It seems like Pontoise must play one “final” in each MECL stage this season! Reigning champion shared Group A with actual MECL runner-up and top seeded Fakel Gazproma Orenburg while in the Draw at Netherlands French side got ten times European cham It seems like Pontoise must play one “final” in each MECL stage this season! Reigning champion shared Group A with actual MECL runner-up and top seeded Fakel Gazproma Orenburg while in the Draw at Netherlands French side got ten times European champion Borussia Dusseldorf for the quarterfinal. “We are not very lucky with the draw this season. In the group we got the no. 1 seed Orenburg. In the quarterfinal now the no. 2 seeded team Düsseldorf was drawn to us. Anyway we showed in Orenburg two weeks ago and last season that we are capable to beat every team in Europe” emphasized Pontoise`s coach Peter FRANZ. In the recent Round 5 French club beat away Orenburg 3:0 in maybe its best performances ever on European scene. Russian champion played in its usual line-up Dimitrij OVTCHAROV Vladimir SAMSONOV Alexei SMIRNOV which took two MECL titles in a row (2012 2013). Now Marcos FREITAS WANG Jian Jun and Kristian KARLSSON are preparing for the clash against Borussia`s Timo BOLL Panagiotis GIONIS and Sharat Kamal ACHANTA. “I believe in a great spectacle and a 50:50 match. After a difficult start in the season my team is getting better and better. It will be a very interesting match” said Peter FRANZ.
First World Table Tennis Day on April 6th
The ITTF has established the World Table Tennis Day (WTTD) on the 6th of April and the first edition will be next year. Please find here a toolkit explaining the concept and details. ”We are preparing a website with more information such as checkli The ITTF has established the World Table Tennis Day (WTTD) on the 6th of April and the first edition will be next year. Please find here a toolkit explaining the concept and details. ”We are preparing a website with more information such as checklist registration form promotional package and others to assist you with the organization it will be announced soon. We hope to have as many countries as possible to Celebrate the Passion for Table Tennis engaging new people to join us! There will be a map showing in which countries it is hosted and we want to cover the globe!” said Leandro OLVECH ITTF Director – Development Program There is a wide range of options on what can be done small or big popular or iconic venues and all is explained on the attachment it doesn´t necessarily have to be on the 6th of April and can be done few days before or the previous weekend. The WTTD is part of the Table Tennis for all Program and the pillars are popular universal and inclusive.
MECL champion against record holder
AS Pontoise Cergy will be faced with a big task in the MECL Quarter-final having Borussia Dusseldorf as the opponent. The French side is actual champion whilst German clubs is the ten times European champion counting titles from the Cup of Champions er AS Pontoise Cergy will be faced with a big task in the MECL Quarter-final having Borussia Dusseldorf as the opponent. The French side is actual champion whilst German clubs is the ten times European champion counting titles from the Cup of Champions era. The Draw which held in Netherlands brought also next clashes: Fakel Gazproma Orenburg – Saarbrucken Wienviertel Niederosterreich – Bogoria Grodzisk UMMC – Chartres ASTT. The dates of the legs are January 16-18th (1st) and 23-25th (2nd). The winners of the groups in the first stage are going to play first encounters away. MECL Quarter-final (January 16-18th / January 23-25th) Fakel Gazproma Orenburg – Saarbrucken Wienviertel Niederosterreich – Bogoria Grodzisk UMMC – Chartres ASTT Borussia Dusseldorf – AS Pontoise Cergy WECL Semi-finals (January 16-18th / January 23-25th) Fenerbahce – TTC Berlin Eastside Linz AG Froschberg – SVNO STROCK Click here to open the Men’s European Champions League final round Click here to open the Men’s European Champions League final round
ETTU Cup reaching quarterfinal phase
Men’s ETTU Cup reached quarterfinal phase. It is time for the clubs finished third in their respective Groups in European Champions league to join the best four clubs after four rounds of ETTU Cup. However there are still two matches to play but the dr Men’s ETTU Cup reached quarterfinal phase. It is time for the clubs finished third in their respective Groups in European Champions league to join the best four clubs after four rounds of ETTU Cup. However there are still two matches to play but the draw has been conducted last evening in the Netherlands by the Ranking Committee Chairman Igor HELLER and in presence of the ETTU President Ronald KRAMER Deputy President Ivo Goran MUNIVRANA Vice President Finances Dorte DARFELT and Vice President Heike AHLERT the Secretary