Аt GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Japan Open play starts in Yokohama on Wednesday 18th June with two days of qualification; the main draw commences on Friday 20th June with matters concluding on Sunday 22nd June. In Yokohama Jun MIZUTANI is the no.2 seed Аt GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Japan Open play starts in Yokohama on Wednesday 18th June with two days of qualification; the main draw commences on Friday 20th June with matters concluding on Sunday 22nd June. In Yokohama Jun MIZUTANI is the no.2 seed behind Chinese Taipei’s CHUANG Chih-Yuan the runner up to Kalin KREANGA of Greece in Kobe in 2002. Japan’s Koki NIWA is the third seed in the Men’s Singles event followed by CHUANG Chih-Yuan’s colleague CHEN Chien-An Hong Kong’s TANG Peng Kenta MATSUDAIRA also from Japan and Croatia’s Andrej GACINA. in Women’s Singles Event FENG Tianwei is the top seed with the host nation’s Kasumi ISHIKAWA being the no.2 seed. Singapore’s YU Mengyu is the no.4 seed. Sayaka HIRANO the runner up to Korea’s PARK Miyoung in Wakayama in 2009 is the no.5 seed. Other than Ai FUKUHARA; Sayaka HIRANO is the only host nation player to reach the Women’s Singles final of an ITTF World Tour tournament in Japan. Sweden’s LI Fen Turkey’s HU Melek and Yuka ISHIGAKI also from Japan complete the top eight names.
Mostar clinched the title in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mostar defended their title in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In second match of the play off they beat Aladza again. In opening leg Mostar also recorded the win. Aladza – Mostar 2:4 Edin KANTARDZIC – Armin ALICIC 3:0 Fedja JASAREVIC – Ivan BOB Mostar defended their title in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In second match of the play off they beat Aladza again. In opening leg Mostar also recorded the win. Aladza – Mostar 2:4 Edin KANTARDZIC – Armin ALICIC 3:0 Fedja JASAREVIC – Ivan BOBAS 2:3 Amer MUFTIC – Dragutin SURBEK 0:3 MUFTIC/ALIC – BOBAS / SURBEK 3:0 Edin KANTARDZIC – Ivan BOBAS 2:3 ALIC – Armin ALICIC 2:3
Ukraine showed its class in Cluj
The Romanian International Para TT Open successfully concluded in city of Cluj last weekend. In Women’s Singles Class 2-5 Italy’s Federica CUDIA clinched the title. In the final she overcame Biljana UBOVIC of Serbia. Megan SHACKELTON of GBR and Sanja MIJA The Romanian International Para TT Open successfully concluded in city of Cluj last weekend. In Women’s Singles Class 2-5 Italy’s Federica CUDIA clinched the title. In the final she overcame Biljana UBOVIC of Serbia. Megan SHACKELTON of GBR and Sanja MIJATOVIC of Serbia are third. In Class 6 Maryna LYTOVCHENKO of Ukraine reached the top of the Group. Raissa TCHEBANIKA of Russia is second and Ukraine’s Antonina KHODZYNSKAYA is third. In SF 7 Ulija OVSYANNIKOVA of Russia clinched the title. Michaela MAUREROVA of Slovakia is second and Gabriela CONSTANTIN of Romania is third. In Class 8-9 Anastasiya POPOVA of Russia won the title. Malgoryata GRZELAK of Poland is second and her compatriot Dajana JASTREZEBSKA is placed at position no. three. In Class 10 Ioana TEPELEA made home crowd proud. Inna KARMAEVA of Russia is second. Ukraine’s Marharyta SALTANOVSKA and Iryna NIKITCHUK are third. In men’s Singles Event in Class 1 Dmitry LAVROV of Russia won the title. Marian kamien of Slovakia is second. Martin BARBIERIK of Slovakia and Federico FALCO of Italy shared third position. In Class 2 Rafal CZUPER of Poland succeeded in the final against Giuseppe VELLA of Italy. Oleksandr YEZYK of Ukraine and Ratislav REVUCKY of Slovakia lost their semi final encounters. In Class 3 Vasyl PETRUNIV of Ukraine beat Elean ATIA of Israel in the final. Balsz BARABAS of Hungary and Maks DACIAN of Romania reached the semis. In class 4-5 Astan ADYOS beat Petru IFROSA of Romania. The winner of Class 6 is Bobi SIMION of Romania. Runner up is Alexander NAGY of Slovakia and Martin PERRY of