Baku 2015 European Games has today announced the first eleven Azerbaijani athletes who will become Ambassadors for the inaugural European Games. The athletes have been selected to represent their sport and their country and will feature in marketing camp Baku 2015 European Games has today announced the first eleven Azerbaijani athletes who will become Ambassadors for the inaugural European Games. The athletes have been selected to represent their sport and their country and will feature in marketing campaigns in the lead up to the Games as they help to promote next summer’s event across Azerbaijan. They will also feature at high-profile milestone events to celebrate Baku 2015 as the clock continues to count down to the spectacular Opening Ceremony on June 12 next year. The athletes chosen are Sughra MUGABILZADA (Archery) Nazim BABAYEV (Athletics) Amil HAMZAYEV (Basketball 3×3) Elgun ALIZADA and Murad SULTANOV (Cycling) Sabina MIKINA (Fencing) Marina DURUNDA (Gymnastics) Elmar GASIMOV (Judo) Jeyran ALIYEVA (Volleyball) and Rovshan BAYRAMOV and Mariya STADNIK (Wrestling). Mr Azad RAHIMOV Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sport and Baku 2015 Chief Executive Officer said: “These athletes are some of the finest sportspeople in the country and they will prove to be excellent ambassadors for the European Games. We want them to help share the excitement surrounding Baku 2015 with the rest of the country and I am sure their achievements will prove inspirational for young people all across Azerbaijan.” Mr Chingiz HUSEYNZADE Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan said: “We are very proud to be working alongside the Baku 2015 on the ambassador programme. Baku 2015 is an incredible opportunity for our athletes to represent themselves their sports and their country on a major international stage and the ambassador programme will help develop their careers immensely.” The Baku 2015 ambassador programme will also see notable ambassadors recruited to help raise awareness around the world about the European Games via international campaigns. Mr Simon CLEGG Chief Operating Officer of Baku 2015 said: “The ambassador programme will see support for the inaugural European Games from medal hopefuls and high profile athletes from around Europe so we are confident that it will be a success. I would like to thank all of the Azerbaijani athletes for their support so far and we look forward to working with them to help promote Baku 2015 in the coming months.”
Challenging days for Angers
From today until November 28th French club Vaillante Angers will play against four Men`s European Champions League participants. Two games will be held in national Pro A league against Chartres (today) and Pontoise (next Tuesday) and two in MECL: UMMC (t From today until November 28th French club Vaillante Angers will play against four Men`s European Champions League participants. Two games will be held in national Pro A league against Chartres (today) and Pontoise (next Tuesday) and two in MECL: UMMC (this Friday) and Sten Marketing (November 28th). Announcing the game against 2013 Russian champion UMMC Angers` president Gerard SARAZIN stressed that he expects a good match between last season`s MECL semi-finalists. “We will have 3 big events in 10 days because we will play in Pro A against Chartres the Tuesday (we are both leaders for the moment) and the next Tuesday in Pontoise (3rd rank for the moment) so 3 big matches in 10 days and the next Friday we will receive Sten…” French side has 1-2 score after three rounds. They lost 3:1 in opening round at Verkhnaya Pyshma thus SARAZIN is aware how hard will be to progress in the next stage: “Against Ekaterinburg we will have not any choice than win if we want to continue in Champion’s League this season: we need to win all the 3 matches and of course it will be so so difficult…But first we are very happy to receive Ekaterinburg and especially MIZUTANI (we never see him in real!) the fantastic lefthander. In Ekaterinburg we lost 3:1 and made a good game so there is a little possibility to dream” Six out of eight MECL Round 4 matches are scheduled for this Friday. Also two WECL games will be held on that day.
Inspired Eslovs to keep the course
Next Friday 2013/14 European Champions League is continuing with Round 4 and one of the games which attracts huge attention is one that be held in Sweden: Eslovs – Werder Bremen (November 21st 19h00 CET). German side was considered as one of favorites fo Next Friday 2013/14 European Champions League is continuing with Round 4 and one of the games which attracts huge attention is one that be held in Sweden: Eslovs – Werder Bremen (November 21st 19h00 CET). German side was considered as one of favorites for two top spots in Group B but after three rounds Swedish champion and 2008 MECL winner Niederosterreich lead having 2-1 score each. “We hope to continue our winning form we are at the half way stage and in a very good position. Not only are we top of the group but out of the three group matches remaining two of these will be played in Eslöv and we hope to take full advantage of this” stressed Eslovs` president Thomas ANDERSSON. Swedish side was defeated 3:1 by “The Greens” in opening round played at Bremen. But after that Germans lost both their games while Eslov managed to beat Niederosterreich and 2013 MECL runner-up Chartres (twice 3:2). Robert SVENSSON was a hero in these clashes winning last three his games in a row. “Friday we will play against Bremen at home and we are looking to reverse the first round result in our favour. XU Hui and Robert SVENSSON have been in extreme good form so far we are in a strong position to progress to the quarter final stage. However the group is very close so there is still everything to play for” explained Thomas ANDERSSON.
