Reigning European Champion from Herning and title winner from Ostrava, Viktoria PAVLOVICH lines up alongside 25 year-old Alexandra PRIVALOVA, the two 18 year olds Katsiaryna BARAVOK and Maryia KUCHUK plus 17 year-old Alina ARLOUSKAYA at the LIEBHERR World, Reigning European Champion from Herning and title winner from Ostrava, Viktoria PAVLOVICH lines up alongside 25 year-old Alexandra PRIVALOVA, the two 18 year olds Katsiaryna BARAVOK and Maryia KUCHUK plus 17 year-old Alina ARLOUSKAYA at the LIEBHERR World Championships. One name that is missing in Paris is the name of her twin sister. Over the years we have become used to seeing them together, but most importantly Viktoria used to have sisterly supports on her side. “I can not stop looking around and searching for Veronika. For a second, I get confused, thinking, where is she, is she playing now…I miss her a lot,” said Viktoria and tears almost flowed. It will be only the second occasion when they have not been together at a World Championships; Veronika made her debut in 1993 in Gothenburg, Viktoria was one year later in Tianjin. Now Veronika took responsibility of coaching youngsters in Belarus. She said goodbye to the national team. Cautious as always Viktoria just shrug shoulders when we started talking about tomorrow’s start of the competition in the main draw. “We will see. This is the World Championships. There is no easy round here.” tom wedges

The player who is high demand in Bercy at the LIEBHERR Worlds Championships is undoubtedly Werner SCHLAGER. Austrian who won the last World title for Europeans 10 years ago at the very same place, is on duty again and under media spot light. He was not ve, The player who is high demand in Bercy at the LIEBHERR Worlds Championships is undoubtedly Werner SCHLAGER. Austrian who won the last World title for Europeans 10 years ago at the very same place, is on duty again and under media spot light. He was not very active on International scene lately, but he is in Paris, after very strong preparations. “I finally managed to have practice on the regular basis. I could not do it for a long time. I found the expert who helped me with my migraines and from February I am back in saddle again. You can only imagine how it is when you get a big headache at the tournaments. You can only lock yourself in the room,” explained SCHLAGER. Treatments worked and SCHLAGER build up his physical fitness. “I made good physical foundation, so I can enjoy table tennis again and play at quite well level.” He also easily qualified for the Austrian team at the LIEBHERR Worlds Championships. “Unfortunately the gap between me and the youngsters are still wide. I have no problems to qualify.” It is hard to avoid the talk about his big triumph 10 years ago, and what he said surprised us a little. “Now, I’d beat Werner from 2003, even with 5 points advantage on his side. And I am not talking about 21 points game, I am talking about 11 points set.” This quote came as a surprise, but Werner explained it easily. “I will beat that Werner, but I still will not be a champion. The game changed so much. Like we are talking about completely different sport. The way we can control the points, the speed. Now when I watch the old matches I am so surprised by big difference of the game. When I see me playing I cannot stop thinking “You should kill that ball, you should gain that point”. Everything looks so slow. It is incomparable to today’s table tennis. Today it is much physical demanding and brutal, everything is faster. I think that is the case with all other sports. The changes of rules changed the complete look of the game. Now we will play with the plastic balls. That will affect the game very much too. The good thing is that players adjusted very quick to the changes, and it helped development. “ – You will beat old SCHLAGER, but what about other adversaries here? “I am not in Paris to be World Champion. I am realistic. I do not say it is impossible, but it is less likely. I love this sport, I finally found the way to enjoy t again and I am here to compete. If I make some surprise in the process, even better. I will go round after round.” In the second round, SCHLAGER should play against Patrick BAUM. “We know each other very well. He is dangerous player, but he will also have problems with me. It will be open match. However, as I said, let’s finished the job in the opening round first…” This fall WSA will host European Championships. “WSA and Austrian federation doing great job. I am not very much involved in the organization, but I do not have reason to worry. I hope I will be fit fo theat Championships and able to play.”  

One of the players with most attractive style of play and most unfortunate career, Michael MAZE found the way to kill the time in between attempts to come back to the table tennis. Recently he had another surgery and another rehabilitation process started, One of the players with most attractive style of play and most unfortunate career, Michael MAZE found the way to kill the time in between attempts to come back to the table tennis. Recently he had another surgery and another rehabilitation process started. In a meanwhile, he plays – poker. As pictures from Casino Copenhagen reveals, he was involved in the Danish championships, where he clinched 12th position. “He is not bad at all. MAZE will go to Las Vegas this summer,” said coach Peter SARTZ. Of course his present shape was the main subject. “He started rehabilitation process, but I doubt he will be fit for the European championships. I expects he can return from January next year.” Michal MAZE won the title in singles at the European Championships in 2009 in Stuttgart. Last year at the Olympics he reached quarterfinal.

