The winner of recent DHS 2014 Europe Cup Austria’s LIU Jia European champion from Aarhus 2005 and winner of Top-12 in Rennes same year reached the Round of 16 in the Women’s Singles Event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Spanish Open (Major) in Alm The winner of recent DHS 2014 Europe Cup Austria’s LIU Jia European champion from Aarhus 2005 and winner of Top-12 in Rennes same year reached the Round of 16 in the Women’s Singles Event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Spanish Open (Major) in Almeria. LIU JIa top seeded in Almeria beat Joanna DRINKHALL of England in the second round of the Event. At the bottom of the draw seeded no. two Sayaka HIRANO of Japan currently listed at position no. 26 at World rankings faced early exit. World no. 159 Hana MATELOVA of Czech Republic was in charge for the big upset by beating the favorite in seven games. Sabine WINTER of Germany joined her after straight games victory over Misaki MORIZONO of Japan. Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden faced great challenge in the match against Galia DVORAK of Spain. She was forced to go full distance before finally booked the place in the third round. Kasper STERNBERG of Sweden having negotiated the qualification stage of proceedings successfully beat Singapore’s YANG Zi the no.7 seed in five games encounter. STENBERG is ranked at the position no. 209 whilst YANG is World’s no 76.

In the first stage of the Men’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Spanish Open in Almeria the host nation’s José Manuel RUIZ caused the biggest upset. Beaten by Scotland’s Craig HOWIESON in his opening contest latter he beat Belgium’s In the first stage of the Men’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Spanish Open in Almeria the host nation’s José Manuel RUIZ caused the biggest upset. Beaten by Scotland’s Craig HOWIESON in his opening contest latter he beat Belgium’s Robin DEVOS currently ranked at no.196 on the Men’s World Rankings and the eighth highest globally listed player on opening day duty. RUIZ won in five games to give himself a chance of finishing in first place in the group and thus progressing to the main draw. He was beaten by Craig Howieson by the very narrowest of seven games margins so when Robin DEVOS of Belgium beat Craig HOWIESON José Manuel RUIZ emerged at the top of the Group. Currently José Manuel RUIZ has no World ranking; it is not that the fact he has been absent from the international scene it is quite the reverse he is very active. RUIZ is a Class 10 Para Table Tennis player his right arm is severed at the elbow exactly as is the situation with Poland’s Natalia PARTYKA. In the World of Para Table Tennis José Manuel Ruiz has a wealth of experience; he has been competing internationally for two decades. Furthermore he has enjoyed great success. Many times the national champion he made his debut at the European Championships in 1995 in Hillerod Denmark and since that time has been present at the vast major of major tournaments. He secured gold medals in Men’s Singles Class 10 at the European Championships in 2001 in Frankfurt and also in 2009 in Genoa Italy. Furthermore in Genoa he added the Men’s Team Class 10 title; whilst in 2007 in Kranjska Gora Slovenia; he secured the top prize in Men’s Open Standing and in Men’s Team Class 10. Similarly at World Championships he has gold in his locker in 2010 in the Korean city of Gwangju he won the Men’s Singles Open Standing Class. In addition he competed in the Paralympic Games in Sydney in 2000 as well as in Beijing eight years later and most recently in London in 2012. Gold has proved elusive but notably in Sydney he won silver in Men’s Singles class 10 and bronze in Men’s Team Class 10; in Beijing he was a silver medallist in Men’s Team Class 10 whilst in London in Men’s Team Class 9-10 he secured bronze. In the first round of the main draw tomorrow he will meet WONG Chun Ting of Hong Kong.  