GBR and Ian SEIDENFELD of USA played in the penultimate stage. In Class 7 Maksym NIKOLENKO of Ukraine beat compatriot Mykhaylo POPOV in the final stage. Previously Viktor KARP of Ukraine and INOUE of Japan finished their journey in the semis. In Class 8 Voktor DIDUKH of Ukraine added another gold to his list. Samuel DE CHAIRA of Italy is second followed by Jozef KRSIAK of Slovakia and Dorel MURESAN of Romania. In Class 9 Yuriy SHCHEPANSKYY of Ukraine beat Pawel KONSTANTYN of Poland in the final. Esa MIETTINEN of Finland and Vadym KUBOV of Ukraine are third. Indonesia’s David JACOBS beat Bulgaria’s Denislav KODJABASHEV to reach the title. Luka BAKIC of Montenegro and Komet AKBAR of Indonesia are third. In Women’s team event inClass 2-5 Italy clinched gold Serbia silver and GBR bronze. In Class 6-7 Russia is first followed by Ukraine and Ukraine – Slovakia. In Class 8-10 Poland won the title Russia/Ukarine is second and Romania third. In Men class 1-2 event Poland clinched the title by beating Slovakia. GBR/Slovakia and Ireland/Israel lost their semi finals. In Class 3-5 Ukraine is at the top followed by Indonesia/Israel Japan and Romania. In Class 6-7 Ukraine clinched another gold They beat Japan/Poland in the final. Semi finalists are Romania and GBR. Ukraine 1 and Ukraine 2 are two best teams in Class 8-9 Japan and Romania are third. Indonesia won the Class 20 Event. Bulgaria/Finland is second team and Russia and Montenegro lost in the semi final.
HAN Ying’s perfect sweep at Korea Open
Germany’s HAN Ying won the Women’s Singles Event title at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Korea Open (Super) in Incheon City. It is her first title at the ITTF World Tour and she clinched the top prize in superb style. All five matches she won in str Germany’s HAN Ying won the Women’s Singles Event title at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Korea Open (Super) in Incheon City. It is her first title at the ITTF World Tour and she clinched the top prize in superb style. All five matches she won in straight games. The 31-year-old European Team Champion with Germany collected a prize of 16 000 U.S. dollars. Patrick BAUM clinched third place in the Men’s Singles. The title in the men’s singles went to the world number one XU Xin. HAN Ying beat the top-seeded FENG Tianwei (Singapore) currently placed at the position no. four at the World rankings. Emigrated in 2002 from China HAN Ying was hired to work on the TV Busenbach. She played for the Polish club KTS Zamek Tarnobrzeg. Her biggest success came with the German women’s national team: At the European Championships in Schwechat in 2013 the team won the gold medal the first after 1998. HAN was in every game and remained unbeaten. In individual competition she took little later bronze. In Men’s Singles German Patrick BAUM and Swede Kristian KARLSSON were both halted in semis by their Chinese contenders. Women’s Singles Event – Semi-finals: HAN Ying (GER) – YANG Haeun (KOR) 4:0 (10 5 9 9) FENG Tianwei (SIN) – YU Mengyu (SIN) 4:2 (4 8 5 -7 -6 4) Final: HAN Ying (GER) – FENG Tianwei SIN 4:0 (6 7 5 7) Men’s Singles Event – Semi-finals: Patrick BAUM (GER) – FANG Bo (CHN) 2:4 (-5 -9 9 -10 4 -7) XU Xin (CHN) – Kristian KARLSSON (SWE) 4:1 (7 9 -3 7 9) Final: XU Xin (CHN) – FANG Bo (CHN) 4:1 (8 6 -7 9 10) Women’s Doubles – Final: Miu HIRANO/Mima ITO (JPN) – CHEN Ke/WANG Manyu (CHN) 0:3 (-4 -6 -5) Men’s Doubles – Final: CHIANG Hung-Chieh/HUANG Sheng-Sheng (TPE) – YU Ziyang/ZHOU Kai (CHN) 1:3 (4 -3 -10 -4)
European Club Competition Men entry deadline reminder
The season in European Club Competition starts in September. However Monday 16th of June 2014 is the deadline for National Associations and clubs to send their entries. You can find all relevant information by clicking HERE The season in European Club Competition starts in September. However Monday 16th of June 2014 is the deadline for National Associations and clubs to send their entries. You can find all relevant information by clicking HERE
