China has reaffirmed their standing as the world’s best table tennis nation by winning both the boy’s and girl’s teams World Junior Championships titles today in Shanghai China. Japan were vanquished in both finals matches as they stru China has reaffirmed their standing as the world’s best table tennis nation by winning both the boy’s and girl’s teams World Junior Championships titles today in Shanghai China. Japan were vanquished in both finals matches as they struggled to keep up with the power and precision of the host nation. The girl’s team led by the 2014 Youth Olympic Games champion LIU Gaoyang defeated their Japanese rivals 3-0 to win their fourth consecutive girl’s team title. The 18 year old Youth Olympic champion stated: “I tried to relax and play my best table tennis. Last year I didn’t play my best so I did not want history to repeat itself. 2014 has been a perfect year for me winning the title at the Youth Olympic Games and now this. Hopefully I can also win the girl’s singles title next Sunday to make my year even better.” Despite the loss 14 year old Miu HIRANO of team Japan who has also qualified for the GAC Group 2014 World Tour Grand final to be held next week remained upbeat about the future: “Since we lost against China last year we have made a lot of progress in our games and we feel that we are getting closer. We hope next year we will improve even more and be able to clinch the gold medal.” USA created history by becoming the first ever North American country to win a medal at the World Junior Championships. They shared their place on the podium with Hong Kong who also takes home a bronze medal as the losing semi finalists. Just like the girl’s team the Chinese boy’s defeated Japan 3-0 to be crowned World Junior Champions. The victory was China’s ninth in a row and it was a table tennis exhibition which makes you believe that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion will be one of the Chinese boys on duty today. Despite China’s amazing winning streak the boys were under pressure to perform in front of their home supporters at the Minhang Indoor stadium. “Because China did not win the boy’s singles title last year (won by Korean JANG Woo-Jin) we were under huge pressure to win this teams title” stated LIANG Jingkun. “I am so happy that we were able to play well and make our country proud.” The bronze medals went to Chinese Taipei and Korea after strong performances. There are five more medals on offer in Shanghai with the boy’s and girl’s singles boy’s and girl’s doubles and mixed doubles titles all up for grabs on the weekend.
Invitation for International Umpires in Luxembourg
The Luxembourg Table Tennis Federation (F.L.T.T.) invited about 30 International Umpires (IU) for officiating at the Luxembourg Open April 15th-18th 2015 in Luxembourg. The application shall arrive before January 15th at paul.schiltz@education.lu. Only The Luxembourg Table Tennis Federation (F.L.T.T.) invited about 30 International Umpires (IU) for officiating at the Luxembourg Open April 15th-18th 2015 in Luxembourg. The application shall arrive before January 15th at paul.schiltz@education.lu. Only associations can submit applications. “During the tournament the ITTF will conduct Blue-badge Umpire Evaluations. Blue badge umpires and candidates as well as white badge umpires are welcome; we will invite white badge international umpires who are not taking part in the blue badge process” said Patrick MASSEN FLTT Administration Executive The selection will be made before January 25th and the umpires will be informed immediately after. Selected umpires may only be replaced with the prior authorization of the organizer. Umpire invitation and Application form you can find here.
Dubai 2014 ITTF Star Awards nominees released
The International Table Tennis Federation announced the nominees for the Male & Female Table Tennis Star Awards to be crowned at the Dubai 2014 ITTF Star Awards in Dubai on 7 January 2015. The 2nd edition of the ITTF Star Awards will take place at the The International Table Tennis Federation announced the nominees for the Male & Female Table Tennis Star Awards to be crowned at the Dubai 2014 ITTF Star Awards in Dubai on 7 January 2015. The 2nd edition of the ITTF Star Awards will take place at the Armani Hotel at the base of the world’s tallest building the Burj Khalifa which is a fitting location to honor the world’s best players. The nominees in the running to be crowned the 2014 Male’s & Female’s Table Tennis Star Awards are: Male Table Tennis Star presented by Ping Pong Dubai as nominated by the ITTF Athletes’ Commission: Quadri ARUNA (NGR)-World number 30 highest ranked African player of the last 30 years. FAN Zhendong (CHN)- 2014 Youth Olympic Games winner World number 3. Marcos FREITAS (POR) -2014 European Team Table Tennis Championships winner first Portuguese player to be ranked top 10 in the World. XU Xin (CHN)- 2013 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals & 2014 Asian Games winner World number 1. Female Table Tennis Star presented Nittaku as nominated by the ITTF Athletes’ Commission: DING Ning (CHN)- 2014 ITTF Women’s World Cup winner World number 1. FENG Tianwei (SIN)-Won 3 World Tour events in 2014 World number 4. Kasumi ISHIKAWA (JPN)-Leader of Japanese National Team Silver medalist at the 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships World number 6. LIU Shiwen (CHN)- 2013 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals & 2014 Asian Games winner World number 2. Fans can now vote for their star player of 2014 at ITTFStarAwards.com. Voting will end on 17 December 2014. Fans’ votes will be combined with judging by an expert panel including their peers and the media to determine the Table Tennis Stars of 2014! In addition to the Men’s and Women’s Stars an additional five awards will be handed in Dubai: Para Male Table Tennis Star presented by Tinsue Para Female Table Tennis Star presented by Stag International Table Tennis Star Point presented by DHS Table Tennis Star Coach presented by Butterfly Fair Play Star