Jun MIZUTANI tops the race to Bangkok standings
The qualified players for the one million dollar GAC Group 2014 World Tour Grand Finals have been announced after a record-breaking end to the regular World Tour season which consisted of 20 stops. A record 304 players from 51 national associations floc The qualified players for the one million dollar GAC Group 2014 World Tour Grand Finals have been announced after a record-breaking end to the regular World Tour season which consisted of 20 stops. A record 304 players from 51 national associations flocked to the GAC Group World Tour Swedish Open in a last ditch attempt to qualify for the lucrative World Tour Grand Finals to be held in Bangkok Thailand on 11-14 December 2014. After the 502 matches were played in Sweden the 2014 World Tour season concluded with 16 men and 16 women securing their golden ticket to Bangkok as well as eight men’s and women’s doubles pairs and eight men’s and women’s under 21 players. Japan’s Jun MIZUTANI heads the men’s Race to Bangkok standings after a very consistent 2014 and will make his third appearance at the year ending event. Singapore’s FENG Tianwei tops the women’s charts after winning three World Tour crowns this year to secure her seventh consecutive excursion to the prestigious event. German Open Champion Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) is next on the men’s list ahead of Japan’s Koki NIWA who recently won in Russia pursued by England’s Paul DRINKHALL the champion in Spain. Portugal’s Marcos FREITAS followed by Belarus’s Vladimir SAMSONOV Chinese Taipei’s CHUANG Chih-Yuan and Germany’s Steffen MENGEL complete the top eight names. Marcos FREITAS won in the Czech Republic whilst veteran Vladimir SAMSONOV succeeded in both his native Belarus and Belgium. Japan managed to qualify five women for the singles which makes it the highest represented country. Kasumi ISHIKAWA who won recently at the Russian Open leads the challenge with Ai FUKUHARA whom she beat in the final in Ekaterinburg alongside Misaki MORIZONO Sayaka HIRANO and Yuka ISHIGAKI will all make the trip to Bangkok. Europe will also be strongly represented in Bangkok. Germany’s HAN Ying and SHAN Xiaona are high on the list as are Sweden’s LI Fen Austria’s LIU Jia and Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA. The GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour events are split up into three tiers (highest first): Super (6 events) Major (4 events) Challenge (10 events). The higher the series the more prize money World ranking points Race to Bangkok points and higher quality of competition on offer. The prestigious 1 million dollar GAC Group 2014 World Tour Grand Finals which has the most prize money of any table tennis event on earth will be held at the Sports Authority of Thailand Indoor Stadium in Bangkok Thailand on 11-14 December 2014. To qualify players had to play in a minimum of five events.
Chinese showcase in Stockholm
China’s FAN Zhendong won the Men’s Singles title at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Swedish Open Stockholm whilst ZHU Yuling won the Women’s Singles title. FAN Zhendong the no.2 seed at the final hurdle accounted for Chinese National Team compatriot China’s FAN Zhendong won the Men’s Singles title at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Swedish Open Stockholm whilst ZHU Yuling won the Women’s Singles title. FAN Zhendong the no.2 seed at the final hurdle accounted for Chinese National Team compatriot FANG Bo the no.13 seed to arrest the title. FAN Zhendong after winning the first two games had to withstand a spirited recovery from FANG Bo who levelled matters in the fourth game before emerging successful in six games. Only 17 years old in what was only his tenth appearance on the ITTF World Tour he has reached the Men’s Singles final on five occasions; of those five duels only once has he not secured gold and that occasion has a special significance. ZHU Yuling the no.2 seed accounted for compatriot LIU Shiwen the no.1 seed in an all Chinese final. Previously ZHU Yuling accounted for Germany’s HAN Ying the no.4 seed in the penultimate stage. ZHU Yuling won in four straight games. China’s YAN An partnering WANG Hao accounted for FAN Zhendong and XU Xin to capture the Men’s Doubles crown; they won in five games. For WANG Hao it was no less than his 26th ITTF World Tour Men’s Doubles title. He won his first in 2001 in Yokohama in partnership with MA Lin; now in 2014 in harness with YAN An he has won with his tenth partner. Conversely for YAN An it is his fourth ITTF World Tour Men’s Doubles title but in common with WANG Hao it is the second time he has won in Stockholm. Occupying the fourth seeded position in the draw LIU Shiwen and ZHU Yuling won the Women’s Doubles title. In an all-Chinese affair at the final hurdle they overcame HU Limei and WU Yang a pairing who had been seeded and had been required to play in the preliminary stage of proceedings.