Whilst the players from lower positions at the ITTF rankings already started their journey towards main draw, favorites are still warming up. It is the great opportunity for the journalists to meet with some of the biggest stars in less tense atmosphere. , Whilst the players from lower positions at the ITTF rankings already started their journey towards main draw, favorites are still warming up. It is the great opportunity for the journalists to meet with some of the biggest stars in less tense atmosphere. Six times European champion in singles, man who has 18 singles titles at ITTF World Tour, gold at World Grand Finals in 2005 and World Cup in 2002 and 2005, alongside two bronze teams medals at the Olympics, Timo BOLL is in good shape at LIEBHERR World Championships in Paris. He played in the semi final last time in Rotterdam at the World Championships, he recorded his best ever result at the World Championships by reaching the bronze medal. Naturally first question is related to his goals in Paris. “I have very good preparations and practiced very well. I am happy with my current shape, and my expectations are high. But this is the first season after Olympics; first year in Olympic cycles is always very difficult. First aim is to justify my rankings, but I always hoping for medals” said Timo. – You’ve been missing a lot of tournament after Olympics, was it planned like that? “I had very tough and busy period last year, with World Championships and Olympics in same season. It was important for me to return to some basics and to build up my strength again. There is no use of playing at the tournaments if you are not physically fit.” Timo BOLL is China’s main rival. Last time in Rotterdam at the quarter-final stage he defeated China’s CHEN Qi in five games, before losing by the same margin in the penultimate round to the champion elect, CHEN Qi’s colleague, ZHANG Jike. In Paris BOLL will play against the qualifier in the first round whilst in second, according to draw he should meet Sharat Kamal ACHANTA of India. “According to draw Timo and Dima should reach the quarters,” stated coach Jorg ROSSKOPF. In BOLL’s part of the draw are also Jens LUNDQUIST and Korean YOUNGSIK. “I am not kind of player who is very optimistic before the tournament. I am in quite opposite mood. However I think it is much better to start tournament with doubts and in not very bright mood and to conclude it in better light,” said Timo. He is not the only member of the family who is cautious. BOLL’s wife Rodelia “Deli” BOLL, asked only for tickets for Wednesday, when BOLL will play his first match. Only after that match he will ask for the tickets for next day….

In a day we will return to where one European player made the last victorious run at the biggest global table tennis gathering. LIEBHERR World Championships to be held in Paris from Monday 13th May to Monday 20th May 2013 starts with record breaking numbe, In a day we will return to where one European player made the last victorious run at the biggest global table tennis gathering. LIEBHERR World Championships to be held in Paris from Monday 13th May to Monday 20th May 2013 starts with record breaking number of entries – a total of 511 men and 411 women from all six continents have entered the forthcoming Championships. Bercy will open its doors to table tennis family once again – at the very same place, decade after last European has won the title at the World Championships. At the LIEBHERR World Championships in 2003 Austria’s Werner SCHLAGER clinched the Men’s Singles title against all odds. Europeans are facing enormous challenge to repeat the SCHLAGER’s success. Only two years earlier, we witnessed a Chinese clean sweep of titles in Rotterdam. ZHANG Jike and DING Ning emerged as the respective Men’s and Women’s Singles champions, the Men’s Doubles event went the way of MA Long and ZHANG Jike, the Women’s Doubles to GUO Yue and LI Xiaoxia; whilst ZHANG Chao and CAO Zhen captured Mixed Doubles gold. It was the same outcome two years earlier in Yokohama; also in 2007 in Zagreb and in 2005 in Shanghai; China ruled supreme. Now top four Chinese players are on duty again, led by currently ranked no. one player at ITTF lists XU Xin and reigning World and Olympic Champion ZHANG Jike. Right behind leading Chinese quartet is the best ranked European player – Timo BOLL. Six time European singles Champion will lead six men German squad in France. Two years ago at the GAC GROUP 2011 World Championships in Rotterdam, Timo BOLL enjoyed his best ever finish in the Men’s Singles event; he departed with a bronze medal to his name. At the quarter-final stage he defeated China’s CHEN Qi in five games, before losing by the same margin in the penultimate round to the champion elect, CHEN Qi’s colleague, ZHANG Jike. In the team is also reigning European Top 12 winner Dimitrij OVTCHAROV. The 22 years old OVTCHAROV still do not have European singles title, but at the most prestigious event of all, Olympic Games, he excels. He won silver in the Men’s Team event at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and at the London 2012 Olympic Games secured bronze in both the Men’s Singles and Men’s Team events. No other European player, has won more; the nearest is two. Sweden’s Jan-Ove WALDNER won Men’s Singles gold in Barcelona in 1992 and Men’s Singles silver in Sydney eight years later. He beat in the Barcelona final Jean-Philippe GATIEN of France who, in Sydney, secured Men’s Doubles bronze with Patrick CHILA. World’s no. 11 Vladimir SAMSONOV will be third ranked European on duty in Paris. Three times European singles title winner experienced his World Championship high in Manchester 1997, when he has clinched the silver medal. At the very same place Adrian CRISAN of Romania has his debut, before he reached his best performance at the World Championships in Osaka and Paris. On both occasions he reached the Round of 16. He is also one of Europe’s major challengers in the men’s events. Marcos FREITAS is Portugal’s leading player, the 25 year old stands at no.23 on the Men’s World Rankings. In Paris another record will be set. In Paris jean Michel SAIVE will be making his 22nd appearance in a World Championships; his debut was in Tokyo in 1983 and ever since he has been present in the colours of Belgium.  