No way of escape in last WECL round
This Friday we’ll be witnesses one of the most dramatic finish in Women’s European Champions League group stage. Nothing has been decided yet in both groups except that Fenerbahce enters semi-final from the top of Group A. Six clubs in total will be invo This Friday we’ll be witnesses one of the most dramatic finish in Women’s European Champions League group stage. Nothing has been decided yet in both groups except that Fenerbahce enters semi-final from the top of Group A. Six clubs in total will be involved in the round “with calculators” counting sets and maybe points. In Group A pairs are: Szekszard – Fenerbahce Zamek Tarnobrzeg – SVNO STROCK. As mentioned Turkish champion secured first place while other three clubs will compete for second place which leads to the semis. It looks like the Polish champion Zamek (2-3 score) is currently in the best position but they will have a hard task to beat SVNO STROCK (1-4). Austrian side hopes that they will defeat Zamek and that Fenerbahce will confirm its supremacy in the group in Hungary. In that case three clubs will have the same number of points (8) thus mutual score in matches between them should decide the final position. In accordance with the K.9.3.1. Regulation (“If 2 or more teams have gained the same number of match points their relative positions shall be determined by the results only of matches between them taking successively the numbers of match points then the ratio of wins to losses in games and then the ratio of wins to losses in points as far as it is necessary to determine the ranking order”). Now Zamek has 8-6 STROCK 7-6 and Szekszard 7-10. The same triangle could appear in Group B between Berlin Linz and Metz. The last games in that group are: Postas Sport Egyesulet – Linz AG Froschberg TTC Berlin Eastside – Metz TT. Reigning champion Berlin leads with 9 points one more than Linz and Metz. In case that they lose the match and Linz would be successful in Hungary mentioned regulations will decide. Current situation between these three clubs are next: Berlin 8-7 Linz 10-7 Metz 4-8. WECL Round 6 Group A: Szekszard – Fenerbahce (December 5th 17h00 CET); Zamek Tarnobrzeg – SVNO STROCK (December 5th 17h00 CET) Group B: Postas Sport Egyesulet – Linz AG Froschberg (December 5th 19h30 CET); TTC Berlin Eastside – Metz TT (December 5th 19h30 CET)
China and Japan will play for World titles
China and Japan had secured their places in the Girls’ Team final at the Wisdom 2014 World Junior Championships in Shanghai in a most emphatic manner; not one single match surrendered. Three-nil wins were posted against Hong Kong and the United States of China and Japan had secured their places in the Girls’ Team final at the Wisdom 2014 World Junior Championships in Shanghai in a most emphatic manner; not one single match surrendered. Three-nil wins were posted against Hong Kong and the United States of America. In the lower half of the list France will meet Korea in the duel for the position no. five whilst Germany will play against Thailand for the position no. 7. In quarter final Hong Kong the third seeds beat Germany the fourth seeds. MINNIE Soo Wai Yam beat both Nina MITTELHAM and Chantal MANTZ; the two players who had contested the final of the Junior Girls’ Singles event at the Sterilgarda European Youth Championships in Riva del Garda earlier this year. LAM Yee Lok accounted for WAN Yuan. The wins for Germany both came at the expense of DOO Hoi Kem. DOO Hoi Kem was beaten by Chantal MANTZ and by Nina MITTELHAM. China posted a three-two win against France. WANG Manyu beat Pauline CHASSELIN in three straight games. In the two ensuing duels it was the same for LIU Gaoyang and CHEN Xingtong. The boys emulated their female counterparts and did so in the same commanding manner. China the top seeds beat Korea the third seeds by three matches to nil; Japan the second seeds performed likewise when confronting Chinese Taipei the fourth seeds. For position no. five Sweden will meet France whilst Hong Kong will play against Hungary for place no. seven. In quarter final China the top seeds beat Sweden the no.7 seeds to set the tone for the round of the last eight. They recorded a three matches to nil success but it was not the most comfortable of starts for the host nation. YU Ziyang was tested by Anton KÄLLBERG; he won but he needed the full five games to ensure victory. LIANG Jingkun accounted for Elias RANEFUR LYU Xiang overcame Carl AHLANDER-JOHANSSON. Japan accounted for France. Yuto MURAMATSU beat Can Akkuzu before Asuka SAKAI defeated Alexandre CASSIN and Kazuhiro YOSHIMURA overcame Romain RUIZ. Likewise Chinese Taipei succeeded against Hungary the no.8 seeds. YANG Heng-Wei set his team on the road to victory by beating Nandor ECSEKI in the opening match of the contest before WANG Tai-Wei accounted for Adam SZUDI and LIN Hsueh brought matters to a conclusion by defeating Bence MAJOROS.
