the European Olympic Committees said: “This is the proudest moment in the history of the European Olympic Committees. Here tonight in Baku’s magnificent new Stadium we are witnessing – we are creating – a landmark moment in European sport – the opening of the inaugural European Games. Baku 2015 is the culmination of a long road and a bold dream. Tonight we add the missing fifth ring to the Continental Games of the world. And through Europe’s first Games we bind the five continents of the Olympic Movement even closer together.” Mr Hickey added a special message for the 6 000 competing athletes: “You will only have one chance to become the first ever European Games champion. I urge you to take it. I urge you to strive for excellence and compete in the true Olympic spirit of friendship and respect. And I urge you to write your names forever into Europe’s glorious sporting history.” The stage itself which contained six kilometers of cracks to reflect the famous mud volcano landscape of Azerbaijan took three months to build but will now take just three days to dismantle and prepare for the Athletics competitions that commence on 21 June.

Germany’s men and women are expected to be strong in the Table Tennis competitions at the inaugural European Games. OVTCHAROV who is ranked no.1 in Europe and BOLL currently placed second are the hot favourites to take the gold medal in the men’s event. The Germans will most likely receive competition from Portugal whose team members include European no. 4 Marcos FREITAS and no. 7 Tiago APOLONIA. Among other candidates vying for podium spots are Austria Belarus France and Sweden. “It’s Germany in the medals but then after that it’s very tight ” said Sweden’s Par GERELL who won a bronze medal at the 2014 European Championships. Despite acknowledging their role as favourites BOLL is also well aware of the fact that his team were beaten by Portugal in the final of the 2014 European Championships. “We are looking for redemption ” BOLL said adding that the Germans are used to the pressure. “We should be able to beat everyone except China.” Following the doubles the singles will most likely pit Ovtcharov and Boll against each other in the final with a place at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at stake. In the women’s competition Germany’s HAN Ying is a fixture at the top of the European rankings but she will enter Baku 2015 with her usual mindset of never taking opponents lightly. “It’s not easy to be number one ” said HAN. “You know you can beat everyone but you have to fight for every match.” In the team competition Han will play alongside either Petrissa SOLJA no. 1 at European U21 level or senior no. 9 SHAN Xiaona. “We are the most professional team in Europe everybody knows that ” continued Han who is ranked 10th in the world. “Personally though I can’t be arrogant. I can’t go into matches thinking ‘I am the number one in Europe’.” The Netherlands could be the strongest challenger with Europe’s no. 5 LI Jie playing alongside no. 11 LI Jiao. In the singles Han is wary of Austria’s world No. 17 Liu Jia and No. 18 Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania but is confident she can fend off the challengers. There is a strong women’s field in Baku with the top 11 players in Europe present when the team competition begins at 09:30 on Saturday 13 June.

The countdown has begun – 3 days to go Baku 2015 European Games announced today that Friday’s Opening Ceremony for the inaugural event will be staged in front of a full house. Mr Simon CLEGG Chief Operating Officer of Baku 2015 said: “This is an amazing achievement and something of which we should be extremely proud for what will be the biggest night in Azerbaijan’s sporting history. With just three days to go to the spectacular show we have hit another significant milestone on this incredible journey. For 30 months we have been transforming a vision into a reality and now we will welcome the most significant addition to the European sporting calendar for 50 years with a full stadium. My thanks go to all the BEGOC staff more than 78 per cent of whom are locals to all their hard work in delivering not only this sold-out Opening Ceremony but also the entire Games where the sporting sessions are also selling rapidly.” Mr CLEGG also revealed that a total of 106 sports sessions have also been sold out and added: “The excitement around the European Games which has been so obvious in Baku is continuing to be reflected in the ticket sales.” BEGOC has also been working closely with the authorities in Azerbaijan to ensure that there are anti-scalping laws in place to protect the thousands who want to come to the European Games. Head of Ticketing Mirjam Bogataj said: “We have worked closely with the National Olympic Committee of Republic of Azerbaijan the Ministry of Youth and Sport and the National Parliament on this legislation. We want to ensure that all the tickets that are purchased are genuine and the best way to do that is to make sure that you only purchase tickets from our ticket booths across Baku and the one in Mingachevir.’ For those who have not managed to secure a prized ticket to the biggest night in Azerbaijan’s sporting history the official Baku 2015 website will capture every moment of the Ceremony itself including exclusive behind the scenes footage. The opening Ceremony will be streamed live worldwide on Baku2015.com and there will be live coverage of the big day from 12 noon Baku time on the site and through the social media platforms. The ramp-up to the Opening Ceremony will include a live blog tweets and posts of the excitement building throughout the Azerbaijani capital. Exclusive behind-the-scenes clips will be revealed during the Ceremony and a 10 minute highlights package of the show will be made available minutes after the end of the event. The Baku2015.com homepage will be taken over by the colours of the Opening Ceremony and the third exclusive preview trailer will be revealed on Wednesday.

The Baku 2015 Flame made a dramatic entrance to Baku yesterday as part of a five-day tour of the capital city ahead of the Opening Ceremony of the inaugural European Games on Friday 12 June The flame was captured by President Ilham ALIYEV on April 26 in Ateshgah and has toured Azerbaijan for the past six weeks involving 750 000 spectators in anticipation of Baku 2015 and the coming together of Europe’s 50 sporting nations in this historic moment for the country and the whole continent. The Baku 2015 Flame arrived at Satko Pier by boat early this evening carried by oil worker Nahid Nuriyev who had travelled with it from the Oil Rocks production facility in the Caspian Sea off Baku. Mr Nuriyev then passed the flame to President Ilham ALIYEV who led the Baku 2015 Torch along the Bulvar. First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva was passed the flame by mugham singer Arif BABAYEV and torchbearers Isfar SARABSKIY Igbal HAJIZADE and Firengiz ALIZADE carried it along Neftchilar Avenue followed by a parade of Azerbaijan’s famous Karabakh horses. From there torchbearers Namik ABDULLAYEV Zemfira MEFTAHADDINOVA and Omar ELDAROV led the torch to Flag Square and Crystal Hall with a giant model horse accompanying the final torchbearer to take the flame into the Maiden Tower where it will stay overnight until the Opening Ceremony. In total the flame travelled 16km across the city and was carried by 100 torchbearers. Mr Azad RAHIMOV Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sport and Chief Executive Officer of Baku 2015 said: “The Journey of the Flame has fuelled the imagination of the Azerbaijani public over the past six weeks and it was wonderful to see Baku take part in the celebrations this evening with the same enthusiasm as people across the country. Apart from building anticipation ahead of the Opening Ceremony the Journey is a unique chance for this great capital city to be seen in a new light and I’m sure that in the coming four days we will see the best of Baku.”