French players in good form at Korea Open
In the Round of 16 in Men’s Singles Event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Korea Open (Super) in Incheon City France is the European country with most representatives. After thrilling seven games in Round of 32 Romain LORENTZ beat LYU Xiang of China In the Round of 16 in Men’s Singles Event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Korea Open (Super) in Incheon City France is the European country with most representatives. After thrilling seven games in Round of 32 Romain LORENTZ beat LYU Xiang of China (9-11 11-9 10-12 9-11 14-12 11-5 11-6). It was the same scenario in duel between Stephane OUAICHE vs. HUANG Sheng-Sheng of Taipei (11-6 13-11 7-11 7-11 10-12 11-4 11-8). On the lower half of the draw Tristan FLORE needed only five games to beat Amalraj ANTHONY of India (9-11 6-11 6-11 11-6 7-1). Kristian KARLSSON of Sweden needed one less to beat KANG Donghoon of Korea (11-6 11-8 11-9 11-8). Alexander SHIBAEV of Russia also joined them after victory over compatriot Alexey LIVENTSOV 4:1 (5-11 11-5 11-8 13-11 11-6). Patrick BAUM of Germany overcame ZHOU Kai of China 4:2 (15-13 11-9 6-11 12-14 11-8 11-9) whilst his compatriot Steffen MENGEL beat WANG Yang of Slovakia by same margin (13-11 11-9 6-11 11-7 11-7). In Women’s Singles Event in Round of 32 SHAN Xiaona of Germany in five games beat PARK Youngsook of Korea (12-10 5-11 6-11 10-12 8-11). Her compatriot HAN Ying joined her after straight games victory over Yuri YAMANASHI of Japan (11-5 11-8 13-11 11-4). LI Jie of Netherlands overcame NG Wing Nam of Hong Kong (12-10 6-11 7-11 11-9 3-11 4-11) YU Fu of Portugal overcame WU Jiaduo of Germany 4:1 (11-9 11-8 9-11 11-9 11-3).
Kristian KARLSSON is semi-finalist in Korea
For a first time in his career Sweden’s 22 year old Kristian KARLSSON reached the quarter-final at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Korea Open. The no.25 seed beat Japanese qualifier Yuya OSHIMA in six games (10-12 11-7 12-10 11-9 2-11 11-9) and i For a first time in his career Sweden’s 22 year old Kristian KARLSSON reached the quarter-final at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Korea Open. The no.25 seed beat Japanese qualifier Yuya OSHIMA in six games (10-12 11-7 12-10 11-9 2-11 11-9) and is very much the odd one out in the quartet. Other semi finalists XU Xin FANG Bo of China and Patrick BAUM of Germany have previously appeared in ITTF World Tour Men’s Singles quarter-finals; for Kristian KARLSSON it was a totally new experience. Prior to the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Korea Open KARLSSON had made 26 ITTF World Tour appearances and had never progressed beyond the second round. He had only reached the second round on five occasions; in 2012 he progressed to round two in China and the Czech Republic in 2013 in Qatar Japan and once again in the Czech Republic. In Incheon it will be the first time the Swede will ever have competed on the concluding day of an ITTF World Tour tournament since making his debut in Poland in 2008. Germany’s Patrick BAUM the no.5 seed in a full distance seven games contest beat colleague Steffen MENGEL the no.15 seed (11-3 10-12 8-11 4-11 11-4 11-5 11-9). XU Xin the top seed accounted for colleague and qualifier 16 year old YU Ziyang (9-11 11-8 6-11 11-3 11-6 11-9) who was competing in his first ITTF World Tour tournament. FANG Bo upset the pecking order like YU Ziyang he had been required to negotiate the qualification stage; he beat the last remaining Korean LEE Jungwoo (12-10 11-5 11-5 11-5). At the semi-final stage in Incheon Kristian KARLSSON meets XU Xin Patrick BAUM confronts FANG Bo. In Women’s Singles Event in the semi-final stage FENG Tianwei meets colleague YU Mengyu; YANG Haeun confronts HAN Ying. Germany’s HAN Ying the no.7 seed beat Portugal’s YU Fu the no.13 seed (11-5 11-9 11-8 14-12).