Finlandia Open very popular once again
More than 200 players from 34 different countries will arrive to Kisakallio sport institute in southern Finland to participate at the Finlandia Open tournament. Finnish Table Tennis Association will host the tournament for the 25th time. The competition w More than 200 players from 34 different countries will arrive to Kisakallio sport institute in southern Finland to participate at the Finlandia Open tournament. Finnish Table Tennis Association will host the tournament for the 25th time. The competition will start on Thursday with a team competition. Totally 120 men and 90 women will continue their business with singles during the weekend. “Our competition with the quite seldom used progressive knock out system will guarantee many matches to every participant. Thus it seems to be more and more popular once again especially among younger players. The feedback from players and coaches has been nice for the venue has everything just in a walking distance” says newly elected FTTA president Esko HEIKKINEN. Top seeded players are Noshad Alamiyan DARONKOLAEI from Iran (WR 93) and Stéphane OUAICHE from France (97) and in women´s singles Miyu KATO from Japan (65). Finnish number one player Benedek OLAH (WR 223) showed superb condition in Portugal European team championships beating England´s Paul DRINKHALL and Turkey´s Ahmed LI among others. Olah playing in Netherland´s league this year is certainly the favorite of the local audience. Courtesy of FTTA
SVN STROCK still alive!
Austrian SVNO STROCK beat at home Hungarian Szekszard 3:0 in Round 5 of 2014/15 Women`s European Champions League and now despite 0-4 score after first four rounds has a chance to reach semi-final. Decisive round will be held on December 5th when Zamek Austrian SVNO STROCK beat at home Hungarian Szekszard 3:0 in Round 5 of 2014/15 Women`s European Champions League and now despite 0-4 score after first four rounds has a chance to reach semi-final. Decisive round will be held on December 5th when Zamek (2-3 score) expects STROCK (1-4) while Fenerbahce (5-0) goes to Szekszard (2-3). If Turkish champion wins (bearing in mind its power there is about 90 % for that) Zamek and STROCK will fight for the semi-final (Hungarian side has the worst score in mutual matches in that triangle). “We are still alive and we will fight for the semi-final” stressed STROCK`s president Martin SOROS just few minutes after the clash against Hungarian club. “Our team gave more than 100 percent tonight especially Tetyana BILENKO who improves her play game by game. Now we have 50-50 % against Zamek. They are faced with big pressure than our girls and we are looking forward to that match”. Matilda EKHOLM defeated Kata TOTH in straight games giving her just 12 points in total. Dora MADARASZ and Alexa SZVITACS played fully exciting match in five games. After many upside-downs host converted second match point to 2:0 lead for Austrian side. Tetyana BILENKO signed last summer for STROCK as potential nightmare for the favorites because she showed that she is able to beat top names with her defensive tactics. Tonight she overcame actual individual European champion LI Fen in straight games – 3:0 (11:6 11:1 11:0). Although LI played injured (wrist) since 5:1 in second set BILENKO deserves congratulations for her play until that moment. WECL Round 5 Group A: SVNO STROCK – Szekszard AC 3:0 Matilda EKHOLM – Kata TOTH 3:0 (11:3 11:3 11:6) Dora Madarasz – Alexa SZVITACS 3:2 (11:6 11:6 9:11 5:11 12:10) Tetyana BILENKO – LI Fen 3:0 (11:6 11:1 11:0)
French boys and girls in quarters
France and Germany booked the places in the quarter-final stage of the Girls’ Team event at the Wisdom 2014 World Junior Championships. Tomorrow in the top half of the draw China will play against France Hong Kong will meet Germany; in the lower half Ko France and Germany booked the places in the quarter-final stage of the Girls’ Team event at the Wisdom 2014 World Junior Championships. Tomorrow in the top half of the draw China will play against France Hong Kong will meet Germany; in the lower half Korea will face the United States Thailand will play against Japan. Thailand and the United States caused the upsets by booking the places among top eight teams. China Japan Korea