In the first stage of the Men’s and Women’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Spanish Open (Major) in Almeria favorites all enjoyed success. The highest ranked player in the qualification stages Kasper STERNBERG of Denmark safely conc In the first stage of the Men’s and Women’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Spanish Open (Major) in Almeria favorites all enjoyed success. The highest ranked player in the qualification stages Kasper STERNBERG of Denmark safely concluded the day with the victory over Javier BENITO of Spain; Thomas LE BRETON of France overcame another Spain’s player Borja SANCHEZ. French team had a good day with few more wins; Benjamin BROSSIER Antoine HACHARD Can AKKUZU concluded the day on top spot on their respective groups. After a year of absence Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC of Serbia is back. The surgery and recovery made damage to his ratings so he was forced to go through qualifications. He beat Mehdi BOULOUSSA and suffered by the hands of Adam SZUDI of Hungary today. In Women’s Singles Event Britt EERLAND of Netherlands suffered surprising defeat in the match against Valentina SABITOVA of Russia. Germany’s Anja SCHUH also exceeded her rankings by beating Krisztina AMBRUSZ of Hungary and Katsiaryna BARAVOK of Belarusia beat India’s Shamini KUMARESAN.  

On Sunday 6th April 2014 table tennis legends will play again against each others in a prestigious tournament. In the beautiful scenery of opera and philharmonic in Poland’s Białystok stars will compete to memorialize Andrzej GRUBBA the best pla On Sunday 6th April 2014 table tennis legends will play again against each others in a prestigious tournament. In the beautiful scenery of opera and philharmonic in Poland’s Białystok stars will compete to memorialize Andrzej GRUBBA the best player in the history of Polish table tennis. Thanks to Białystok city and Podlaskie region all of the ping-pong fans will experience once again the thrill of duels between unforgettable players. In the first such event in Poland and one of the few in Europe will take a part the best of the best among table tennis players: Jörgen PERSSON Jean-Philippe GATIEN Jean-Michel SAIVE and Leszek KUCHARSKI. The presence of iconic table tennis players guarantees sport excitement at the highest level. In addition to honoring Andrzej GRUBBA promoters wants to show how attractive and entertaining for spectators table tennis can be and popularize this discipline as well in Poland as in Europe. Andrzej GRUBBA was the best table tennis player in Polish history. Awarded bronze medals during the World Competition – in 1989 for single play in 1985 for team tournament and in 1987 for double play with Leszek KUCHARSKI. Three times GRUBBA took part in the Olympic Games. He was also a World Cup winner in 1988 and chosen for “Polish Sportpersonality of the year” in 1984.  

European champion Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV won the Men’s Singles title at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour German Open in Magdeburg. It is the third final at German Open in the row for OVTCAHROV. The no.2 seed in the final beat Japan’s Jun MIZUTAN European champion Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV won the Men’s Singles title at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour German Open in Magdeburg. It is the third final at German Open in the row for OVTCAHROV. The no.2 seed in the final beat Japan’s Jun MIZUTANI the no.6 seed by the minimal two point margin in the deciding game to arrest the title. In 2012 Dimitrij beat Timo BOLL; one year ago he was beaten by China’s Fen Zhendong in the top place contest. Overall Dimitrij OVTCHAROV has now won five ITTF World Tour Men’s Singles titles in eight finals. In addition to his three finals in Germany he won in India in 2010 before in 2011 emerging successful in both Brazil and Korea. He was the runner up in 2009 in Denmark and in 2010 in Poland. “This has been a great tournament for me I have had a lot of tight victories and have played to my ability” said Dimitrij OVTCHAROV. “I am very happy and I am much more confident now heading into the World Championships. The last time I won the German Open was in 2012 and after that I won bronze at London 2012 so I hope this victory will have the same effect on me.This is my first Super Series win so I am thrilled.” Germany also collected the gold in Women’s Singles Event. SHEN Xiaona beat SEO Hyowon of Korea to secure the title. She did it in straight games.

