The most exciting MECL season is behind us, as unique final decided by such a narrow margin. Orenburg clinched its second title in a row being just four points ahead of Chartres – 3:1, 1:3 (16:16 in sets, 315:311). Just two more finals could be compared b, The most exciting MECL season is behind us, as unique final decided by such a narrow margin. Orenburg clinched its second title in a row being just four points ahead of Chartres – 3:1, 1:3 (16:16 in sets, 315:311). Just two more finals could be compared by this one. The inaugural one, in 1998/99, when Caen Tennis de Table beat Borussia Dusseldorf (4:3, 3:4, 20:18) and in seventh edition, when TTV RE-BAU Gönnern managed to overcame Royal Villette Charleroi (1:3, 3:1, 18:13). And what in common thing all three finals have? The answer is: Vladimir SAMSONOV! If you want to see Men’s European Champions League history, you just need to look at great Bielorussian and understand his nickname – Mr. ECL. He started in opening chapter, wearing Borussia`s jersey in 1998/99. And he is still here. Last Friday he became 10th time European champion (2 Cup of Champions and 8 MECL. First three he took with Borussia (1997, 1998, 2000), next five with Charleroi (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007) and last two with Fakel Gazproma Orenburg (2012, 2013). SAMSONOV (7-5 score in 2012/13 MECL season) is now just one title from former Soviet Union woman player Uljana SEMJONOVA (213 cm) who is Champions League’s record holder in all sports and all competitions (man and women). Second best TT result belongs to Jorg ROSSKOPF who was eight times continental champion (6 with Borussia and 2 with Gonnern). Italian basketball legend Dino MENEGHIN (5 with Varese and 2 with Milano) and famous Spanish handball goalkeeper David BARUFFET (all seven with Barcelona) have seven titles each. The 2012/13 MECL season will be remembered also by very confident play of reigning champion Orenburg: all three players participated in all ten games (9-1 team’s score). Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (11-5) did an excellent job in first final leg, beating GAO Ning and Par GERELL, while Alexey SMIRNOV (10-1) is the best no.3 MECL player for years (in one match he was posted on no. 2). Regarding to individual performances, this season belonged to Chartres` GAO Ning (12-1). Just OVTCHAROV managed to beat him (in five games). Singaporean had fantastic four wins in a row, from quarter finals to semi finals, defeating four medalists from last two European championships – Saarbrucken`s Bojan TOKIC and Bastian STEGER and Borussia`s Timo BOLL and Patrick BAUM. Having an impressive 12-0 set ratio in these four matches. Chartres must be considered as the biggest surprise, while it’s clear that Borussia and UMMC didn’t reach their aims. Other French side, AS Pontoise also had season to remember, playing its very first MECL semis. It will be interesting to see who can prevent Orenburg to reach its third title in a row in 2013/14 season. In MECL era, just two clubs did it: Charleroi (4) and Borussia (3).
2013-2014 MECL entry forms are available now
Men`s European Champions League Entry forms are available, accompanied by preliminary information for upcoming season. The event is open to any team from top European National Leagues. The clubs are kindly requested to read the regulations and the directi, Men`s European Champions League Entry forms are available, accompanied by preliminary information for upcoming season. The event is open to any team from top European National Leagues. The clubs are kindly requested to read the regulations and the directives carefully and fill the forms as accurately as possible. All six names must be entered on the entry form which has to be filled by computer. Dead line is 31st May 2013. Click here to read/download all related documents
Favorites prevailed in Standard Division
Favourites justified their status after second round of tournaments in the Standard Division of the JOOLA European Championships qualifications. Top ranked teams who has erned that position after first round of battles in their respective groups, conclud, Favourites justified their status after second round of tournaments in the Standard Division of the JOOLA European Championships qualifications. Top ranked teams who has erned that position after first round of battles in their respective groups, concluded the competition this weekend at the same place they started the tournaments – at the top. Roodt-sur-Syre in Louxembourg hosted A Group with Ukraine, Norway, Finland, Kosovo and host nation’s team. Ukraine’s team came in great chape. Oleksandr DIDUKH, Ivan KATKOV, Yevhen PRYSHCHEPA all showed powerfull performance against their adversaries. In Blegny, in Group B Belgium shined in front of home crowd. Even legendary Jean-Michel SAIVE played against Lithuania. In the team were also Cedric NUYTINCK, Robin DEVOS, Julien INDEHERBERG. They succeeded against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, Switzerlend and Azerbaijan. In Women’s Standard Division in Group A played in Schwechat, Austria left no hope to the players on the other side of the net. Nicole GALITSCHITSCH, Karoline MISCHEK, Sofia POLCANOVA, Melanie LUGINGER faced only few obstacles in the duel against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but easily prevailed against Azerbaijan and Kosovo. In Otocec another team made their fans proud. Slovenia with Jana TOMAZINI, Manca FAJMUT, Zala VERONIK and Nina ZUPANCIC secured top positin with victories over Switzerland, Norway and Finland.
