The fourth day of the Chinese national team’s week-long training at the Werner SCHLAGER Academy in Schwechat Austria just prior to the LIEBHERR World Team Championships in the table-tennis-rich Dortmund Germany on 25th March proved as intriguing
UMMC’s comeback seals all-Russian final
When you believe in yourself everything is possible! UMMC reached its very first European Champions League final defeating Saarbrucken 3:0 (9:3) in semi final rematch at its soil. Germans won 3:0 (9:5) in first leg as French champion Levallois did in q
Eight days at full throttle in Dortmund
Even the first phase of the World Championships to be held from 25th March to 1st April will be tremendously important for the German team. Based on February’s world rankings list the DTTB contingent is placed as Group B leader directly behind the top fa Even the first phase of the World Championships to be held from 25th March to 1st April will be tremendously important for the German team. Based on February’s world rankings list the DTTB contingent is placed as Group B leader directly behind the top favourite China (Group A). On top form they could avoid a Semi-Final against China. As winners of preliminary groups A and B the two leading teams on the world ranking list would be automatically separated for the subsequent Last 16 final knock-out round one at Position 1 in the upper half and the other at Position 16 in the lower half. Although Timo BOLL joked after the draw in Dortmund on 22 February that “I would not have wanted the difficult Chinese group “ the record European Champion does not face the first five assignments in the tournament lightly. “We can not complain about the draw but it is not a walkover. Now it is up to us how well we do. We saw at the European Champions how dangerous Portugal can be for us. Singapore has more good people whom we do not know yet. We must also keep an eye on Spain the Czech Republic and Serbia. We know them very well but no match sells itself.“ The star player who came second at the Moscow World Championships awaits these World Championships eagerly after turning down an extensive competition programme in favour of targeted preparations in the run up to the event. He had to drop out of his planned “preparation tournament” the German Championships at the beginning of March because of a pulled tendon in the left shoulder. However in the same weekend he gave the all-clear: “I am optimistic that I will be able to play in Dortmund and even approach it in good form”. The No. 6 seed doesn’t believe that lack of match practice will affect his form. “I am the sort of person who can grow during a tournament. There are many matches at the World Championships. I will adapt to the level of play very quickly! At the World Championships in Moscow two years ago I was also wobbly at the beginning. At first in the match against Spain and CANTERO then I lost to MIZUTANI for the first time. Then I played a strong match against China in the Final and won against MA Long who as best player that year had not be beaten in a long time.“ Nobody in the German team speaks of winning the title despite the great example set by Doubles team Jorg ROSSKOPF / Steffen FETZNER with their sensational 1989 gold medal win. The hurdles seem too high. China has lost just four out of 15 of the World Championship Men’s tournaments in the last 31 years (1989 1991 1993 und 2000) – and only to the legendary Swedish team. The DTTB will try to pose an even greater challenge than they did during the tightly fought 1:3 at Moscow in 2010. The foundations seem to be there: Timo BOLL came third at the 2011 World Championships with Dimitrij OVTCHAROV a second German made the leap into the Top Ten and the Europe Top 12 winner was the first player since Boll to beat China’s superstar WANG Hao at the World Team Cup in Magdeburg. OVTCHAROV: “At last I have beaten one of the top Chinese players. That was important and I hope that I will now do it more often.” This is the point on which Christian SUSS bases their minimal outside chance against the Chinese: “We have to earn points with Timo but at least one more of our team must win as well. At the Moscow Finals I had an opportunity against ZHANG Jike. If the Chinese give up a second point and know that they have to face Timo once more they will get nervous.” Jorg ROSSKOPF will be spoilt for choice in the match schedule. Behind the uncontested top pairing of Boll and Ovtcharov come three players who rank together: SUSS who was injured for almost six months in 2011. German Champion Bastian STEGER who plays at a continuously high level and the occasionally brilliant but unstable European Championship second Patrick BAUM. ROSSKOPF comments: “You need a good bank of players for a long World Championships with many matches and we have that.” The promising young talent Patrick FRANZISKA will follow the World Championships in the background . The 19 year old 2010 European Youth Champion is among the extended contingent as a substitute. Admittedly the hosts themselves number among those being hunted and cannot in any way be sure of reaching the Final. South Korea and Japan are the two rivals mentioned most often as likely to try to prevent a duel between China and Germany. ROSSKOPF views the World Championships with the cool head of a sportsman who has encountered all the highs and lows of a World Championships before: “A bronze medal in Dortmund would be a success but we will do our utmost to reach the Final. China remains the gold medal favourite though.“ ROSSKOPF still has an enormous number of fans who have much bigger dreams. They hope nothing less than that in Dortmund on 1 April 2012 their idol 42 year old Coach Jorg ROSSKOPF will complete the circle he started on 8 April 1989 when as a player he became World Champion at the age of 19. (courtesy DTTB) Photo: Timo BOLL (Photo Roscher)