The 2013 Mondial Ping comes in the present tense . It is very pleasant to see. The first rallies will begin on Monday morning, May 13th, with the qualifying rounds: a preliminary phase involving 340 players. The competition will soon give results. But no , The 2013 Mondial Ping comes in the present tense . It is very pleasant to see. The first rallies will begin on Monday morning, May 13th, with the qualifying rounds: a preliminary phase involving 340 players. The competition will soon give results. But no need to guess the future in stars, Ping enthusiasts can already rub their hands. The fortunate coincidence of the draw could offer them high standard matches even before the finals. The public in the Bercy arena could attend a fraticide duel in the men’s third round between ZHANG Jike and FAN Zhendong : the world champion on the one hand and his alter ego among juniors. A generation clash which will be worth watching. The elder, ZHANG Jike will start the tournament unaffected. “I am very happy to come back to Paris. I won the World Cup in 2011” he explained in the City hall lounges, “Being ranked number 4 in the competition is not a problem. What matters is to win it.” A similar scenario is expected in the women’s singles. Unless something surprising occurs and it is always possible in a world championship, one of the semi finals could make the world champion, the chinese player ,DING Ning, meet her fellow countrywoman LI Xiaoxia who won a gold medal last year in London. Just like her fellow countryman, DING Ning, showed self confidence : “I have trained today , the arena is superb. I feel quite good. I hope to play well in Paris.“ What about the French players ? Adrien MATTENET, ranked number 1 in France, could meet the Iranian player, Noshad ALANIYAN, in the 2nd round , a left-hand atypical player, a good server and often dangerous but the task can be achieved. It seems to be going well for Damien ELOI and Emmanuel LEBESSON. But Stéphane HUCLIEZ, the french team manager, warns :“Before thinking of what comes next in the competition, the players will have to concentrate on the first round. They will have to fight and at that level nothing is simple.” Ten years after the great success of the 2003 event, the world table tennis elite comes back to Bercy. A come back in the most prestigious Parisian Sports arena. Adham SHARARA, the ITTF chairman is glad about it : “After the huge success of 2003, I had said 3 times thank you: for the enthusiastic public and the sponsors, for the FFTT which got the right to organize and for the perfect organization itself. Today I hope to say thank you at least ten times.” Christian PALIERNE, the President of the French Table Tennis Association (FFTT) appreciated. Less than 48 hours before the start of the competition, the French President presented his expectations : “As for the organizing committee , the desire to make it a success is similar to what the athletes can feel. We hope that this will be the start of a long story for table tennis in France. “ French table tennis managers are not the only ones to show ambition and enthusiasm 2 days before the start of the World Championships. Liliane CAPELLE, Paris Deputy Mayor expressed her commitment to the event : “Ping Pong is a popular sport and we wanted to follow the impulse by hosting the Mondial. I support all players but I give a particular thought to the French team. “