Petra LOVAS joins SVS STRÖCK
Austria’s women table tennis champion SVS STRÖCK, who had an incredible bad luck and due to injury of key players failed to succeed in the semifinals of the European Champions League against the title winner Linz Froschberg, has begun the rebuilding of th, Austria’s women table tennis champion SVS STRÖCK, who had an incredible bad luck and due to injury of key players failed to succeed in the semifinals of the European Champions League against the title winner Linz Froschberg, has begun the rebuilding of the team for the upcoming season. The alteration was and is necessary because Austrian team player LI Qiangbing is expecting her first child in August and the date of her return to the professional table tennis is still uncertain. In addition, the Japanese Yuki NONAKA is leaving SVS STRÖCK towards Japanese professional league and Aya UMEMURA will from next season no longer be active as a player coach, but focus solely on her activity as a trainer at the Werner SCHLAGER Academy and as a trainer of SVS STRÖCK. Petra LOVAS moved from TTC Berlin Eastside to Lower Austria. Lovas in Berlin dress previously stayed unbeaten both in the ETTU Cup quarter-final 2010/2011 against SVS STRÖCK and in the Champions League final 2011/2012. Now Petra Lovas is pleased with the new challenge in Austria: “A great new task for me. SVS STRÖCK is one of the top names in European table tennis and I am convinced that we will celebrate great achievements with the club.” Petra LOVAS (32 years) is currently No. 69 in the world rankings and has been for more then a decade the star of the Hungarian national team. She is a multiple Hungarian champion and has won several team medals at the European Championships with the Hungarian team. “Petra LOVAS will not be the only new face at SVS STRÖCK for next season. Negotiations with other top players are currently under way,” said WSA CEO/ SVS STRÖCK Manager Martin SÖRÖS.
Fenerbahce did it again
In front of 850 spectators in Sporthall Osir in Tarnobrzeg, Turkish team clinched the victory in the second leg of the Women’s ETTU Cup final. Turkish Fenerbahce secured the second title in the row by beating Tarnobrzeg in straight matches. In first, In front of 850 spectators in Sporthall Osir in Tarnobrzeg, Turkish team clinched the victory in the second leg of the Women’s ETTU Cup final. Turkish Fenerbahce secured the second title in the row by beating Tarnobrzeg in straight matches. In first leg they won 3:1. On the other side, again, for fourth time KTS Zamek Tarnobrzeg remained at the position of runner up as they were in ETTU Cup in 2008, 2009 and 2010. HU Melek secured the valuable advantage for guests by beating HAN Ying in superb style. Renata STRBIKOVA gave hosts moments of hope after 2:1 advantage, but European singles champion, Viktoria PAVLOVICH was once again at the top of the game. She recovered to level and to take decisive game 11:6. The final set was routine for JIA Jun, despite very narrow margin. KTS Zamek Tarnobrzeg – Fenerbahce Sport Kulubu 0:3 HAN Ying – HU Melek 0:3 (6:11, 6:11, 12:14) Renáta ŠTRBÍKOVÁ – Viktoria PAVLOVICH 2:3 (11:7,5:11, 12:10, 9:11, 6:11) JIA Jun – ZHOU Fang Fang 0:3 (10:12, 9:11, 9:11)
French Championships: favorites already out in Agen
Main favorites for title at the 2013 French National Championships are already out, before the main battles started. In the Round of 16, seeded no. one Adrien MATTENET and no. two Emmanuel LEBESSON departed the arena defeated. After fierce battle in seve, Main favorites for title at the 2013 French National Championships are already out, before the main battles started. In the Round of 16, seeded no. one Adrien MATTENET and no. two Emmanuel LEBESSON departed the arena defeated. After fierce battle in seven games Benjamin BROSSIER beat MATTENET. For the place in the quarter final tomorrow he will play against Stephane OUACHE. On the lower part of the drawLucian FILIMON acconted at LEBESSON in another seven game thriller. In next round the winner will meet Thomas LE BRETON. In Women’s Singles events favorites still holds the situation under control. XUE Li beat Rheann CHUNG in the opening round and tomorrow she will meet Sarah BERGE. YUAN Jianan, seeded no. two also needed only four games to secured the passage to Round of 8. She beat Marine ZANARDI and for the place in the quarters sghe will play against Stephanie LOEUILLETTE.