HAN Ying in semi-final of the Swedish Open
Crowned World Junior champion in December 2009; China’s FANG Bo was the player to cause the major upset in the third round of the Men’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Swedish Open in Stockholm. The no.13 seed overcame Germany’s Dimitr Crowned World Junior champion in December 2009; China’s FANG Bo was the player to cause the major upset in the third round of the Men’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Swedish Open in Stockholm. The no.13 seed overcame Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV the no.3 seed in six games to book his place in the quarter-finals. The one consolation for the German star is that he has now completed the five appearance criteria required to qualify for the forthcoming US$ 1 000 000 Grand Finals and he will finish in a sufficiently high position to compete in the prestigious event next month in Bangkok. Frenchman Simon GAUZY was also the player who attracted attention today. Required to compete in the qualification stage of proceedings he maintained his outstanding form to beat Japan’s Kenta MATSUDAIRA the no.15 seed. However in the quarters GAUZY suffered by the hands of top seed XU Xin of China. Portugal’s Marcos FREITAS beat Italy’s Mihai BOBOCICA for place in the quarters before he lost his duel against WANG Hao in very close match. Germany’s HAN Ying the no.4 seed reached the penultimate stage of the Women’s Singles by beating LIU Jia of Austria. Previously HAN Ying overcame Portugal’s YU Fu the no.10 seed. Another qualifier Germany’s Kristin SILBEREISEN maintained her run of form to book her place in the quarter-final stage by causing yet another upset. The 29 year old accounted for Singapore’s YU Mengyu the no.6 seed in the third round of proceedings. However in the next round China’s LIU Shiwen proved too strong for Germany’s player. Hungary’s Dora MADARASZ held two games to one lead against Austria’s LIU Jia the no.7 seed before experiencing defeat in round of 16.
Baku 2015 European Games hosts diplomatic briefing
Baku 2015 European Games has today hosted a diplomatic briefing for heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Azerbaijan. Senior executives from Baku 2015 made presentations and gave speeches to international representatives on the latest developments of Baku 2015 European Games has today hosted a diplomatic briefing for heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Azerbaijan. Senior executives from Baku 2015 made presentations and gave speeches to international representatives on the latest developments of the inaugural European Games and future sporting opportunities in the country. Mr Azad RAHIMOV Baku 2015 Chief Executive Officer and Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sport spoke to delegates and Mr Simon CLEGG Baku 2015 Chief Operating Officer provided an overview of the inaugural European Games. Mr RAHIMOV said: “The diplomatic briefing was an ideal opportunity for our team to meet with and provide information to the diplomatic missions on all of the latest Baku 2015 news in order to prepare for next June. We know that international interest in the inaugural European Games will be extremely high so it is important to keep the diplomatic community informed on our preparations.” The event was attended by more than 100 delegates from 60 countries at the Fairmont Hotel in Baku. Ms Konul NURULLAYEVA Director of International Relations at the Azerbaijan National Olympic Committee discussed the role of National Olympic Committees in the approach to the European Games. Mr CLEGG said: “It was an honour to bring together so many diplomatic leaders here in Baku and update them with detail on the European Games. The forthcoming years will see Azerbaijan transformed into a centre of sporting excellence that the world will be invited to enjoy and it is important that we continue to keep the international community informed of opportunities and progress here.”