Great tournament such as GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour German Open is can not provide nothing less then the top rated excitement and sensational upsets. The creator of the sensation of the epic proportions today was Steffen MENGEL. In front of the home Great tournament such as GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour German Open is can not provide nothing less then the top rated excitement and sensational upsets. The creator of the sensation of the epic proportions today was Steffen MENGEL. In front of the home crowd player who has been required to compete in two days of qualification matches Steffen MENGEL beat China’s WANG Hao the top seed and former World champion in a classic seven games duel (11-8 11-13 8-11 12-10 4-11 12-10 11-6) to book his place in the quarter-finals of a Men’s Singles event for the second time in a period of three months. In January at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open he finished in runners up spot beaten in the final by Austria’s Daniel HABESOHN. In the quarterfinal MENGEL beat CHO Eonrae of Korea to secure the medal. He will play against Jun MIZUTANI of Japan for the final whilst in other match Tiago APOLONIA of Portugal will meet Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany. MENGEL: “I didn’t have time to enjoy my victory over Wang Hao. I knew I would soon fast Cho so I just went back to the hotel to eat for half an hour and then quickly back to the venue. I needed to feel the atmosphere before a match. Against WANG Hao I had used my last clean shirt. Again Cho I wore one that I had used for training sessions but from a distance nobody smelt that I hope. I need to do some washing tonight for the last day of the tournament tomorrow.The crowd was strongly supporting me. That might have been a setback for him.  I knew that I must not be inattentive against the number 23 in the world. I had to keep the tension and focus on the match until the end. I myself am surprised that I won 4-0 – as in all the other matches it took me 7 games. I was also wondering that I didn’t get tired. I almost waited for it but it was like in a playing frenzy. I haven’t made up my mind about the semi-final. MIZUTANI in any respect is a world-class player. I have to be back in shape again on the spot”. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV after win over Seiya KISHIKAWA said:“What ever my comment on this match will be Steffen will dominate the headlines. He really caused some big surprises here. I hope that we will both win one more match and meet in the final.For myself a clean sweep again Kishi heading towards the World Championships was important. A long and tough working day is coming to an end for me. I’m happy that I can relax in the hotel now”. Already MENGEL proved how dangerous he is; at the German National Championships in 2012 he caused a sensation by beating Timo BOLL in the final. Today was the bad day for Vladimir SAMSONOV of Belarus as well. Japan’s Seiya KISHIKAWA the no.15 seed beat Samsonov the no.5 seed and twice the champion in Germany. He won in 2001 in Bayreuth and in 2005 in Magdeburg. Qualifier in the Women’s Singles Event Sofia POLCANOVA the Austrian overcame Ukraine’s Margaryta PESOTSKA the no.21 seed in four straight games in the third round. In quarters she beat Misaki MOROZONO of Japan to secure the medal.

Twenty year-old Sofia POLCANOVA was one of heroes of the third day at GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour German Open in Magdeburg. She managed to beat in Round of 32 Korean YANG Haeun World`s. no 20 playing six games. Austrian women lost first two sets bu Twenty year-old Sofia POLCANOVA was one of heroes of the third day at GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour German Open in Magdeburg. She managed to beat in Round of 32 Korean YANG Haeun World`s. no 20 playing six games. Austrian women lost first two sets but in next four played fantastic – 4:2 (4:11 9:11 13:11 12:10 11:9 11:8). No matter how she will play tomorrow against Margaryta PESOTSKA she will again improve her ITTF ranking position. In last updating she moved 26 places up from no. 86 to no. 60. Ukrainian PETOTSKA defeated former individual European champion the host player WU Jiaduo 4:1 (11:7 11:8 10:12 11:9 11:9). Korean CHO Hala (no. 144) created the biggest surprise of the day surpassing no. 2 seed Dutch women LI Jiao in five sets 4:1 (11:8 11:8 11:9 11:13 11:9). Georgina POTA and LI Qiangbing played one of most exiting today`s matches as Hungarian won in seven games 4:3 (8:11 11:9 11:6 9:11 11:9 10:12 12:10). POTA later beat Mima ITO from Japan 4:1 (11:8 11:7 4:11 11:4 11:4) to progress in last 16. Good defender Irene IVANCAN overcame LEE I-Chen in seven games. Individual medalists from 2013 LIEBHER ECH were successful in Women`s Round of 32: LI Fen SHAN Xiaona and HAN Ying. Two Berlin`s players will meet in next stage tomorrow: SHAN against IVANCAN. Totally ten European players reached women`s Round of 16. Austrian Steffen FEGERL World`s no 64 created the biggest upset in Men`s Round of 64 beating no. 8 CHUANG Chih Yuan 4:1 (12:10 11:9 11:9 6:11 11:5). Niederosterreich`s player had one more big fight after that but lost from Tiago APOLONIA despite managing to prolong the game to 7th set after 3:0 lead for Portuguese. Two biggest host stars in absence of Timo BOLL Dimitrij OVTCHAROV and Patrick BAUM easily won their first two matches but they will meet tomorrow in battle for the quarter-final. Their compatriot world`s no. 100 Steffen MENGEL joined them among the best 16 after he defeated Chinese ZHOU Kai in six games. It was a bad day for the Russians. All four lost their Round of 64 encounters: Alexander SHIBAEV Kirill SKACHKOV Grigory VLASOV and Alexey LIVENSTOV. World`s no. 113 Tomas KONECNY surprised no. 15 Japanese Koki NIWA 4:1 (8:11 11:6 11:6 11:3 11:5). Men`s top seed WANG Hao lost just one set in his two matches. Seven European players in total reached men`s Round of 16 and among them are Vladimir SAMSONOV Michael MAZE and Par GERELL. Women`s no. 1 seed in doubles event PARK Youngsook and YANG Haeun (South Korea) was eliminated in opening round by host players Nadine BOLLMEIER and WU Jiaduo. No. 2 pair Hong Kong`s LEE Ho Ching and NG Wing Nam also had a hard job but managed to beat Iulia NECULA and Bernadete SZOCS in five games. Sofia POLCANOVA completed her successful day winning double`s Round of 16 match playing alongside with Amelie SOLJA. Swedish players Kristian and Mattias KARLSSON overcame Chinese duet former individual world champion WANG Hao and LYU Xiang in straight games at the start of main draw of the double`s event.