UMMC completed great Russian day
In Verkhnaya Pyshma UMMC sealed another victory. Russia’s club beat Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk from Poland to clinch the title in the ETTU Cup. New champions succeeded in both legs of the final. Today HOU Yingchao added another victory to his impressive reco, In Verkhnaya Pyshma UMMC sealed another victory. Russia’s club beat Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk from Poland to clinch the title in the ETTU Cup. New champions succeeded in both legs of the final. Today HOU Yingchao added another victory to his impressive record n ETTU Cup. HOU gave the hosts dream start with the straight games victory over Pawel FERTIKOWSKI. Daniel GORAK was close to level the game in the duel against Grigori VLASOV. In previous leg Polish player succeeded in straight games, but this time he only managed to stretch Russia’s player to full distance. GORAK recovered from 2:0 in reverse to level, but in the decisive moments VLASOV showed more. “After Daniel GORAK has beaten me in the first final match in Poland, I tried my best to revenge. In today’s match I received the service well and I think that was the key factor in my victory over Daniel. I was happy to give such necessary point to my team,” said VLASOV. Robert FLORAS prevented hosts to conclude the duel in straight matches and he beat Alexander SHIBAEV, but afther that HOU was once again at the top of the game. Daniel GORAK suffered in straight games. Tatyana KUTERGINA, UMMC coach said: “We were waiting for this success for such a long time! This was not easy, and now we are so happy to win the trophy. UMMC had a huge problems with team this season. Injuries of Michael MAZE, Alexander SHIBAEV, and finally Ruiwu TAN had weakened our strength. But guys had a will to win such strong adversaries in a beautiful game.” UMMC – Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk 3:1 HOU Yingchao – Pawel FERTIKOWSKI 3:0 (11:2, 11:3, 11:7) Grigori VLASOV – Daniel GORAK 3:2 (11:6, 11:6, 8:11, 6:11, 11:6) Alexander SHIBAEV – Robert FLORAS 1:3 (11:7, 6:11, 9:11, 9:11) HOU Yingchao – Daniel GORAK 3: 0 (11:5, 11:5, 12:10)
Orenburg clinched new title by four points
Russian Fakel Gazproma Orenburg reached its second Men’s European Champions League title in a row, despite they lost from Chartres ASTT 3:1 on its soil in the rematch of the 2012/13 final. Over 4,500 spectators witnessed maybe most exciting MECL final eve, Russian Fakel Gazproma Orenburg reached its second Men’s European Champions League title in a row, despite they lost from Chartres ASTT 3:1 on its soil in the rematch of the 2012/13 final. Over 4,500 spectators witnessed maybe most exciting MECL final ever and table tennis again showed its lovely characteristic – unpredictability! After 3:1 (10:7 in sets) away win in first game, Russian champion was 99 % favorite, but in the rematch they clinched new MECL crown by a narrow margin, losing 3:1 (9:6). After all, Orenburg was just two points ahead of Chartres – 315:311. Despite all bad predictions for Chartres, guests moved their self very close to their first MECL title. Everything looked like last year’s semis, when Orenburg won away clash 3:2 but lost first two individual games in the returning leg. Alexey SMIRNOV was the salvor that time and he again showed his big importance for the Fakel Gazproma. In opening match Robert GARDOS defeated Dimitrij OVTCHAROV, the hero of the first leg. Austrian did it in four games, making first of two decisive steps in late third set. German had four consecutive set balls, but despite his famous serve, guest returned very well to came from 13:14 to 16:14. In next set Austrian was faced with new set balls of his rival (8:10) but took four in a row (12:10) bringing first point to Chartres. GAO Ning again beat Vladimir SAMSONOV, this time in five sets. Great Byelorussian, who reached his record 10th European title, missed two match balls (10:8) in fourth set. As always on 3rd table, former Euro Top-12 winner Alexey SMIRNOV did his job successfully, although he was under enormous pressure. He easily beat Swede Par GERELL. The situation was clear and exciting before game no. 4 – OVTCHAROV needed one set to bring the title to the host, while GAO must won 3:0 but keeping long distance from the host in the same time. Before that clash Russian side was 15 points ahead. Singaporean led 6:2 in third set, but German managed to collect enough points for his team. Fakel Gazproma Orenburg – Chartres ASTT 1:3 (6:9) Dimitrij OVTCHAROV – Robert GARDOS 1:3 (10:12, 11:5, 14:16, 10:12) Vladimir SAMSONOV – GAO Ning 2:3 (9:11, 11:9, 11:6, 10:12, 7:11) Alexey SMIRNOV – Par GERELL 3:0 (11:8, 11:7, 11:7) Dimitrij OVTCHAROV – GAO Ning 0:3 (7:11, 7:11, 6:11) CHARTRES FROM GROUP TO THE FINAL (7-2 SCORE): Group B Chartres – El Nino 3:0 3:0 Chartres – Ochsenhausen 3:2 3:1 Quarter final Chartres – Saarbrucken 3:2 3:1 Semi final Chartres – Borusia 3:1 (11:5) 1:3 (5:9) Final Chartres – Orenburg 1:3 (7:10), ….. ORENBURG FROM GROUP TO THE FINAL (9-0 SCORE) Group A Orenburg – Saarbrucken 3:1 3:0 Orenburg – Hennebont 3:0 3:1 Quarter final Orenburg – Ochsenhausen 3:1 3:0 Semi final Orenburg – Pontoise 3:0 3:2 Final Orenburg – Chartres 3:1 1:3