FUKUHARA returns to action at Korea Open
Japanese superstar Ai FUKUHARA returns to international table tennis at the GAC Group 2014 World Tour Super Series Korea Open with the qualification for the main draw which started in Incheon Korea. FUKUHARA has been sidelined for the past 3 months with Japanese superstar Ai FUKUHARA returns to international table tennis at the GAC Group 2014 World Tour Super Series Korea Open with the qualification for the main draw which started in Incheon Korea. FUKUHARA has been sidelined for the past 3 months with a toe injury which ruled her out of the ZEN-NOH 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships in her home city of Tokyo. “I can’t wait to play in the Korea Open as it will be first World Tour event since the German Open last year” stated the 25 year old who is that loved in Japan that there is a wax sculpture of her at Narita Airport.“I apologize to everyone for missing the World Championships as it caused a lot of worry to everyone. I hope to make it up to everyone by a strong showing in Korea. My goal is to win the event but to also check the condition of my toe. I am looking forward to again feeling the joy of being on the court after such a long time” added FUKUHARA. FUKUHARA will be joined by 101 men and 86 women of the world’s best table tennis players all hoping to clinch the prestigious Super Series Korea Open gold medal and the large prize cheque. One of Korea’s most well known sport stars SEO Hyowon will be looking to do what no one has ever done at the Korea Open which is to defend the title. World number eight SEO Hyowon was in untouchable form last year when she won gold and will be desperate to put her disappointing World Championships campaign behind her and create history at the Samsan World Gymnasium. World number one XU Xin is also looking to write his name in the history books by defending his 2013 crown. XU Xin was narrowly beaten by his teammate MA Long in the China Open last weekend so he will not want to go home with another silver medal. Youth Olympic Games Champions Koki NIWA is due for big performance on the world stage after his form has slowly improved during 2014. NIWA has never tasted success in the senior ranks on the World Tour so this is a perfect opportunity to show the world what he can do. Qualification for the 16 positions available in the main draw starts tomorrow 10 June at the Samsan World Gymnasium. The 16 players who secure qualification will join the 16 seeded players to start the round of 32 knock-out on Friday 12 June. In addition to the men’s and women’s singles there are also men’s and women’s doubles and men’s and women’s under-21 singles titles on offer in Korea. The Korea Open is the fifth out of six GAC Group World Tour Super Series (previous were: Kuwait Qatar Germany and China) as the players fight for Race to Bangkok points to qualify for the season-ending one-million-dollar World Tour Grand Final to be held in Bangkok Thailand on 11-14 December 2014. In addition to the Super Series the world’s best players can gain Race to Bangkok points at the GAC Group 2014 World Tour Major Series (4 events) and Challenge Series (11 events).
Special trio united again in Otocec
The ITTF coaching team is doing a great job at the ITTF World Hopes Week and Challenge in Otocec Slovenia. Eva JELER the head coach and her assistants have already been able to assess the level of each individual’s play. The youngsters are working hard The ITTF coaching team is doing a great job at the ITTF World Hopes Week and Challenge in Otocec Slovenia. Eva JELER the head coach and her assistants have already been able to assess the level of each individual’s play. The youngsters are working hard and even though they are only 10 to 12 years old they seem to be happy to spend six hours per day training hard in the Otocec Hall. Dr Miran KONDRIC Chair of the ITTF Sports Science and Medical Committee visited the training camp and showed 49 young players from 29 countries several physical training drills. However it was the trio of Dejan PAPIC XIAO Zhan and Zoran PRIMORAC that stole the show. Dejan PAPIC ITTF Hopes Chief Evaluator and XIAO Zhan assistant coach to LIU Guoliang and also the personal coach of ZHANG Jike are staying in Otocec for the whole week; while Zoran PRIMORAC kindly responded to the invitation and drove to Otocec from his hometown Zagreb only some 70 kilometres away. In the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons Dejan PAPIC as coach plus XIAO Zhan and Zoran PRIMORAC crossed paths in Serbia where they took local club Partizan to new heights finishing third in Europe Club Cup on two occasions. One member was missing today though Ilija LUPULESKU a player who shares a rather painful experience with PRIMORAC. In New Delhi at the 1987 World Table Championships the then Yugoslav pair squandered two match points at 20–18 in the deciding fifth game of the gold medal Men’s Doubles match against the eventual winners CHEN Longcan and Wei Quingguang from China. “After the match I was crying and nobody could stop me; I was 17 years old and