European Qualification Tournament: 126 players in Luxembourg
European Qualification Tournament for the Olympic Games will be held in Luxemburg on 11 to 15 April 2012. Like in 2003 the tournament will be held in the “Centre National Sportif & Culturel” in Luxemburg-Kirchberg. The list of participants is closed
Pera Athens and D.A.O. Taurus Greek league champions
The AS Pera Athens in men and D.A.O. Taurus in women emerged victoriously in A1 national league in Greece for the season 2011-2012. The event concluded on Sunday at the Peace and Friendship Stadium but the only the women’s finale brought some suspense. T The AS Pera Athens in men and D.A.O. Taurus in women emerged victoriously in A1 national league in Greece for the season 2011-2012. The event concluded on Sunday at the Peace and Friendship Stadium but the only the women’s finale brought some suspense. The D.A.O. Taurus suffered its first defeat against the Phoenix Piraeus 4-2. Two teams tied for the top of the standings was in between games of a victory by the same score and measured the set. Taurus team prevailed 24-22 and won the championship for the first time in their history. The team formed by young girls Katerina TOLIOU Alice KIOUFI Eleni GEORGIADOU and coach is Alex ARSENIADIS.. Note that the trophy remained in the Table Tennis Taurus after he won the championship last year while the other team of the same clubs P.K.D. Taurus. In the men’s A1 the team of Pera Athens was not a big threat. They recorded the ultimate successes in 16 matches regained the leadership lost last year by the AO Tatavla and reached the 16th title in the first category. The team is formed by Kostas PAPAGEORGIOU Kostas LAGOGIANNIS and Lefteris MAKRAS. Also John VLOTINOS celebrated his first title as coach. The AO Tatavla was not as strong as the preview year after the departure of Dimitri PAPADIMITRIOU for Germany however came in second place losing only from Pera. DAO Taurus relegated to the second category in men (sent off from the championship with two zero) and Olympiakos in women. Staying in the category will compete in races with the barrage of second and third team of A2. Are AS The Gumnasio and PKD Taurus in men PKD Taurus and the Foinikes Patras in women. Also the first four teams of A1 have the right to participate to ETTU Cup of the next season. THE FINAL STANDINGS IN MEN A1 1. AS Pera Athens 32; 2. AO Tatavla 30; 3. AO Pefkis 28; 4. AO Amphitheas 24; 5. OA Chania 24; 6. AO Heraklion 2001 21; 7. GS Filia Orestiada 21; 8. PKD Taurus 20; 9. AS The Gymnasio 16 THE FINAL STANDINGS IN WOMEN A1 1. D.A.O. Taurus 27 (1-1 match 24-22 set) 2. Phoenix St. Sophia 27 (1-1 22-24) 3. AS Pera Athens 23 4. SA Athena Magkoufanas 23 5. YMCA of Thessaloniki 19; 6. Foinikes Patras 17; 7. P.K.D. Taurus 16 (2-0); 8. Olympia?os SFP 16 (0-2). Photo: Kostas PAPAGEORGIOU
Iraq Junior and Cadet Open: winners secure Top-10 standings
Success at the Iraq Junior and Cadet Open in Sulaimaniyah sees Iran’s Seyed Pourya OMRANI and Sweden’s Kristina ZETTERSTRÖM clinch top ten places on the ITTF Junior Circuit Standings published by the International Table Tennis Federation on Su Success at the Iraq Junior and Cadet Open in Sulaimaniyah sees Iran’s Seyed Pourya OMRANI and Sweden’s Kristina ZETTERSTRÖM clinch top ten places on the ITTF Junior Circuit Standings published by the International Table Tennis Federation on Sunday. Winner of the Junior Boys’ Singles title 16 year old Seyed Pourya OMRANI enters the list at no.7; whilst Helena ZETTERSTRÖM one year older climbs no less than 50 places. Formerly at no.57 she is now at no.5. Singapore’s ZHOU Yihan continues to lead the Junior Boys’ Standings with Hungary’s Adam SZUDI retaining second place ahead of Chinese HUNG Tzu-Hsiang Japan’s Asuka MACHI Hong Kong’s CHIU Chung-Hei and Yuto HIGASHI also from Japan. None of the six players ahead of Seyed Pourya OMRANI was present in Iraq. Meanwhile on the Junior Girls’ Standings the players ahead of Kristina ZETTERSTRÖM are Singapore’s ZHOU Yihan and LIN Yee who occupy the top two respective positions with Marina BERHO of France in third place and Croatia’s Lea RAKOVAC fourth. Noticeable progress for Kristina ZETTERSTRÖM and it is the same for her compatriot the player she beat in the final at the Iraq Junior and Cadet Open. Formerly level with Helena ZETTERSTRÖM in 57th place Maria ENGELSON ascends to the no.8 spot. The top 16 boys and top 16 girls on the ITTF Junior Circuit Standings at