The England squads for the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo Japan (April 28 – May 5 2014) have been announced following the completion of the Senior National Championships. England’s men and women will once again travel in the The England squads for the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo Japan (April 28 – May 5 2014) have been announced following the completion of the Senior National Championships. England’s men and women will once again travel in the hope of securing a long sought-after promotion to the Championships Division to return to the top tier of world table tennis for the first time this century. Men’s no. 1 and now two-time English National Champion 20-year-old Liam PITCHFORD will lead the challenge following his successful campaign in Sheffield last weekend. He’ll be supported by 31-year-old Andrew BAGGALEY 24-year-old Paul DRINKHALL and 18-year-old Sam Walker in the four-man squad. The women’s no. 1 and 2 Kelly Sibley and Joanna DRINKHALL for so long unseperable at international level will once again lead the charge for success in the Challenge Division of the women’s team event. Sibley 25 and DRINKHALL 26 will be joined by 22-year-old Hannah HICKS and 15-year-old Tin-Tin HO. At the last team world championships held in Dortmund (GER) 2012 neither the men nor women could earn a place at the highest level. The men came the closest and only missed out following a 3-2 defeat to India while the women suffered at the hands of Italy and India in the group stages to cut short their campaign. The World Team Table Tennis Championships will also act as the last major event begin considered before the final squads for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014 are announced. A team promotion in Tokyo could have positive ramifications for a place in the squad for Scotland in the summer. England Squads at 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships – Tokyo Japan (April 28 – May 5 2014) Men: Liam PITCHFORD (Chesterfield) Andrew BAGGALEY (Milton Keynes) Paul DRINKHALL (Loftus Cleveland) and Sam WALKER (Worksop). Women: Kelly SIBLEY (Leamington Spa) Joanna DRINKHALL (Chertsey) Tin-Tin HO (Paddington London) and Hannah HICKS (Andover).
Slovenia’s SLATINSEK completes full set of national titles
At the last weekend’s national championships in Slovenia 34 year-old Uros SLATINSEK beat Jan ZIBRAT in the final of men’s singles event 4:2 (5 -10 -8 6 8 9). SLATINSEK who has been in the National team for more than 10 years finally secur At the last weekend’s national championships in Slovenia 34 year-old Uros SLATINSEK beat Jan ZIBRAT in the final of men’s singles event 4:2 (5 -10 -8 6 8 9). SLATINSEK who has been in the National team for more than 10 years finally secured his first singles crown after having previously won 2 doubles and 1 mixed doubles titles and falling at the finals hurdle in the singles event no less than 3 times (twice against Bojan TOKIC and once against Mitja HORVAT). In the women’s singles event Manca FAJMUT managed to retain her title that she won last year. This time it was the defensive skills of Jana LUDVIK who pushed FAJMUT to the very edge but when the players came back to the table after the towel break at scores tied at 9:9 in the deciding seventh set it was FAJMUT who showed more composure and won by the narrowest of margins with 4:3 (-9 8 -5 6 8 -6 9). History was made in the men’s doubles event where Uros SLATINSEK partnered Darko JORGIC to win the title after having saved 8 match points in total in their quarterfinals and semi-finals matches. JORGIC who clinched 3 medals in cadet events at last year’s EYC in Ostrava became the youngest senior national champion in the history of Slovenia with the age of 15 years and 7 months. Tjasa ZALOZNIK and Alex GALIC who this year trains at the Werner SCHLAGER Academy won the title in women’s doubles event and the mixed doubles event saw Gregor ZAFOSTNIK and Zala VERONIK clinch the title after saving 2 match points in the deciding fifth set of the final.