General Richard SCRUTON and the Deputy Secretary General Pierre KASS. In quarterfinal scheduled for the 16th to 18th January Eslovs Al will meet Istres Tennis De Table and Olimpia Unia Grudziadz will play against Enjoy & Deploy Taverzo. There are still matches of 4th round to be play: CVSE-Swietelsky-Wewalka vs. Caen TTC and TTSC Nord vs Stella Sport La Romagne. Winner of the first duel will play against Angers and Hennebont awaits the winner from the second match. In Women’s ETTU Cup in quarter final UCAM Cartagena TM will meet TTC Kazan Metz will play against Budaörsi 2I Sport Club SKST Mart Hodonin will play against Tarnobrzeg and TMK Tagmet vs. TTC Carinthiawinds Villacher. Click here to open the Men’s ETTU Cup final round Click here to open the Women’s ETTU Cup final round
US$1 000 000 World Tour Grand Finals starts tomorrow
The top 15 men and 15 women (plus one man and one woman from the host country Thailand) the top 8 men’s and women’s doubles pairs as well as the 8 best under 21 boys and girls will be making the trip to one-million-dollar event. At the forthcoming US$1 The top 15 men and 15 women (plus one man and one woman from the host country Thailand) the top 8 men’s and women’s doubles pairs as well as the 8 best under 21 boys and girls will be making the trip to one-million-dollar event. At the forthcoming US$1 000 000 GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals which start in Bangkok on Thursday 18 countries will have their representatives. The World Tour Grand Finals involves the best players from the GAC Group 2014 World Tour which comprises of 20 events in 20 countries during the year. The winners in Men’s and Women’s Singles Event will earn US$ 100 000 each; US$ 40 000 is the prize money for the Doubles Event winners whilst the winners of the U21 singles Event will leave Bangkok US$ 20 000 richer. In Men’s Singles Event the invitation went to addresses of: Jun MIZUTANI (Japan) Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Germany) Koki NIWA (Japan) Paul DRINKHALL (England) Marcos FREITAS (Portugal) Vladimir SAMSONOV (Belarus) CHUANG Chih-Yuan (Taipei) Steffen MENGEL (Germany) Yuto MURAMATSU (Japan) Masataka MORIZONO (Japan) TANG Peng (Hong Kong) Kohei SAMBE (Japan) Tiago APOLONIA (Portugal) CHO Eonrae (Korea) WONG Chun Ting (Hong Kong) Max POUNGSRI (Thailand). In Women’s Singles will play: FENG Tianwei (Songapore) Kasumi ISHIKAWA (Japan) HAN Ying (Germany) SHAN Xiaona (Germany) LI Fen (Sweden) LIU Jia (Austria) Elizabeta SAMARA (Romania) Ai FUKUHARA (Japan) SEO Hyowon (Korea) Georgina POTA (Hungary) Misaki MORIZONO (Japan) Sayaka HIRANO (Japan) YU Mengyu (Singapore) Yuka ISHIGAKI (Japan) YU Fu (Portugal) Nanthana KOMWONG (Thailand).
STROCK loves the role of challenger
After first four rounds of 2014/15 WECL it seemed like SVNO STROCK needs to wait next season to fight for the semifinal but actual Austrian champion managed to survive after 0-4 start in Group A. They won last two matches in group stage against Szeksza After first four rounds of 2014/15 WECL it seemed like SVNO STROCK needs to wait next season to fight for the semifinal but actual Austrian champion managed to survive after 0-4 start in Group A. They won last two matches in group stage against Szekszard (3:0) and Zamek (3:2) to set up all-Austrian semifinal clash against Linz AG Froschberg. STROCK`s president Martin SOROS speaks about this accomplishment… “After four years SVNÖ STRÖCK we are happy and proud that we can present a long list of honors (WECL-Final WECL-Semifinal National champion in 3 of 4 seasons…). Nevertheless to reach the semifinal in season 2014/15 is from my point of view the biggest sensation in the history of our club. We started and finish the season without number 1 (Daniela DODEAN/pregnancy). We entered with three promising but still very young and not so experienced players (MADARASZ/21 RAKOVAC/18 KHETKUEN/17). We started into the WECL-season with 4 losses but we never gave up”. SOROS emphasizes that the team spirit is the secret of STROCK`s success: “The young players the experienced players who improved also a lot in the last weeks (Matilda EKHOLM Tetyana BILENKO) the coaches (Aya UMEMURA Tamara BOROS) our Physio-Staff with Johannes SCHOBER and Adi BUZU – all are working close together always with the goal in their mind to reach the unreachable – semifinal. Really we were prepared to immolate this season and to accept one season of having not so much success to develop a winners-team for the future but our players improved day by day match by match and so we are back in the Top of Europe faster than expected.” President of Austrian champion and 2012 WECL runner-up stressed also that his club prepares and plays in excellent conditions: “Also the cooperation with the Werner SCHLAGER Academy works wonderful. Due to the perfect teamwork in our women’s and