After Belgrade 2007 Germany reached the eight consecutive final. For the title in the Men’s Teams Event at the TMS European Championships they will play against host nation – Portugal. Portugal reached the final after thrilling encounter against Sw After Belgrade 2007 Germany reached the eight consecutive final. For the title in the Men’s Teams Event at the TMS European Championships they will play against host nation – Portugal. Portugal reached the final after thrilling encounter against Sweden. It was a match full of turnovers that fired up fantastic home crowed in MEO Arena. Joao MONTEIRO gave Portugal good start after victory over Kristian KARLSSON. He needed four games one more then Marcos FREITAS in next match. FREITAS succeeded against Par GERELL in straight games. With 2:0 in the pocket and impressive game Portugal was already with one leg in final but… Tiago APOLONIA had advantage 2:1 against Jon PERSSON before he lost two final sets by narrow margin. Five match balls were wasted in decisive game. The situation had not looked that bright when Marcos returned to the table. He was two games in reverse against KARLSSON before he leveled to win the match. “We started very well. I was very confident against GERELL and MONTEIRO showed great performance against KARLSSON but Sweden is very good team they were all the time seeking for their chance. They seized the opportunity against APOLONIA and KARLSOSS had outstanding start against me. I can not tell I was playing bad he was just very good ” explained Marcos who play alongside KARLSSON in the French club Pontoise Cergy. The support from the enthusiastic crowd helped. “Sure. All of us are engaged in the foreign leagues and we have very little chances to present our game to our fans. This is great opportunity and we are enjoying every moment.” Germany beat Croatia on their way to the ultimate stage.  Steffen MENGEL lost his opening duel against Andrej GACINA but Timo BOLL and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV stayed on the winning tracks. BOLL beat TAN Riuwu whilst OVTCHAROV succeeded against Tomislav KOLAREK. In the final game Timo overcame GACINA who suffered his first defeat at the Championships. “GACINA played fantastically this tournament. He is really in top shape here ” stated OVTCHAROV after the match. OVTCHAROV”s game against KOLAREK concluded in three games but each one by narrow margin. “I studied his game on video today. He is really good player. I was prepared for a heavy match. Also I am far from perfect shape. In last few days I took 18 antibiotics and same amount of painkillers. I sleep 12 to 14 hours on day and I am without training. My body suffered from so much medication. I am not felling well at all.” BOLL was happy about performance of the team. “We are ready for the final. We already played against Portugal here and we know we will have hard match tomorrow. However we are ready and we are looking forward winning another gold medal.”

In the final of the tomorrow’s Women’s Teams Event at the TMS European Championships in Lisbon title holders Germany will meet Austria the team who won first ever teams medal at the Continental gatherings. Today in semi final Austria beat Poland in ea In the final of the tomorrow’s Women’s Teams Event at the TMS European Championships in Lisbon title holders Germany will meet Austria the team who won first ever teams medal at the Continental gatherings. Today in semi final Austria beat Poland in early morning hours. Young Sofia POLCANOVA gave Austria perfect start with the straight games victory over Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA. So far POLCANOVA won few titles at World Series U 21 events but still without big ones in senior category. LIU Jia could not follow her immediately at the beginning of the match but after she lost opening game European champion from Aarhus 2005 and winner of Top-12 in Rennes same year reigning champion from DHS 2014 Europe Cup settled in good rhythm and overcame LI Qian. “It is amazing how LI managed to comeback in perfect shape after just six months. She gave birth and she was absent for two years but still she is very dangerous ” said LIU. LIU showed the patience to overcame LI’s defensive skills. “I improved my game against defenders. We played so many times before but this was the first time that I beat her ” added LIU. Amelie SOLJA lost her duel against Paralympic champion Natalia PARTYKA so once again LIU had to return to the table. “It was hard for me to find the good rhythm after the match against defense. Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA is very dangerous. She has not weak points. Every stroke is good. I could not count on easy points against her. I had to build my game slowly.” Austria will play against Germany. Defending champions overcame Sweden in straight matches. Sweden played without LI Fen but even knowing that German team expected tough match. “We saw them playing against Romania last night. We knew it is going to be hard to beat them so we were prepared ” said Petrissa SOLJA. SOLJA will be in specific situation. Tomorrow in the final she might meet her sister Amelie on the other side of the table. “That is only sport. I cannot run from the fact that we know each other very well. We practice together; we play against each other even in Austria league…I will not build my game thinking of her. I will try to do my best and I will think about my strokes ” said Petrissa. Irene IVANCAN silver medalists in singles never won medal with Women’s team. “I am here to take gold. If I will play I will “pull” the team if I will be on the bench I will “push”. All in all I will give my best wherever I stand ” explained IVANCAN. ”Austria has very strong team. POLCANOVA is in great run. She matured for sure. Of course LIU JIa played here in perfect shape. It will be hard to beat them.”