everybody was telling me that I am going to win five World Championship gold medals in the future” said Zoran PRIMORAC. “Sadly that never came true; that loss was the closest I ever got to winning the elusive gold.” Zoran PRIMORAC is now the coach of the Russian who lost a close national league final against their rivals Orenburg over the weekend. Being the Croatian flag-bearer at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and a seven times Olympian Zoran PRIMORAC is widely considered as one of the all-time European table tennis greats. Dejan PAPIC his former coach refers to him as one of the hardest working players ever seen and few if any would disagree. After the warm welcome between ex-teammates Zoran met national team coaches in the conference room at Hotel Sport located just some 100 metres away from the training hall. Sandwiched between Dejan and Polona CEHOVIN ITTF Education and Training Programme Director; Zoran was in the centre of attention as he expressed his thoughts on coaching young players and shared some of his experiences and anecdotes. In the afternoon Zoran spent time in the training hall where he kept a close eye on young talents and gave them some useful tips. A privilege not many players can brag about. When Zoran was young such training camps didn’t exist and once again he acknowledges the importance of Dejan PAPIC and XIAO Zhan. Another man that knows all about Zoran PRIMORAC’s work ethics is Miran KONDRIC who works at the Faculty of Sports in Ljubljana and is also a personal physical trainer of Slovenia’s top table tennis player Bojan TOKIC. He prepared a special training session for young players and focused on many aspects of the complete physical preparation. Many players aren’t exposed to physical training but Miran KONDRIC believes that those exercises should be included in every training session. “It’s extremely important to provide young players with motor learning exercises because this is a certain area that can’t really be improved when the players get older” he added. “It’s also important to do those exercises when kids have enough energy left because it’s the quality that matters and not the quantity.’ Once the afternoon training session concluded all the kids gathered around Zoran PRIMORAC and asked him for a photograph or an autograph. Once again Zoran was a perfect gentleman. He treated the kids with respect and he didn’t skip on some words of encouragement. Another six hours of intense training are behind young players and you can see the first signs of tiredness. However not even a gruelling three hours session which included footwork exercises multi-ball practice and physical training couldn’t stop players from leaving the hall smiling. When tiredness was beginning to tell Zoran Primorac and his legacy stepped in to save the day.
ITTF announces a new partnership with Rightster
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) announced a new partnership with Rightster a leading global video distribution and monetisation company. Rightster already partners with a number of leading sports organisations and bodies to support the The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) announced a new partnership with Rightster a leading global video distribution and monetisation company. Rightster already partners with a number of leading sports organisations and bodies to support the monetisation and engagement of their content including the Australian Football League and SNTV. As part of their agreement with the ITTF Rightster will collaborate closely with the ITTF to develop its YouTube channel (YouTube.com/ITTFChannel) and help maximise its exposure and revenue from the channel. The ITTF will be learning from Rightster’s advanced audience development knowledge to increase reach audience and revenues. By joining the Rightster sports network the ITTF will benefit from cross-promotion with Rightster’s extensive stable of existing International sports governing bodies which will drive further audience engagement for the organisation. In addition Rightster’s media sales team will apply their expertise to increasing revenue through cross-platform advertising and sponsorship on behalf of the ITTF. ITTF Marketing Director Steve DAINTON stated: “With a company that has great experience in assisting channels grow and commercialise especially in the sporting digital environment we felt it was only natural to start a relationship with Rightster for our ever growing YouTube channel. We hope Rightster can now use their expertise to take our channel to the next level.” Charlie MUIRHEAD Founder & CEO Rightster added: “The effective monetisation and distribution of sports content is an established area of focus for Rightster. We are therefore delighted to partner with the ITTF and support their YouTube presence and growth. As the need for targeted engaged audiences continues to be paramount we are looking forward to driving larger scaled relevant audiences for the ITTF.” ITTF’s YouTube channel is currently the fourth largest of any Olympic sport with 26 million views and 55 000 subscribers.