Record number of teams at World Championships in Japan
A record 125 associations submitted their final entry to compete inTokyoat the ZEN-NOH 2014 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championship on 28 April to 5 May 2014.The 125 countries include 120 men’s and 100 women’s teams who will be battling it o A record 125 associations submitted their final entry to compete inTokyoat the ZEN-NOH 2014 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championship on 28 April to 5 May 2014.The 125 countries include 120 men’s and 100 women’s teams who will be battling it out to be crowned the best table tennis team on earth. This number supersedes the previous record of 118 countries at the LIEBHERR 2012 World Team Table Tennis Championships held in Dortmund Germany with Botswana Zambia and Palestine making their first appearance at an ITTF World Championships. Interest for this year’s World Championships is at an all time high due to it being the first major world title sport event held inTokyosince the city won the bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games. “This number represents the health of international Table Tennis ” stated International Table Tennis Federation’s (ITTF) CEO Judit FARAGO. “Each year more and more countries are playing table tennis and want to participate at our most important tournament which is a credit to the ITTF’s Development Program.” The draw for the highest 3 Divisions including the Championship Division is being held at 13:00 on 15 March 2014 at the TV Tokyo studio (TV Tokyo no. 1 studio Tranomon 4-3-12 Minato-ku Tokyo Japan 105-8012). Defending champions China will be the number one seeds and the teams to beat in both the Men’s and Women’s events as they have selected extremely strong teams including reigning Olympic and World Champions ZHANG Jike and LI Xiaxiao. Despite losing Ai FUKUHARA to injury the Japanese women’s team who won silver at London 2012 and are seeded two will push the Chinese all the way with their strong and youthful lineup led by Kasumi ISHIKAWA. Germany the number two seeds in the men’s led by former world number one Timo BOLL and Olympic bronze medalist Dimitrij OVTCHAROV will be the biggest obstacle for the Chinese men in winning their 7th title in a row. To apply for media accreditation to the ZEN-NOH 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships please fill in this application form: http://bit.ly/14WTTTCMedia by 17 March 2014. About the ZEN-NOH 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships: The ZEN-NOH 2014 World Table Tennis Championships will be held in the Yoyogi National Gymnasium and the Tokyo Gymnasium between 28 April – 5 May 2014. The World Team Championships are held every two years with the World Individual Championships occurring on alternate years. Each team can enter a maximum of five players and a minimum of three. The teams are split into five different divisions based on their performance at the last team championships in 2012 and their current world ranking. The Championship Division which will be competing for the medals are made up of 24 teams. List of men’s teams here List of women’s teams here Men’s Championship Division Seeds here Women’s Championship Division Seeds here More information about the event here
France and Germany celebrate in Metz
At the 2014 French Junior & Cadet Open – ITTF Premium Junior Circuit Germany A clinched the title in the Junior Girls’ Team in Metz. Led by Chantal MANTZ with Alena LEMMER and Amelie ROCHETEAU in support the seventh seeds ended French title ho At the 2014 French Junior & Cadet Open – ITTF Premium Junior Circuit Germany A clinched the title in the Junior Girls’ Team in Metz. Led by Chantal MANTZ with Alena LEMMER and Amelie ROCHETEAU in support the seventh seeds ended French title hopes as they upset the seeding round by round. In the final it was two wins from Alena LEMMER that helped secure German success in their contest against France ‘A’ the no.2 seeds. She accounted for both Audrey ZARIF (11-9 5-11 11-9 11-9) and Laura PFEFER (11-8 11-9 15-13) with Chantal MANTZ adding the one further success. In the opening contest of the fixture she defeated Laura PFEFER (9-11 11-7 11-9 7-11 11-7). Gold medal winners overcame the French ‘B’ Team trio of Roza SOPOSKI Marie MIGOT and Oceane GUISNEL the fourth seeds by three matches to two in the penultimate stage of the event. The top seeded trio of Can AKKUZU Alexandre CASSIN and Paul GAUZY won the Junior Boys’ Team title. At the final hurdle they overcame the second seeded Portuguese outfit comprising Diogo CHEN Jorge COSTA and Antonio MALHEIRO by three matches to nil with every duel being secured in straight games. A convincing success in the final but in the penultimate round life had been very different; the champions elect had been extended the full five match distance by the Russian outfit of Sadi ISMAILOV Konstantin CHERNOV and Andrey POPOV. Success for Germany in the Junior Girls’ Team event it was also success for Germany in the Cadet Girls’ Team competition with Jennie WOLF and Luisa SAGER securing the top prize. Occupying the no.1 seeded position in the event they beat Romania the no.2 seeds in the final. Luisa SAGER beat both Mihaela PLAEASU (7-11 11-8 11-5 11-9) and Andreea DRAGOMAN (12-10 8-11 11-9 6-11 11-3) to set the platform for success; the one further win came from Jennie WOLF in the deciding fifth match of the contest. She accounted for Mihaela PLAEASU (11-6 11-5 11-6). The wins for Romania came from Andreea DRAGOMAN against Jennie WOLF (11-6 11-7 11-13 11-7) and in the doubles where Andreea DRAGOMAN and Mihaela PLAEASU recorded a four games win over Jennie WOLF and Luisa SAGER (11-9 11-13 11-9 11-6). Romanian duo of Rares SIPOS and Cristian PLETEA clinched the title without surrendering a single individual match at any phase of affairs. In the latter stages they overcame France ‘B’ (Joris REYNAUD Jules ROLLAND) in the quarter-finals before accounting for Germany ‘A’ (Gerritt ENGEMANN Alexander GERHOLD) the no.5 seeds and Poland (Kamil NALEPA Aleksander WERECKI) the no.4 seeds to clinch the top prize.