Whilst we all underlines the last European success in the Men’s Singles Event at the World Championships, a decade long pause is nothing comparing the period in which Europe awaits the title in Women’s Singles. It is almost 60 years since a non-Asian play, Whilst we all underlines the last European success in the Men’s Singles Event at the World Championships, a decade long pause is nothing comparing the period in which Europe awaits the title in Women’s Singles. It is almost 60 years since a non-Asian player has raised big trophy. The last to succeed was the late Angelica ROZEANU of Romania; when she won in Utrecht in 1955, it was her fifth consecutive Women’s Singles title at a World Championships. No player can match that record and it may never be equalled. No difference to previous years Chinese players are hot favorites at the LIEBHERR World Championships to be held in Paris from Monday 13th May to Monday 20th May 2013. World’s no. one, two and three are on the duty in France with reigning World Singles Champion DING Ning leading the pack. The best ranked European on World’s that list is SHEN Yanfei of Spain. Her career reached new high from 2010, after she gave birth to her first child. Despite the fact that she has passed the milestone of her 30th birthday, she played in superb shape in past two seasons. Beside SHEN, placed at position no. seven, among top 10 players at the rankings there are no more European representatives. Next on list is Viktoria PAVLOVICH of Belarus, World’s no. 15. European champion from Ostrava and Denmark will be playing in no less than her 17th World Championships. Speaking about great shape, no one European shines like Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA in past few months. In September 2012 she reached the final of the Volkswagen Women’s World Cup, eventually losing to China’s LIU Shiwen. At the London 2012 Olympic Games, SAMARA entered proceedings in the second round of the Women’s Singles event; she beat Egypt’s Dina Meshref before upsetting the pecking order by overcoming Hong Kong’s Tie Yana to book her place in round four, where LI Jiao of the Netherlands ended progress. LI Jiao will also play in Paris and among Europeans are also Iveta VACENOVSKA of Czech Republic, LIU Jia of Austria, WU Jiaduo of Germany, Matilda EKHOLM of Sweden…

The wait is almost over, the LIEBHERR World Table Tennis Championships is about to begin in Paris, France. The 52nd edition of the world’s premier table tennis event will be held in the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, from 13-20 May 2013. A record, The wait is almost over, the LIEBHERR World Table Tennis Championships is about to begin in Paris, France. The 52nd edition of the world’s premier table tennis event will be held in the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, from 13-20 May 2013. A record 463 men and 360 women from 130 countries have made the trip to the French capital to contest the five gold medals on offer – men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. ITTF President Adham SHARARA stated: “We are back in Paris ten years after the great success of the World Championships in 2003. We are in the same venue again, a nostalgic feeling for sure, but a big change. This year we will see an all-time record in the number of participants. It would seem that our member associations have a great appetite for World Championships. May the best Man and Women win. Paris, here we come!” The Chinese has named a full-strength team, and are looking to defend the whitewash of titles they won at the 2011 World Table Tennis Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Individual events and team events alternate on an annual basis; in Paris both ZHANG Jike and DING Ning will defend their respective Men’s and Women’s Singles titles won two years ago in Rotterdam. Chinese teammates XU Xin and MA Long, world ranked no.1 and no.2 respectively, are principal contenders with ZHANG Jike struggling for form. “I am not really concerned of being the top seed”, said XU Xin gaining the position in the draw for the first time in his career. “The world ranking is just about placements, it is not enough to give you good results; so I still adopt a lower profile and have a positive attitude to fight.” Germany’s Timo BOLL and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV alongside Japan’s Jun MIZUTANI head the challenge to Chinese supremacy. Undoubtedly all eyes will focus on DING Ning, the World no.1 as she seeks to gain revenge for the disappointment of losing to Chinese national team colleague, LI Xiaoxia in last year’s Olympic final. LI Xiaoxia is the no.3 seed in Paris behind LIU Shiwen, also from China. Major challengers from outside China in the Women’s Singles event are Singapore’s FENG Tianwei and Spain’s SHEN Yanfei; both have enjoyed consistently good results in the past year. Playing in a World Championships is for many, a dream come true and playing in just one fulfils that dream; for Belgium’s Jean-Michel SAIVE, the dream goes on and on. In Paris he will be playing in a record 22nd consecutive World Championships, a voyage that started in 1988 and shows no signs of stopping. From the 43-year-old Belgium legend to the 11 year old wonder kid Kamila MASHANLOEVA from Kyrgyzstan, the 52nd World Championships promises to have it all.

Four-time English National Champion Paul DRINKHALL has been ruled out of the Liebherr 2013 World Table Tennis Championships in Paris, France. The 23-year-old, who recently lost his English crown to 19-year-old Liam PITCHFORD, has had to withdraw from the , Four-time English National Champion Paul DRINKHALL has been ruled out of the Liebherr 2013 World Table Tennis Championships in Paris, France. The 23-year-old, who recently lost his English crown to 19-year-old Liam PITCHFORD, has had to withdraw from the prestigious tournament next week due to a hip injury. The English no. 2 will now seek treatment and will not be entered into the World Championships as a precaution. It’s an unfortunate end to the season for the English star who has seen his Bundesliga side, Werder Bremen, reach the final of the German league play-offs where they will face PITCHFORD’s TTF Liebherr Ochenhausen in Frankfurt on June 2nd. England squads for World Table Tennis Championships (Paris, France 13-20th May 2012) Men: Liam PITCHFORD and Sam WALKER Women: Joanna PARKER, Kelly SIBLEY and Karina Le FEVRE Coaches: Jia Yi LIU, Alan COOKE and Nick JARVIS