and Chinese Taipei the respective top four seeds in the Boys’ Team event had completed their second stage group fixtures unbeaten. Thus they had reserved quarter-final places. The next four teams in the pecking order followed suit; Hong Kong France Sweden and Hungary all recorded wins to secure second places in their respective groups and thus passports to the last eight. Hungary beat Danish trio of Claus NIELSEN Tobias RASMUSSEN and Kasper RASMUSSEN with Adam SZUDI the player eventually to seal victory in a three matches to two success. Having suffered a close defeat at the hands of Claus NIELSEN Adam SZUDI turned the tables to overcome Tobias RASMUSSEN and secure success for the Magyars. The win against Tobias RASMUSSEN came after Nandor ECSEKI had beaten Tobias RASMUSSEN in the opening match of the fixture and in the third contest Bence MAJOROS had defeated Kasper RASMUSSEN. After Elias RANEFUR had experienced defeat against David REITSPIES Anton KÄLLBERG accounted for Tomas POLANSKY and David REITSPIES. The one further win for Sweden came in the third match of the fixture when Carl AHLANDER-JOHANSSON defeated Stanislav KUCERA. In the duel France vs. Czech Republic Can AKKUZU overcame Jakub FOLWARSKI (11-8 8-11 6-11 11-3 11-7) and Alexandre CASSIN defeated Patryk ZATOWKA (11-5 9-11 11-6 11-8) before Romain RUIZ ended matters by accounting for Marek BADOWSKI (11-5 9-11 11-8 15-13). At the quarter-final stage; in the top half of the draw China opposes Sweden Hong Kong plays Korea; in the lower half Chinese Taipei meets Hungary France confronts Japan. In Girls Event occupying the no.13 seeded position Thailand overcame Romania the no.8 seeds and bronze medallists in Rabat one year ago; after the United States the no.10 seeds had caused a surprise of similar proportions by overcoming Russia the no.6 seeds. France overcame Chinese Taipei by three matches to one to secure second place in their group behind Japan. France the no.7 seeds overcame Chinese Taipei the no.9 seeds by three matches to one. LI Yu-Jhun gave Chinese Taipei the ideal start by overcoming Pauline CHASSELIN but that was to be the sum total of their success. HUANG Yu-Chiao was beaten by Marie MIGOT and by Pauline CHASSELIN with the one further win being achieved courtesy of Audrey ZARIF. In the third match of the fixture she accounted for LIN Chia-Hsuan. Germany beat Russia by three matches to one. Nina MITTELHAM overcame both Maria TAYLAKOVA and Ekaterina GUSEVA. The one further win for the Germans came from WAN Yuan in third match of the contest against Maria MALANINA; whilst for Russia the one success came courtesy of Ekaterina GUSEVA. In the second match of the engagement she beat Chantal MANTZ.
Table tennis team voted as a Team of the Year in Portugal
Table Tennis was nominated in all five categories at the 19th Sports Gala held by Portuguese Sports Confederation at Casino Estoril. The men’s National Team was elected as Team of the Year and Pedro RUFINO as Coach of the Year. In the remaining cate Table Tennis was nominated in all five categories at the 19th Sports Gala held by Portuguese Sports Confederation at Casino Estoril. The men’s National Team was elected as Team of the Year and Pedro RUFINO as Coach of the Year. In the remaining categories Table Tennis had more three nominations: FU Yu (Female Athlete of the Year) Marcos FREITAS (Male Athlete of the Year) and Diogo CHEN (Youth Award). Patricia MACIEL and Rita FINS were honored with a diploma for their title in Doubles won at the European Youth Championship.
BABAKOV elected President of the TTFR
During the Russian Olympic Committee Assembly the Russian Table Tennis Federation also held the Conference. The main issue was the elections of a new president. Alexander BABAKOV became the new president of the TTFR. President BABAKOV is 51 years old. He During the Russian Olympic Committee Assembly the Russian Table Tennis Federation also held the Conference. The main issue was the elections of a new president. Alexander BABAKOV became the new president of the TTFR. President BABAKOV is 51 years old. He is the deputy of the Russian State Duma and successful businessman. New elected President is also Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees in Russian Table tennis federation.