Few days left for Austrian Youth Championships entries
The organizers of the 14th Austrian SPARKASSE Youth Championships 2014 and Linz – Upperaustria Challenge Trophy expects again about 500 players this year. The exact number will be known after this Friday when it is the closing day for entries. The compet The organizers of the 14th Austrian SPARKASSE Youth Championships 2014 and Linz – Upperaustria Challenge Trophy expects again about 500 players this year. The exact number will be known after this Friday when it is the closing day for entries. The competitions for the players from 11 to 18 years will be held in Tips Arena from 18th to 21st April. The team’s and individual events are open for national – province – regional – teams as well as for clubs. “Like every year we are organizing a Children Disco with Tombola. The prize fund is € 15.000 for the players plus every player gets some presents for the Eastern ” announced Manager Robert RENNER. Once again he reminded: “The tournament is specialized on younger cadet mini cadet and cadet. We expect again about 500 players in Linz. Excepts will be made in special cases if Teams want to apply later for the tournament after the closing date – 15.03.2014.” Click here for: general information and registration form
Strock succeeded in all-Austrian duel
SVS Strock needed only three matches to secure the victory in the opening leg of the ETTU Cup semifinal. In Linz Sporthalle Lissfeld Leistungszentrum Linz Forschberg failed to put guests under pressure. Camelia POSTOACA took only one game from her compatr SVS Strock needed only three matches to secure the victory in the opening leg of the ETTU Cup semifinal. In Linz Sporthalle Lissfeld Leistungszentrum Linz Forschberg failed to put guests under pressure. Camelia POSTOACA took only one game from her compatriot Daniela DODEAN whilst in the duel between LIU Yuan and European Champion LI Fen were even less suspense. The matched finished in straight games. Kristyna STEFCOVA lost against Tatjana BILENKO. BILENKO needed four games to nail down the match. The second leg is scheduled for March 24th.
Four-hour holding breath SHIBAEV did it!
Actual Russian champion beat defending Men`s ECL champion in 1st leg of 2013/14 MECL semi-final: UMMC Verkhnaya Pyshma – Fakel Gazproma Orenburg 3:2. The clash took four hours having many upside-downs. No doubt everything will be open in the rematch to Actual Russian champion beat defending Men`s ECL champion in 1st leg of 2013/14 MECL semi-final: UMMC Verkhnaya Pyshma – Fakel Gazproma Orenburg 3:2. The clash took four hours having many upside-downs. No doubt everything will be open in the rematch to be held on April 11th. Jun MIZUTANI played a main role in this exciting clash while actual German and European champion Dima OVTCHAROV lost both his games. The 2010 Pro Tour Grand Finals winner current no. 11 on ITTF World Ranking list defeated two ITTF Top 10 players Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (no. 6) and Vladimir SAMSONOV (no. 10). German reached opening set against the best UMMC`s player taking last four sets in a row (7:9 11:9) but Japanese kept his confidence and beat him in four games. It could say that the host made one of his decisive steps in early third set coming from 1:4 to 10:6 continuing to improve his play in ultimate set. In the second encounter three times individual European champion Vladimir SAMSONOV defeated newly crowned Russian champion Alexander SHIBAEV in four games. The each set won the one who started better. Alexey SMIRNOV again showed why he is the best no.3 player for years in MECL. Former Euro TOP 12 winner overcame Joao MONTEIRO in four sets bringing advantage for Orenburg. Portuguese reached opening set after several upside-downs while Russian easily took next three. Jun MIZURANI was criticized by coach Tatiana KURERGINA after one of group stage games but today he