Kristian KARLSSON shines in Stockholm
In the opening rounds of the Men’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Swedish Open in Stockholm Kristian KARLSSON made a top rate upset. The no.24 seed beat Germany’s Ricardo WALTHER the winner earlier in the year of the Men’s Singles ev In the opening rounds of the Men’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Swedish Open in Stockholm Kristian KARLSSON made a top rate upset. The no.24 seed beat Germany’s Ricardo WALTHER the winner earlier in the year of the Men’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Croatian Open in Zagreb. And that was not all. In the second round KARLSSON overcame Panagiotis GIONIS of Greece. European bronze medalists seeded no. 11 in Sweden suffered straight games defeat. Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV the no.3 seed accounted for Maharu YOSHIMURA of Japapan before he beat LI Hu of Singapore Simon GAUZY beat Brazil’s Gustavo TSUBOI the no.19 seed and he continued in same style in second round. Young French star beat Koki NIWA of Japan in seven games. China’s 18 year old LIANG Jinkun beat Croatia’s Andrej GACINA the no.10 seed. Slovak Republic’s WANG Yang accounted for Japan’s Masataka MORIZONO the no.15. Germany will have two representatives in tomorrow’s Round of 16 in Women’s Singles Event. After thrilling seven games Kristin SILBEREISEN overcame Irene IVANCAN to reach next round whilst HAN Jing beat Poland’s LI QIan to join her. SILBEREISEN will; meet YU Mengyu of Singapore whilst HAN will play against YU Fu of Polrtugal. Yu overcame LIN Chia-Hui of Taipei tonight. In all-European duel Dora MADARASZ of Hungary overcame Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden. In Round of 16 she will meet LIU JIa of Austria who beat WU JIaduo of Germany.
Teams announced for 2015 World Team Cup
The 12 men’s and women’s teams that will contest for the ITTF 2015 World Team Cup in Dubai on 8-11 January 2015 has been announced by the International Table Tennis Federation. This is the second time Dubai has hosted the prestigious team even The 12 men’s and women’s teams that will contest for the ITTF 2015 World Team Cup in Dubai on 8-11 January 2015 has been announced by the International Table Tennis Federation. This is the second time Dubai has hosted the prestigious team event after successfully hosting it back in 2010. The 12 teams are made up of six continental teams who qualified as champions of their respective Continental Championships an additional five teams who finished in the highest positions at the ZEN-NOH 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships plus one team from the United Arab Emirates. China will again be the heavy favorites to clinch gold in both the men’s and women’s event just as they did in the previous edition held in Guangzhou China in 2013. Despite China winning in Guangzhou the headlines were made by a spirited Egyptian men’s team who shocked the world to claim the bronze medal. The historic medal even earned them a reception with the Egyptian President. Egypt will be looking to repeat this amazing performance in Dubai with their men’s and women’s team both qualifying for the 2015 event through Africa. At the ZEN-NOH 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships German star Timo BOLL announced that this German team is the best of all time. They fell short of the gold medal in Tokyo losing to China but they will have another chance to topple the Chinese powerhouses in Dubai with their once-in-a-generation line up. Despite their strong team Germany will not be going to Dubai with the title of the current European Champions as Portugal beat them in a dramatic final to deny Germany their 7th European Championships title in a row which secured Portugal’s passage to Dubai. With Germany being biggest challengers to China in the men’s event Japan and Singapore will push China all the way in the women’s after strong performances at London 2012 and the recent World Championships. The format of the World Team Cup is different from the World Team Championships as it follows the same format as the team event at the Olympic Games. Each team can nominate a team of up to five players who play up to four singles and one doubles match until a team wins three matches. The invited teams are as follows: Men (Continental Champions): China (Asia) Portugal (Europe) Canada (North America) Brazil (Latin America) Egypt (Africa) Australia (Oceania) Men (World Championships): Germany Chinese Taipei Japan Austria Korea Men (Host Association): United Arab Emirates Women (Continental Champions): China (Asia) Germany (Europe) Canada (North America) Brazil (Latin America) Egypt (Africa) Australia (Oceania) Women (World Championships): Japan Hong Kong Singapore DPR Korea Romania Women (Host Association): United Arab Emirates Prior to the 2015 ITTF World Team Cup the ITTF will be hosting the Dubai 2014 ITTF Star awards on 7 January 2015 at the Armani Hotel. The ITTF Star awards rewards the best players from the 2014 season in a night of glitz and glamour.
ITTF level 2 course in Bulgaria’s Plovdiv
Bulgaria’s Plovdiv will be the host city for the ITTF Level 2 Course & High Performance Training camp as a part of Olympic Solidarity program. From 1st to 11th of December 19 coaches from host country and one from Georgia will attend the intensive cou Bulgaria’s Plovdiv will be the host city for the ITTF Level 2 Course & High Performance Training camp as a part of Olympic Solidarity program. From 1st to 11th of December 19 coaches from host country and one from Georgia will attend the intensive course. “The courses will last six days we will work up to 6 hours each day and we will have practical and theoretical tests. After the course we will have camp ” explained Aleksey YEFREMOV. Coach Aleksey YEFREMOV will travel to Bulgaria from Peru. He is engaged as a national coach in South America for two years now after he was national coach in Columbia Egypt India and Guatemala. YEFREMOV is from Minsk but in past 18 years he worked all over the world. From 2008 he conducted more then 30 courses for ITTF.
