Viktoria PAVLOVICH of Belarus justified her position and clinched the title in the Women’s Singles Event at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour, Czech Open, Major Series in Olomouc. European Champion, seeded no. one in Czech Republic overcame LI Jiao of Ne, Viktoria PAVLOVICH of Belarus justified her position and clinched the title in the Women’s Singles Event at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour, Czech Open, Major Series in Olomouc. European Champion, seeded no. one in Czech Republic overcame LI Jiao of Netherlands in the final 4:2 (9:11, 12:10, 10:12, 11:8, 11:8, 11:7). Masato SHIONO of Japan won the title in Men’s Singles Event. Previously, PAVLOVICH overcame Yuki NONAKA of Japan 4:1 (11:5, 8:11, 11:6, 11:1, 11:9). In other semi final duel LI Jiao succeeded against Georgina POTA of Hungary 2:4 (11:5, 11:9, 6:11, 10:12, 8:11, 9:11). At the final hurdle, SHIONO succeeded against Carlos MACHADO of Spain. He needed only four games 4:0 (11:8, 11:6, 11:7, 11:2). In the semi final MACHADO overcame Ruwen FILUS of Germany in straight games (11:8, 11:5, 11:6, 11:7), whilst Masato SHIONO beat Daniel GORAK in full distance duel 4:3 (11:4, 6:11, 12:10, 10:12, 11:8, 8:11, 11:6). Pawel FERTIKOWSKI and Robert FLORAS of Poland clinched the title in the Men’s Doubles Event. They overcame Robert GARDOS and Daniel HABESOHN of Austria 1:3 (11:9, 9:11, 6:11, 5:11) in the final. In semis GARDOS and HABESOHN overcame Kristian KARLSSON and OVERSJO Mattias of Sweden 3:1 (17:15, 9:11, 11:8, 14:12), whilst FERTIKOWSKI and FLORAS beat Alexey LIVENTSOV and Mikhail PAYKOV of Russia 3:2 (11:8, 8:11, 9:11, 11:9, 11:7). LI Jiao failed to reach the title in Singles, but she won one in Women’s Doubles Event. With Linda CREEMERS, LI succeeded in the final against Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA and Natalia PARTYKA of Poland in straight games (8:11, 5:11, 7:11). In penultimate stage GRZYBOWSKA and PARTYKA overcame Petrissa SOLJA and Sabine WINTER of Germany 1:3 (4:11, 11:13, 11:6, 8:11), whilst LI and CREEMERS beat Germany’s Kristin SILBEREISEN and WU Jiaduo by same margin (11:13, 11:6, 11:3, 11:8).

After very close game Viktoria PAVLOVICH, the top seed in the Women’s Singles Event at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Czech Open, booked her place in the semi final. She was stretched to the full distance in the duel against Kristin SILBEREISEN of Ger, After very close game Viktoria PAVLOVICH, the top seed in the Women’s Singles Event at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Czech Open, booked her place in the semi final. She was stretched to the full distance in the duel against Kristin SILBEREISEN of Germany. European champion from Belarus will play against Yuki NONAKA of Japan for the place in the final. Japan’s player overcame Austria’s LIU Jia, the defending champion in Olomouc, on her way to the penultimate stage. She did it in straight games. NONAKA, not seeded, being required to compete in the qualification stage of proceedings; she caused a major shock at the quarter-final stage. On the lower half of the draw Georgina POTA of Hungary overcame SHAN Xiaona of Germany in another straight games duel. LI Jiao of Netherlands needed one more to beat HAN Ying of Germany on her way to semis. In the Men’s Singles Event carlos MACHADO of Spain overcame Alexander SHIBAEV of Russia in dominate style, whilst Ruwen FILUS of Germany showed no mercy against Kazuhiro CHAN of Japan. Masato SHIONO of Japan beat the last host nation representative. Pavel SIRUCEK failed to stop the progress of the guest from the East. SHIONO will meet Daniel GORAK of Poland. GORAK, winner of the Junior Boys’ Singles title at the European Youth Championships in 2001 in the Italian city of Tern beat Sharath Kamal ACHANTA of India. Previously the no.15 seed in Olomouc, beat Germany’s Patrick FRANZISKA, the no.2 seed, to book his place in the quarter-final stage of the Men’s Singles event. In Men’s Doubles Event Robert GARDOS and Daniel HABESOHN of Austria will play against Kristian KARLSSON and Mattias OVERSJO of Sweden, whilst Pawel FERTIKOWSKI and Robert FLORAS of Poland will meet Alexey LIVENTSOV and Mikhail PAYKOV of Russia. In Women’s Doubles Event Petrissa SOLJA and Sabine WINTER of Germany will face Katarzyna GRZYBOWSKA and Natalia PARTYKA of Poland. In another semi final duel Linda CREEMERS and LI Jiao of Netherlands will face Kristin SILBEREISEN and WU Jiaduo of Germany  