In the semifinal of the Women’s Teams Event at the TMS European Championships Poland will meet Austria whilst Germany will play against Sweden. Poland secured their medal after superior performance against Belarus. In straight matches Natalia PARTYKA Ka In the semifinal of the Women’s Teams Event at the TMS European Championships Poland will meet Austria whilst Germany will play against Sweden. Poland secured their medal after superior performance against Belarus. In straight matches Natalia PARTYKA Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA and LI Qian overcame Viktoria PAVLOVICH Alexandra PRIVALOVA and Alena DUBKOVA. Like on his premiere as a Poland’s head coach in 2009 Mihal DZIUBANSKI led his team to another medal rostrum. “I have very strong team and girls are playing better and better as the Championships goes by. I did not want to give any predictions; we are just following our dream ” said DZIUBANSKI. Poland will meet Austria. Unlike their adversaries Austrian players never won the medal at the European Championships. “It never happened before. We were under severe pressure before the match against Hungary. I was shaking; it was very hard to stay focused ” explained LIU Jia. LIU overcame both Dora MADARASZ and Georgina POTA Amelie SOLJA beat Szandra PERGEL whilst Sofia POLCANOVA lost her duel against POTA. “Now it is easier. We have SOLJA and POLCANOVA in the team and our coach has much more opportunities. It gives us space for more tactical variations. “ About the duel against Poland LI said: ”They have young but enough experienced team. They play together for a while. Especially it will be hard to stop LI Qian.” Germany overcame Netherlands. SHAN Xiaona HAN Ying and Irene IVANCAN beat LI Jie Britt EERLAND and Yana TIMINA in straight matches. “We were worried about the Dutch line up but SHAN started this match perfectly so we were in good position ” explained IVANCAN. Sweden was delighted after the victory over Romania. “You can smell in the air that Romania won so many medal. They have experience they know how to do it and you are just aware of that when you play against them. We were not planning to win the medal here. We came to gain some experience but we seized the opportunity when it occurs” explained coach Andreas JOHANSON. Matilda EKHOLM was delighted. She beat Elizabeta SAMARA in the opening match and sealed the victory for Sweden after fantastic duel against Bernadette SZOCS. “I have played against SAMARA only once before. I lost against her in 2008. It is incredible hard to play against her. However today I was fully focused. I was even unaware of the result. I played point for point ” said Matilda. SZOCS proved her good shape after victory over LI Fen but LI suffered latter against SAMARA.

In the semi final of the TMS European Championships in Men’s Team’s Event host nation Portugal will play against Sweden whilst Germany will meet Croatia tomorrow. Germany was first team to book the place I the semi final. Timo BOLL gave reigning champio In the semi final of the TMS European Championships in Men’s Team’s Event host nation Portugal will play against Sweden whilst Germany will meet Croatia tomorrow. Germany was first team to book the place I the semi final. Timo BOLL gave reigning champions dream start with 3:1 victory over Emmanuel LEBESSON. “That was very important match. Very tough one but BOLL was at the top of his game ” said coach Jorg ROSSKOPF. In next match Stefen MENGEL overcame Adrian MATTENET: ”First and third game went on MENGEL’S account even easier then we predicted. He was under pressure only in the second game being 4:8 in reverse.” Dimitrij OVTCHAROV sealed the duel with the victory over Stephanie OUACHIE. “This player is very good dangerous …However the 2:1 advantage for the no. five player in the World Rankings must be enough to finish the duel with the victory.” Dimitrij came to Portugal yesterday still under medications that he has to take for inflammation. He had a dental surgery. “I managed to sleep last night but I am still very tired. Those four games drained me like I played seven ” admitted OVTCHAROV. BOLL is in good shape: ”We won hard match and overcame complicated situation successfully. We are in good rhythm and believe we are on good path for gold.” Sweden overcame Spain on their way to the medal rostrum. Like five years before Par GERELL will carry another European medal home. “We produced very good game here and I believe we can go further and reach Sunday’s final ” said GERELL who overcame Jesus CANTERO tonight. Kristian KARLSSON overcame HE Zhi Wen and Carlos MACHADO.  The Croatian coach Zvonimir KORENIC was emotionally drained after the duel against Belarus. After four quarterfinals in the row the team finally in fifth attempt reached the medal rostrum. “We did it in the final in which we believed the less. Maybe that was the reason for our success. We were not under pressure…” said KORENIC. However soon he corrected himself: ”The main reason we won it was the fact that Andrej GACINA play fantastic table tennis here in Lisbon. His score so far is 7:0. Also we have TAN Ruiwu despite lack of top form plays with the full heart and gives maximum. We even had “wrong” line up today against Belarus with Evgueni CHTCHETININE on position no. three but Andrej beat SAMSONOV and everything finished good for us.” Portugal gave their best to withstood spirited performance of Russia. Marcos FREITAS beat Alexander SHIBAEV and Alexey LIVENTSOV. “LIVENTSOV is a great player but I read his service game well tonight.  LLIVENTSOV changed his tactics after 2:0 he became more defensive but I adjusted to it and won.“ APOLONIA lost the duel against Alexander SHIBAEV but coach Pedro RUFINO praised his game. “APOLONIA is fantastic player and lost in the good match against very good player.” Tomorrow Portugal will play against Sweden. ”It will not be easy but team is prepared. Now we need jut a good rest ” said Marcos FREITAS.