girls-project and also caused by the advertising impact of our SVNÖ-STRÖCK-Ladies who are living and practicing day by day in our Academy our female-group is growing and growing. Sometimes female-players from 15 nations are practicing in our Academy in one session. This is real international and goes hand in hand with the improvement of all the girls in our periphery.” Double WECL winner and 14 times national champion of Austria Linz AG Froschberg reached the top spot of Group B. They were better than STROCK playing 2012/13 WECL semis (3:0 3:2) but SOROS believes that his side is able to do something more this time: “When you enter the semifinal you don’t play to lose. We know that Linz is a very good team we are respecting them a lot and know that LI Xiaodan is an outstanding player but all the other Linz`s players are on a similar level of our team. Now we want more. Why not – six matches in WECL of this season we started as outsider – versus Linz it will be a similar situation and we are ready to challenge them. We know that Linz is always little bit shaking when they have to play versus SVNÖ STRÖCK. And we can attack we are the challenger – we love this role.” Speaking about forthcoming season SOROS added: “For next season (2015/16) we also made a very early decision – all our players will stay in the club. We definitely are on the right way. Ready to conquer Europe – this year next year or in near future. The day will come where we lift the WECL-Trophy…”
JENKINS and SIBLEY take top spot in Nottingham
Ryan JENKINS claimed his first Grand Prix crown of the season after a truly outstanding display against Chris DORAN. The Welsh Wizard was utterly dominant throughout not relinquishing a single end until he faced DORAN in the final. JENKINS waltzed past J Ryan JENKINS claimed his first Grand Prix crown of the season after a truly outstanding display against Chris DORAN. The Welsh Wizard was utterly dominant throughout not relinquishing a single end until he faced DORAN in the final. JENKINS waltzed past Joshua HARLAND Martin RUTTER and Josh BENNETT before defeating Craig HOWIESON 3-0 in the last four. Meanwhile DORAN found the going tougher dropping ends to Liam MCTIERNAN and then Matt WARE in the last four whilst he was also worked hard by Tom MAYNARD in the quarter-finals. The final was a superb affair that had the whole hall at a standstill. It was DORAN who took the first end 11-6 to give himself the upper hand. However JENKINS raced through the gears from there on continuously finding joy with his unique forehand flick before hitting colossal backhand bombs from the other flank. For all of DORAN’S efforts he at times looked helpless in his quest to nullify JENKINS eventually being taken out 11-9 in the fourth. Following his victory JENKINS said: “I’m pleased to have got my first one of the season in the bag. Chris is a tricky customer but I had the edge over him on the day. It’s been a good season for me so far and this adds to it.” Shocks came in abundance throughout the event with notable victories for James GARROD and Josh BENNETT over Tom MAYNARD and Chris WHEELER respectively of particular note. Kelly SIBLEY triumphed in yet another Grand Prix after battling through a number of formidable opponents. SIBLEY was commanding throughout the competition as she showcased why she was the number 1 seed in the event. Yet whilst her results might suggest otherwise Sibley was forced to play at her best to overcome those who she frequently trains with at the University of Nottingham. Her fist real threat was against Tressa ARMITAGE who played outstandingly to take the second end off her opponent. However SIBLEY responded with two strong games to fend off the brave ARMITAGE. A comfortable victory over Diana RUSINOVA followed before another strong test Yolanda King in the semi-final. A spectacle pursued as the players engaged in a number of astonishing rallies. Sibley eventually took the match in three ends a somewhat disappointment for spectators who were keen to see more. That opened the gateway for her game with Vickers who had defeated Paulina ORZECHOWSKA in the quarter-finals before defeating Abbie MILWAIN in a tight 3-1 victory. And VICKERS was fast out of the blocks. A blistering start saw her race into a 9-2 lead with her hard counter hitting at its destructive best. However SIBLEY recovered looping intensely to bring the game level before taking the end 13-11. From then on SIBLEY dominated taking the next two games 11-3 to wrap up the title. Kelly said: “I knew I would have to play well today because the girls have been playing well. I’ve been coaching and training with the girls a lot which has allowed me to do a bit of scouting but they all made me work hard to get the victory. Ultimately I’m happy to come through it and win the event.” Jack BENNETT took the last match and