Last week 1969 players from 42 countries compete at the 35th Flanders ITT & 15th Flanders Ostend Masters. Winner in men’s Singles Event at the 15th Flanders Ostend Masters is Slovenia’s Bojan TOKIC. TOKIC beat Adrien MATTENET of France in the final of, Last week 1969 players from 42 countries compete at the 35th Flanders ITT & 15th Flanders Ostend Masters. Winner in men’s Singles Event at the 15th Flanders Ostend Masters is Slovenia’s Bojan TOKIC. TOKIC beat Adrien MATTENET of France in the final of the event in straight games. KOU Lei of Ukraine, who hails from Beijing and was once a member of the Chinese National Junior Second Team, created the upset by beating top seeded Patrick BAUM of Germany in the quarterfinal, but he suffered by the hands of TOKIC in semis. Seeded no. two Bastian STEGER of Germany lost his semis against MATTENET, after STEGER overcame Belgium’s legend Jean Michel SAIVE. In Ostend 76 event were played. From 10 years old competitors to 80+ category and from top world ranked players to unranked…everyone had a chance to compete.

Abdel-Kader SALIFOU of France, the 23 seed and the winner in Egypt, Croatia and Morocco faced early depart; he was beaten in the first round of the Men’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Czech Open in Olomouc. Germany’s Steffen MENGEL a, Abdel-Kader SALIFOU of France, the 23 seed and the winner in Egypt, Croatia and Morocco faced early depart; he was beaten in the first round of the Men’s Singles event at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Czech Open in Olomouc. Germany’s Steffen MENGEL accounted at French player, before he beat another surprise winner of the opening stage match. Serbia’s Zolt PETE inflicted the pain in host nation supporters by beating Dmitrij PROKOPCOV, the no.10 seed by the minimal margin in the deciding seventh game. However in the next round PETE lost against MENGEL in straight games. Another Serbia’s representative, Marko JEVTOVIC lost in the second round against Quentin ROBINOT of France. In the lower half of the draw Patrick FRANZISKA of Germany overcame his compatriot Lars HIELSCHER after he scored against Peter SEREDA of Slovakia. In Women’s Singles Event Renata STRBIKOVA, the no.19 seed, was beaten by Russia’s Yulia PROKHOROVA, a player who had been required to negotiate two days of qualification matches. The Czech Republic suffered at the hands of Russia; in the lower half of the draw the scenario was reversed, Russia suffered at the hands of the Czech Republic. Anna TIKHOMIROVA, the no.16 seed, was beaten by Hana MATELOVA, like Yulia Prokhorova, a qualifier. LI Jiao of the Netherlands, the no.2 seed, accounted for Poland’s Kinga STEFANSKA; whilst Germany’s WU Jiaduo, the no.5 seed, ousted Romania’s Camelia POSTOACA and the host nation’s Iveta VACENOVSKA, the no.4 seed, defeated Russia’s Maria DOLGIKH.

The Round of 64 at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour, Czech Open, Major Series in Olomouc starts tomorrow. Among the players who successfully overcame qualifications were few who created the upset. In Men’s Singles Event Adam SZUDI of Hungary exceeded hi, The Round of 64 at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour, Czech Open, Major Series in Olomouc starts tomorrow. Among the players who successfully overcame qualifications were few who created the upset. In Men’s Singles Event Adam SZUDI of Hungary exceeded his rankings and beat Josef SIMONCIK of Czech Republic to reach top spot in his qualification group. Samuel NOVOTA of Slovakia gained few extra points by beating Lubomir JANCARIK of Czech Republic and concluded the first phase at the top of the group. Filip CIPIN of Croatia, Alvaro ROBLES of Spain, Frederik JOST of Germany, Bohumil VOZICKY of Czech Republic, Antoine HACHARD of France, Mattias OVERSJO of Sweden…all finished the day at position no. one in qualifications. Some of them went step further. OVERSJO beat Lauric JEAN of Belgium to reach main draw, before HACHARD joined him. He beat JOST in second phase of the tournament. Anja SCHUCH of Germany created major upset in Women’s Singles qualifications. From the bottom of the group she reached top position. On her way to the top she overcame Kinga STEFANSKA of Poland and Aliz DJURCIK of Serbia. It was the same story with Maryia KUCHUK of Belarus who beat Maria DOLGIKH of Russia and Lenka HARABASZOVA of Czech Republic.