the end of the year’s programme qualify for the Finals. However the list must include one player from each continent – Africa Asia Europe Latin America North America Oceania – and one player from the host nation. The finals are planned for January 2013 at a location to be announced. Leading Places – Boys: 1. XIN Zhaoxu (SIN) 2. SZUDI Adam (HUN) 3. HUNG Tzu-Hsiang (TPE) & MACHI Asuka (JPN) 5. CHIU Chung Hei (HKG) 6. HIGASHI Yuto (JPN) 7. OMRANI Seyed Pourya (IRI) 8. REITSPIES David (CZE) 9. FUCEC Luka (CRO) 10. QIU Liang (GER) 11. PUCAR Tomislav (CRO) 12. CALDERANO Hugo (BRA) Girls: 1. ZHOU Yihan (SIN) 2. LIN Ye SIN) 3. BERHO Marina (FRA) & RAKOVAC Lea (CRO) 5. ZETTERSTRÖM Kristina (SWE) 6. LI Ching Wan (HKG) 7. PFEFER Laura (FRA) 8. ENGELSON Maria (SWE) 9. KRAFT Theresa (GER) 10. BALINT Bernadett (ROU) & GUSEVA Ekaterina (RUS) 12. ADAMKOVA Karin (CZE). (courtesy ITTF) Photo: Hungary’s Adam SZUDI (courtesy ITTF)
Iraq Junior and Cadet Open: Kristina ZETTERSTRÖM won the title
Iran’s Seyed Pourya OMRANI and Sweden’s Kristina ZETTERSTRÖM won the respective Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ Singles titles at the Iraq Junior and Cadet Open Championships. In Sulaimaniyah both teenagers started proceedings as th Iran’s Seyed Pourya OMRANI and Sweden’s Kristina ZETTERSTRÖM won the respective Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ Singles titles at the Iraq Junior and Cadet Open Championships. In Sulaimaniyah both teenagers started proceedings as the favourites being the top seeds both thoroughly justified that billing; at the final hurdle both recorded straight games victories against compatriots. Seyed Pourya OMRANI 16 years old beat Mohammadali ROUINTANESFAHANI (11-9 13-11 11-8 11-9); whilst Kristina ZETTERSTRÖM accounted for Maria ENGELSON in a similarly impressive manner (11-4 11-6 11-6 11-7). The Junior Girls’ Singles success gave 17 year old Kristina ZETTERSTRÖM a hat-trick of titles in a tournament that was dominated by Sweden. Earlier in the proceedings she won the Junior Girls’ Team and Junior Girls’ Doubles titles with 16 year old Maria ENGELSON to become one of two Swedish players to collect three titles in Sulaimaniyah. Simon BERGLUND 14 years old won the Cadet Boys’ Team and Cadet Boys’ Doubles events with Hannes IWARSSON before concluding matters by securing the Cadet Boys’ Singles crown. Three titles for Simon BERGLUND and two for compatriots Elias RANEFUR and Jonas STENER. They joined forces to win both the Junior Boys’ Team and Cadet Boys’ Team titles. (courtesy ITTF) Photo: Helena ZETTERSTRÖM (courtesy ITTF)
Fenerbahce girls ousted Cartagena
UCAM Cartagena beat Fenerbahce in Spain but it was “swan song” for the club from Spain. Turkey’s club progressed to the final despite the defeat in the full distance thriller played in return leg; their convincing performance in the previous encounter gav
Orenburg-Chartres 3:2 Russians from 0:2 to new final
Excellent very dramatical game was seen in Orenburzje Sport Palace in front of 3.500 spectators. Orenburg had an advantage from first semi final leg of ECL (3:2) but Chartres had atomic start having 2:0 lead after two encounters and above that Robert
SCHLAGER organized ideal preparations for adversaries
Winner of the Men’s Singles title at the LIEBHERR World Table Tennis Championship in the Parisien suburb of Bercy in May 2003 when causing China intense pain by beating defending title holder WANG Liqin and the reigning Olympic champion KONG Lingh Winner of the Men’s Singles title at the LIEBHERR World Table Tennis Championship in the Parisien suburb of Bercy in May 2003 when causing China intense pain by beating defending title holder WANG Liqin and the reigning Olympic champion KONG Linghui Austria’s Werner SCHLAGER is now playing an integral role in China’s preparations for major global events. Opened in early 2011 in the Vienna suburb of Schwechat the organisation which bears his name the WERNER SCHLAGER ACADEMY (WSA) has welcomed players from over one hundred countries in a period of just over one year. Notably prior to the GAC GROUP World Championships staged in Rotterdam in May 2011 the Chinese National Team spent one week training in the state-of-art premises afforded by the WERNER SCHLAGER ACADEMY. The preparation proved ideal; China won every title on offer and provided all the finalists in every event! One year later in preparation for the LIEBHERR World Team Championships to be staged in the German city of Dortmund from Sunday 25th May to Sunday 1st April 2012 the Chinese have returned to the WERNER SCHLAGER ACADEMY. A 30 strong party of players coaches physiotherapists doctors and officials arrived on Friday 16th March 2012; they will practise at the WERNER SCHLAGER ACADEMY for one week departing for Dortmund on Thursday 22nd March. “It is a great pleasure and honour for the WSA that the Chinese national team again has chosen our facilities for their World Championships preparations” said Werner SCHLAGERr who may well prove to be one of their main adversaries in Dortmund. Austria like China competes in the Men’s Team Championship Division. (courtesy ITTF) Photo: Wener SCHLAGER (Photo Roscher)