played fantastic. After OVTCHAROV he beat SAMSONOV too this time in straight games. Byelorussian had a chance to prolong the match to fourth set having 9:7 lead in third but Japanese turned on 10:9 and finally converted third set ball to the win. After four clashes the result was 2:2 and the winner depended on two recently crowned national championships: SHIBAEV (Russia) and OVTCHAROV (Germany). After magnificent start of the host (9:0 in first 8:2 in second) guest managed to level on 2:2 in sets (6:6 10:6 in 3rd 7:7 11:7 in 4th). They were equal until 6:6 in fifth and in that moment tall Russian took three in a row having soon three match balls. 2013/14 Men`s European Champions League semi-final (1st leg) UMMC Verkhnaya Pyshma – Fakel Gazproma Orenburg 3:2 Jun MIZUTANI – Dimitrij OVTCHAROV 3:1 (9:11 11:9 11:9 11:7) Alexander SHIBAEV – Vladimir SAMSONOV 1:3 (5:11 9:11 11:2 9:11) Joao MONTEIRO – Alexey SMIRNOV 1:3 (15:13 6:11 7:11 4:11) Jun MIZUTANI – Vladimir SAMSONOV 3:0 (11:7 11:7 13:11) Alexander SHIBAEV – Dimitrij OVTCHAROV 3:2 (11:2 11:4 8:11 7:11 11:9)
It’s almost done for Ochsenhausen
After first leg of 2013/14 ETTU Cup semi-final Liebherr Ochsenhausen are 99 percent sure that will play in the ultimate chapter of this competition winning 3:0 (9:1) away match against Walter Wels. From the first moment there was no question who will wi After first leg of 2013/14 ETTU Cup semi-final Liebherr Ochsenhausen are 99 percent sure that will play in the ultimate chapter of this competition winning 3:0 (9:1) away match against Walter Wels. From the first moment there was no question who will win in the clash between two clubs which started season in Men`s European Champions League. Liam PITCHFORD had easy job against Serbian Zolt PETE in opening game. Former Olympic champion RYU Seung Min overcame Dominique PLATNER even easier. Simon GAUZY lost opening set against Lehel DEMETER but managed to win in four games. Young Frenchmen made a key step in late fourth set when he turned from 8:9 to 11:9. Second German club Saarbrucken had not success in France. The 2012 MECL semi-finalist is beaten by Stella Sport La Romagne 3:1. The man of the match was CHEN Tianyuan who had overcome Bojan TOKIC in opening encounter concluding the match against member of German national team Bastian STEGER. Both games took four sets. STEGER defeated Ollivier BRICE in second match while Abdel Kader SALIFOU brought very important win to the host defeating in straight games Portuguese Tiago APOPLONIA in third encounter. In first Women`s semi-final Club Pongiste Lyssois Lille Metropole beat away SKST CSAD Hodonin 3:1. YANG Xiao Xin provided two points for the guest`s side overcoming Lenka HARABASZOVA and Katerina PENKAVOVA who brought unique win for the host. Men`s ETTU Cup s 1st semi-finals Walter Wels – Liebherr Ochsenhausen 0:3 Zolt PETE – Liam PITCHFORD 0:3 (7:11 6:11 8:11) Dominique PLATTNER – RYU Seung Min 0:3 (4:11 4:11 8:11) Lehel DEMETER – Simon GAUZY 1:3 (11:3 10:12 9:11 9:11) Stella Sport La Romagne – Saarbrucken 3:1 CHEN Tianyuan – Bojan TOKIC 3:1 (3:11 11:6 11:3 11:6) Ollivier BRICE – Bastian STEGER 1:3 (14:16 10:12 11:7 10:12) Abdel Kader SALIFOU – Tiago APOLONIA 3:0 (11:7 12:10 12:10) CHEN Tianyuan – Bastian STEGER 3:1 (11:5 8:11 11:8 11:8) Women`s ETTU Cup 1st semi-final SKST CSAD Hodonin –Club Pongiste Lyssois Lille Metropole 1:3 Katerina PENKAVOVA – Bernadette SZOCS 3:1 (11:13 12:10 11:7 11:4) Lenka HARABASZOVA – YANG Xiao Xin 2:3 (11:9 11:8 8:11 3:11 4:11) Kristina MIKULCOVA – Agnès LE LANNIC 1:3 (5:11 11:9 10:12 7:11) Katerina PENKAVOVA – YANG Xiao Xin 1:3 (11:8 7:11 9:11 4:11)
Berlin goes one-up to Istanbul