The forthcoming GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Czech Open attracted a lot of players. A Major Series tournament, proceedings commence in Olomouc on Wednesday 21st August and conclude on Sunday 25th August. The top seed in the Men’s Singles event is the se, The forthcoming GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Czech Open attracted a lot of players. A Major Series tournament, proceedings commence in Olomouc on Wednesday 21st August and conclude on Sunday 25th August. The top seed in the Men’s Singles event is the sensational quarter-final winner over China’s ZHANG Jike, the reigning Olympic and World champion, earlier in the year in Austria, Japan’s 22 year old Taku TAKAKIWA. Christian SÜSS will not defend his title, but there is a major challenge from Germany. Patrick FRANZISKA is the second seed; a young man, who having enjoyed a most successful junior career, is now making inroads at senior level. Next on the list is Japan’s Kazuhiro CHAN followed by the Russian duo of Kirill SKACHOV and Alexander SHIBAEV. On the Women’s Singles list, the top three seeds have all won ITTF World Tour Women’s Singles titles. Viktoria PAVLOVICH, the reigning European champion and top seed in Oloumoc, won in Minsk in 2008; whilst LI Jiao of the Netherlands, the second seed, succeeded in Slovenia in 2008 and two years later in Poland. The third seed has the most ITTF World Tour Women’s Singles titles to her credit and is arguably the most motivated; she is the defending champion. Austria’s LIU Jia, in addition to winning in Olomouc one year ago, succeeded in Brazil in 2004 and in Germany in 2008. In the Men’s Doubles event, Austria’s Robert GARDOS and Daniel HABESOHN occupy the top seeded place in the draw with Russia’s Alexey LIVENTSOV and Mikail PAYKOV being the second seeds. In the Women’s Doubles competition it is German names to the fore; Petrissa SOLJA and Sabine WINTER are the no.1 seeds followed by colleagues Kristin SILBEREISEN and WU Jiaduo.

The 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, Dimitrij OVTCHAROV couldn`t prevent all-Chinese Men`s Singles final on GAC Group ITTF World Tour, Harmony Open in Suzhou. He lost from World`s no. 2 XU Xin 4:1 (13:11, 9:11, 11:7, 11:6, 12:10). However, it was the most su, The 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, Dimitrij OVTCHAROV couldn`t prevent all-Chinese Men`s Singles final on GAC Group ITTF World Tour, Harmony Open in Suzhou. He lost from World`s no. 2 XU Xin 4:1 (13:11, 9:11, 11:7, 11:6, 12:10). However, it was the most successful performance of German player who was quarter finalist in previous two occasions. The Men`s winner was World`s no. 1 MA Long who beat XU in five games. They together won Doubles event, defeating Japanese Kenta MATSUDAIRA and Single`s semi finalist Koki NIWA 3:1 (7:11, 11:4, 11:7, 11:5). MA and XU are the 2011 Mwen’s Doubles World`s champions. In women`s competition the winner was host nation`s CHEN Meng (World`s no. 7) who played against LIU Shiwen (no. 2), the silver medalist of 2013 LIEBHERR World Championships at Paris. After two sets the result was 1:1 but LIU was forced to retire due to shoulder injury. Last year they also played one against another – having exciting seven sets – and CHEN also took the crown. CHEN Meng, like MA Long, managed to won both events. Playing with ZHU Yuling she became the double`s winner too. Their last hurdle was North Korean pair KIM Hye Song and KIM Jong.

In his third consecutive quarter-final on GAC Group ITTF World Tour, Harmony Open in Suzhou, China, Dimitrij OVTCHAROV managed to secure his first semis. Today he had two excellent performances, eliminating first Japanese Seiya KISHIKAWA in five games and, In his third consecutive quarter-final on GAC Group ITTF World Tour, Harmony Open in Suzhou, China, Dimitrij OVTCHAROV managed to secure his first semis. Today he had two excellent performances, eliminating first Japanese Seiya KISHIKAWA in five games and Chinese Taipei`s CHUANG Chih-Yuan in six sets then.  The quarter final clash was well copied bronze medal match that they played last summer at London. CHUANG both times had 2:1 lead in sets, but OVTCHAROV twice took three sets in a row to win 4:2 (11:9, 11:13, 15:17, 11:8, 11:8, 11:3). Just couple of weeks after his debut in Chinese Super League, Dima OVTCHAROV plays now his best tournament at Suzhou. His next challenge will be versus World`s no. 2 XU Xin, whilst other semi finalists are World`s no. 1 MA Long and Japanese Koki NIWA who eliminated his countryman and doubles partner Kenta MATSUDAIRA in seven games. Earlier, NIWA surprisingly beat former World champion and three-time individual Olympic silver medallist WANG Hao. He did it in four sets. China has three players among top four in women`s singles: LIU Shiwen – CHENG I-Ching (Chinese Taipei`s), CHEN Meng – WU Yang are the twpo semis. In Men`s doubles final, Kenta MATSUDAIRA and Koki NIWA will try to upset hosts MA Long and XU Xin.