therefore the last title of the weekend in Nottingham as he was crowned Under 21 champion after a 3-0 victory over Callum EVANS. Bennett managed to win his previous three rounds all by a scoreline of 3-1. First overcoming Grantham Academy player Joe Pilkington Men’s Band 3 champion Josh Harland in the quarter final and then Matthew Leete overturning a one end deficit in the process. Callum EVANS put up a good fight in the final being supported by his vocal college team mates. However their support wasn’t enough as he seemed to run out of steam. Earlier in the competition he impressively claimed victory against James HOBSON and Matt OUTHWAITE. A special mention goes to Tim DENBY who registered one of his greatest wins to date against Liam MCTIERNAN despite losing the first end 11-0. Defeat meant MCTIERNAN suffered a shock exit in the group stages. Yolanda KING secured her second title on home soil after battling it out to clinch the Under 21 crown. The second seed was once again impressive as she raced to the title defeating top seed Abbie MILWAIN in the final. King had defeated Amy BLAGBROUGH in the semi-final to set up her contest with MILWAIN who had defeated Diana RUSINOVA. But it was KING who took the final claiming all three ends. Decisively she took the opening two games in deuce a fact MILWAIN was left to rue after squandering a number of chances. King took the third 11-6 to wrap up what had been a strong weekend at the office for King. Tom MAYNARD and Matt WARE claimed the doubles title in style after putting in a convincing display. Outrageous shots were aplenty as the pair blitzed their opponents eventually claiming the title against the unlikely duo of Graeme BARELLA and CHUN Yin Yu in the final. WARE and MAYNARD had beating BARELLA and YIN Yu who play doubles for the University of Newcastle in the groups whilst also beating fellow Newcastle students Matthew STEPHENS and George FALCUS. Their semi-final opponents were Matthew MAN and Bryan KWAN who pushed them before they eventually prevailed 3-1. In the final they had their rematch against Barella and Yin Yu who had impressively beaten Ryan JENKINS and Cherith GRAHAM in five. They tested the winning pair taking the second end to leave a shock on the cards. However WARE and MAYNARD’s class eventually showed as they took the next two ends largely down to a few expansive shots Martin LOWE put in a convincing performance to claim the
Baku 2015 European Games signs broadcast deal with CCTV
Baku 2015 European Games has signed a deal with China Central Television that will see the inaugural event broadcast across the whole country. The extensive deal grants exclusive broadcast rights across China to the station’s CCTV 5 and CCTV 5+ sports cha Baku 2015 European Games has signed a deal with China Central Television that will see the inaugural event broadcast across the whole country. The extensive deal grants exclusive broadcast rights across China to the station’s CCTV 5 and CCTV 5+ sports channels. The station which has an approximate audience of 1.2 billion people will broadcast the Opening and Closing Ceremonies as well as highlights of all 20 sports competitions. Mr Simon CLEGG Baku 2015 Chief Operating Officer said: “We are delighted to have confirmed this significant deal with China Central Television which ensures the inaugural European Games will be enjoyed by a huge number of sports fans across Asia. Baku 2015 will be an exceptional celebration of sport featuring some of Europe’s elite athletes and it is wonderful to know that fans from all over the world will be able to tune in to the action.” The deal also guarantees content will be provided across all China Central Television’s digital media platforms including internet and mobile coverage. China Central Television are the predominant sports broadcaster in the country and hold rights for both the summer and winter Olympic Games as well as the Asian Games the FIFA World Cup UEFA Champions League and all other major sporting events from around the world. Mr Jiang HEPING Controller of China Central Television said: “The European Games will be a fantastic addition to the international sports calendar and we are very happy to be able to bring the best of the Baku 2015 action to our vast audience of sports fans in China.” To date broadcast deals have been agreed that will see the European Games broadcast in 33 countries around the world with many more deals set to be announced in the near future. Mr Charlie WIJERATNA Commerical Director of Baku 2015 said: “We are delighted with the broadcast deals we have secured to date which will ensure high-quality coverage of the inaugural European Games for fans around the globe. We know that interest in Baku 2015 extends beyond our own continent and we are looking forward to entertaining the world with 17 days of fantastic sport.”