In almost football atmosphere created by loud Fenerbahce`s fans TTC Berlin Eastside beat Fenerbahce 3:2 in first final of 2013/14 Women`s European Champions League. This clash absolutely fulfilled expectations and it could say that it was one of the mos In almost football atmosphere created by loud Fenerbahce`s fans TTC Berlin Eastside beat Fenerbahce 3:2 in first final of 2013/14 Women`s European Champions League. This clash absolutely fulfilled expectations and it could say that it was one of the most interesting WECL games this season. Berlin`s coach Irina PALINA knew very well why she put Irene IVANCAN on 1. spot. The 2011 single`s runner-up of European Championships played fantastic beating two much better ranked players CHING I-Cheng and HU Melek. Even more she lost just one set in two encounters and it was her opening set against Taiwanese. After that everything went smoothly for her starting fourth set by 8:0 lead. HU Melek leveled against Georgina POTA after first two exciting sets in which both missed some set balls. Two best ranked players met in unusual part of the game for them playing as no. 3. Viktoria PAVLOVICH twice individual European champion beat triple medalist from 2013 ECH SHAN Xiaona who is the newly crowned German champion. They were leveled after two sets while in third one Byelorussian came from 1:3 to 6:4 keeping that distance (8:10 PAVLOVICH returned twice almost impossible shots). It was clear that SHAN has no chance in long rallies and guest forced that taking some important points in late super exciting third set. Finally SHAN lost concentration and sent a ball to the peak of the net (12:14). German did not stay calm after that it showed in ultimate set. Irene IVANCAN provided new chance for her team defeating HU Melek in straight games. It was a night of defensive players for sure. Last question was who will go to Istanbul with an advantage: Berlin or Fenerbahce. Decision was in the hands of POTA and CHENG. Hungarian who already had an important role in this season`s wins of her side managed to overcome one of the best ranked WECL players. Everybody in the hall was standing in late third set finished by good serve of the host (14:12). These two clubs met in group stage and result was the same in Berlin (Fenerbahce won 3:1 in Istanbul). TTC Berlin Eastside – Fenerbahce 3:2 Irene IVANCAN – CHING I-Cheng 3:1 (4:11 11:6 11:7 11:4) Georgina POTA – HU Melek 1:3 (13:11 12:14 6:11 8:11) SHAN Xiaona – Viktoria PAVLOVICH 1:3 (11:8 9:11 12:14 5:11) Irene IVANCAN – HU Melek 3:0 (11:9 11:9 11:9) Georgina POTA – CHING I-Cheng 3:2 (3:11 12:10 14:12 11:8)
ECL final a hair’s breadth away for Pontoise
In battle between two French clubs AS Pontoise Cergy won 3:0 in first semi-final game of 2013/14 Men`s European Champions League. WANG Jian Jun & Co. made a big step to the first ever MECL final in Pontoise`s history while Angers has to wait for new In battle between two French clubs AS Pontoise Cergy won 3:0 in first semi-final game of 2013/14 Men`s European Champions League. WANG Jian Jun & Co. made a big step to the first ever MECL final in Pontoise`s history while Angers has to wait for new chance to beat the side which does not fit to him. These two clubs met recently in French Pro A league and Pontoise won 4:0. This time Angers was very close to win both of first two games which took five games each. Jens LUNDQVIST had 2:0 lead in sets and 10:7 in fourth and 10:6 in ultimate game but WANG Jian Jun somehow managed to beat him. Former Charlroi`s played fantastic in moment when he had no right for mistake. Michel MARTINEZ also led after third set against Marcos FREITAS. The fifth one was very close from the very first moment (7:7. 7:9 9:9) and Portuguese decided the game playing his best in last two points. Finally Kristian KARLSSON overcame Benjamin BROSSIER in straight games to secure big advantage for returning match (March 21st 19h30 CET). Vaillante Angers – AS Pontoise Cergy 0:3 Jens LUNDQVIST – WANG Jian Jun 2:3 (11:9 12:10 8:11 10:12 11:13) Michel MARTINEZ – Marcos FREITAS 2:3 (8:11 11:8 11:8 7:11 9:11) Benjamin BROSSIER – Kristian KARLSSON 0:3 (11:13 8:11 2:11)