Standard Division’s leaders on inside track
The duels of the second round in the Standard Division of the JOOLA European Teams Championships Qualifications are scheduled for this weekend. Ukraine is the leading team in Group A after first round matches played in Baerum/Oslo. They succeeded in all f, The duels of the second round in the Standard Division of the JOOLA European Teams Championships Qualifications are scheduled for this weekend. Ukraine is the leading team in Group A after first round matches played in Baerum/Oslo. They succeeded in all four matches and in all four occasions they recorded 3:0 win. Now Luxembourg’s Roodt-sur-Syre will host second round matches. At the opening day Norway will play against hosts and Kosovo, Finland will play against Kosovo and Luxembourg, as well as Ukraine. Norway is currently second at the standings, followed by Finland, Luxembourg and Kosovo with all four defeats. In Group B Belgium recorded all five victories in Erquelinnes in October. Now in Blegny (Belgium), they have to defend their position in matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, Switzerland, Montenegro and Azerbaijan. Once again Schwechat will host national teams. This time Group A in Standard Division – Women will be played in Austria. Host nation is the leader at the standings in front of Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. The leader in Group B, Slovenia took the opportunity to organize tournament in Otocec. They won all matches in previous round in superb style. Now they will face Switzerland, Norway, Finland and Montenegro once again.
Bogoria promised big fight once more
Polish Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk will travel to Verkhnaya Pyshma for a second leg of the ETTU Cup final. UMMC has advantage after the opening round. They won by narrow margin. The hero of the match was But HOU Yiagchao. HOU overcame Robert FLORAS and latte, Polish Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk will travel to Verkhnaya Pyshma for a second leg of the ETTU Cup final. UMMC has advantage after the opening round. They won by narrow margin. The hero of the match was But HOU Yiagchao. HOU overcame Robert FLORAS and latter succeeded against Daniel GÓRAK to level the score second time in the match. “Daniel GÓRAK played unbelievable two sets against HOU. He was dominating the Chinese and finished rallies with very fast and confident topspin attacks. He was able to maintain such high level of playing also in third and fourth set but HOU also increased his level point by point. In the third GÓRAK led 9-8 and in the fourth 9-6. Bogoria was just two points away from the victory. But HOU showed his great skills, stayed patience and leveled the match. In the fifth set after many GÓRAK’S unforced errors there was only one UMMC’s hero”, explained Dawid SZAJNA. Daniel GORAK beat Grigory VLASOV in the opening match, before he lost against HOU. “I felt good through the whole match, even in the fifth set, when i made a lot of mistakes. Possibly my hand did not work and move correctly. Olimpia-Unia Grudziądz won first semi final leg against UMMC, lost second and got eliminated. I hope we will be able to turn it around and win 3:0 or 3:1 in rematch”, said Daniel GÓRAK. UMMC assistant coach Zoran PRIMORAC underlined how close contest it was. “Polish team played unbelievably good. Especially Daniel GÓRAK who deserved to beat HOU, because honestly he was better player. We could have lost 3:1 and decreased our chances to win ETTU Cup to minimum. Fortunately we won 3:2, but every game was close and everything is still open”, admitted Zoran PRIMORAC. Still, there is one more match to go. “We proved that with Polish players in the club can play very good and be dangerous to one of the best teams in Europe. We were close to the victory but we still believe we can achieve ETTU Cup. I am very satisfied of beating European vice champion TAN Rui Wu” added Paweł FERTIKOWSKI. Polish side promised another great match. “We see our chance in our team in the second match. We have to play at higher level than in first leg and we have to stop HOU Yingchao. Chinese star won all six games against Grudziądz and Grodzisk Mazowiecki. He presents defensive style of playing which is very difficult mostly for all players,” said SZAJNA. The club is very satisfied with this season so far. They had made historical result in European cups and they are still fighting for the title in the Polish national championship. Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk won first semi final play-off match 3:0 and look forward to the rematch. “Bogoria is on our road to the fifth gold medal in Polish league.