China clean sweeps medals at WJC
China has made a clean sweep of the seven medals on offer at the Wisdom 2014 World Junior Table Tennis Championships which concluded today in Shanghai China. China’s YU Ziyang produced a master class performance in the boys singles final to defeat China has made a clean sweep of the seven medals on offer at the Wisdom 2014 World Junior Table Tennis Championships which concluded today in Shanghai China. China’s YU Ziyang produced a master class performance in the boys singles final to defeat the Youth Olympic Games silver medalist Yuto MURAMATSU (JPN) 11-9 11-9 11-7 11-9 to become the world champion. YU Ziyang who has also had success on the GAC Group 2014 World Tour by winning two events was under huge pressure to win the gold for China due to it was the only medal that they did not win last year when JANG Woojin (KOR) won gold in Rabat Morocco. After the match the 16 year old stated: “I did feel the pressure before the match and I did feel nervous; the problem is that if you are Chinese you are expected to win; if you lose then it’s big news. I’m pleased I won but I was expected to win so now it’s a great feeling of relief!” In the girl’s singles event his compatriot WANG Manyu’s massive scream after becoming the girl’s junior world champion showed the world just how much the title meant to her. WANG defeated her teammate ZHU Chaohui 12-10 11-6 14-12 6-11 12-10 to win her first world championships crown. After the emotional victory the 15 year old stated: “It’s the greatest day of my life. I am world champion! During the match I tried to keep control of my emotions I tried to keep calm; if I started yelling and screaming I’d lose concentration. Since last year when I lost in the semi-final I have played in many international tournaments so now I have much more experience.” The Chinese pair of LYU Xiang & XUE Fei were made to work extremely hard to defeat the passionate Korean duo of CHO Seungmin & KIM Minhyeok 8-11 12-10 11-7 11-6 9-11 14-16 11-8 in the boy’s doubles final. “When we were down in the seventh game we adopted the same approach as in the sixth play one point at a time and try your best” said XUE Fei who had clearly formed a very good understanding with LYU Xiang. “He is very fast” stressed XU Fei. “I am much slower so we compliment each other. It is unbelievable that we are world champions!” China’s gold rush continued in the girl’s doubles with CHEN Xingtong and LIU Gaoyang clinching gold. The pair led by Youth Olympic Games champion LIU Gaoyang were too good for the 14 year old Japanese duo of Mima ITO & Miu HIRANO prevailing 5-11 12-10 11-6 10-12 11-5 11-7. “Certainly it was a difficult match but I think our technical skills made the difference on the important points” said LIU Gaoyang. “We have played together before but we didn’t practice that much before this tournament. We are thrilled with this title as we both played below our level in the singles.” WANG Chuqin & CHEN Xingtong (CHN) became the mixed doubles World Junior champions after beating their compatriots LYU Xiang & WANG Manyu (CHN) in the mixed doubles final. WANG Chuqin stated after the match: “Gradually as the tournament progressed we adjusted to each other’s styles of play and had a good co-operation and we are ecstatic to be World Champions!” These five gold medals won today at the Minghang Indoor stadium were a perfect finish for China after they won both the boy’s and girl’s teams event earlier in the week. Kirill GERASSIMENKO (KAZ) & Tamolwan KHETKHUAN (THA) were awarded with the Swaythling Club International Fair Play award for playing their table tennis in a fun and positive fashion all championships. The table tennis world now turns to Bangkok Thailand where the US$1 000 000 GAC Group 2014 World Tour Grand Finals will take place.
Stephane OUAICHE clinched the trophy in Finland
Stephane OUAICHE from France has improved his appearances at the 25th Finlandia Open during the whole final day. In semifinals he had huge difficulties against Japan´s Takuya JIN (4-3) but in final no worries with Noshad Alamiyan DARONKOLAEIN from Iran (4 Stephane OUAICHE from France has improved his appearances at the 25th Finlandia Open during the whole final day. In semifinals he had huge difficulties against Japan´s Takuya JIN (4-3) but in final no worries with Noshad Alamiyan DARONKOLAEIN from Iran (4-0). OUAICHE was very satisfied with the outcome in the Kisakallio Sports Institute. “The lights new tables and especially the floor are superb for table tennis. Even the new poly ball is ok for me. I was very confident with my feelings against Noshad and playing backhand against backhand suits me fine. As a lefthander I like to play against other lefthanders.” In women´s singles first-seeded Miyu KATO from Japan had to struggle with all her power against the tough backspins of Anamaria ERDELJI of Serbia. ERDELJI had already 7-2 in the 7th set but the Japanese finally took victory. “I was so nervous” said the champion. “Something like happened also on other side of the table; the last balls of the game were full of unforced errors of Erdelji.”