The Czech Republic’s David REITSPIES beat the second highest World ranked player on duty in the qualification stage of the Men’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour German Open. He did it in six games but it was insufficient for REITSPIE The Czech Republic’s David REITSPIES beat the second highest World ranked player on duty in the qualification stage of the Men’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour German Open. He did it in six games but it was insufficient for REITSPIES to progress to the next stage of the Event. He concluded the qualifications on third position in his Group. Frederick JOST of Germany had beaten David REITSPIES one match earlier to book the second position. David REITSPIES earlier in the year in January had emerged successful in the Portuguese city of Vilanova de Gaia at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games World Qualification Tournament. There were also surprise defeats for Simon GAUZY of France the third highest World ranked player in the qualification stage of the Men’s Singles event and also for Spain’s HE Zhiwen the seventh highest. In Magdeburg Simon Gauzy was beaten by Poland’s Pawel FERTIKOWSKI (11-9 7-11 11-8 12-14 11-7 14-12); HE Zhiwen was defeated by Sweden’s Mattias KARLSSON (11-4 11-3 8-11 11-7 6-11 11-7). Pawel FERTIKOWSKI who beat Slovenia’s Jan Zibrat (11-7 12-10 11-9 10-12 11-5) on the opening day of play duly topped the group as did Mattias KARLSSON. On day one he had defeated Borna KOVAC of the Netherlands (11-2 Austria’s Daniel HABESOHN and Stefan FEGERL Sweden’s Pär GERELL all finished in first places in their group and reserved main draw berths. One name is missing in the main draw. Timo BOLL announced his withdrawal today. “In addition to my strained right thigh which made me cancel my Bundesleague matches for my club Düsseldorf in Bremen on Monday I additionally caught a painful instability in my back. Altogether it’s forcing me to cancel my participation in the German Open. Despite extensive treatment measures it has not improved and in this state I cannot compete in Magdeburg. I regret that very much because I know that my German fans have been looking forward to seeing me play in Magdeburg. Most I regret it myself because I was in excellent physical condition and had been looking forward to the confrontation especially with Chinese competitors and my compatriot Dima OVTCHAROV. I hope now that I’ll quickly become fit again and start to prepare first of all for the play-off semi finals in Bundesleague and then of course for the World Team Championships in Tokyo ” stated BOLL.