Four points each two wins and one defeat each…but there was a place only for two teams in the quarterfinal of the Men’s Teams Event at the TMS European Championships. In Group B the least expected team to lose that position was Greece but it happened. S Four points each two wins and one defeat each…but there was a place only for two teams in the quarterfinal of the Men’s Teams Event at the TMS European Championships. In Group B the least expected team to lose that position was Greece but it happened. Silver medalist from last year’s European Championships concluded the Group phase at position no. three. They beat Slovakia in the last match but it was not enough. The biggest upset was created by Spain. They reached quarters from the top spot despite the defeat in the ultimate match in the Group. France emerged successfully to book the second position in the Group. After another epic battle Portugal lost their duel against Austria but moved to the quarters from the position no. two. For the titleholders Germany Dimitrij OVCHAROV arrived just in time to play against Hungary and to secure top position. In Group C Belarus booked top position after three victories over Sweden Italy and Poland. Sweden is second. Russia is also unbeaten and they are first in Group D. After four hours match Croatia beat Romania to moved to the next phase from spot no. two.

In the duel of the day at the TMS European Championships in Lisbon in Men’s Teams Event Germany emerged as a winner but the team suffered another big blow. Already weakened by withdrawal of Patrick BAUM due the death in the family coach Jorg ROSSKOPF ha In the duel of the day at the TMS European Championships in Lisbon in Men’s Teams Event Germany emerged as a winner but the team suffered another big blow. Already weakened by withdrawal of Patrick BAUM due the death in the family coach Jorg ROSSKOPF has announced that he counts on Dimitrij OVTCHAROV only in worst-case scenario. After the dental surgery Dimitrij was on his way to Lisbon with the day delay to help his team only as a substitute. In his condition it was not planned for him to play. “His flight is in delay for two hours so I expect he will be here around 6 PM and he will be in the team for a match against Hungary. I wanted to avoid that but now I have no other options. Patrick FRANZISKA is on his way to the hospital with the left ankle injury. His injury is very serious and he will not be able to play any more matches here ” explained Jorg.

ETTU Women in table tennis Forum held today in MEO Arena during the TMS European Championships hosted by Ronald KRAMER ETTU President and Beatrice ROMANESCU Women’s Co-ordinator in ETTU attracted a lot of attention. Women made a great step in sport but ETTU Women in table tennis Forum held today in MEO Arena during the TMS European Championships hosted by Ronald KRAMER ETTU President and Beatrice ROMANESCU Women’s Co-ordinator in ETTU attracted a lot of attention. Women made a great step in sport but still there is a long way to go in order to achieve equality. “Subject of Women in Table Tennis was on our agenda for a long time but so far we are not aware of progress in that area. The Executive Board made it the priority now. There is still a lot to be done in terms of equality and we are here today to open discussion and to hear the propositions ” said ETTU President KRAMER. With the reminder that Marie MARVINGT ignored the role that only men can participate at Tour de France in 1908 finished the rice as only women with 37 male riders ROMANESCU said that after that things had not changed very much. “Women and girls are still getting a raw deal in the world of sport. Sport governing bodies are still dominated by men. Female coaches earn less then their male counterparts. Girls are more likely than boys to be victims of sexual harassment in sport. Women participate less in sport than men 43% of men play sport at least once a week compared with 375 of women…” were some of the figures underlined in ROMANESCU’s presentation. To make a table tennis successful there is a need for balance in consumer media and commercial appeal. “We need a change of attitude policy and leadership communication networking and project and funding. “ ITTF’s Executive Committee member Petra SORLING of Sweden involved in the work of ITTF WWG from a very beginning in Paris 2003 underlined the great success in Women sport in Romania as an example but added that such success at national level is very rare. ‘We did a great work on global level but there is so much we have to do now on national level. Now we have to focus on progress there ” said SORLING. Another “veteran” in WWG project ETTU Vice President for Finance Dorte DARFELT explain that the movement have to set a new course. “At the very beginning we thought we can change the World but then we end up spreading our efforts in to many directions. Now we have to focus on certain plans for certain periods ” said DARFELT. Sandra Deaton Table Tennis England Chair proudly said that table tennis has joined the growing band of sports which recognises that women’s events merit the same prize money as the men’s but.. “We have problems how to attract girls to our sport. We do not have enough women players.” “In Germany” sport director Dirk SCHIMMELPFENNIG said “ we need to make professional structure in order to help female players.”