Happy World Table Tennis Day! Today April 23rd marks the celebration of our sport around the globe. On this day table tennis clubs players coaches umpires volunteers associations and partners come together to commemorate the sport they love and the camaraderie it fosters. This year the message of World Table Tennis Day is clear: think sustainably act now! It is essential that we all recognize the need for sustainability and take action to preserve our planet. This is a message that resonates not just in sports but in all aspects of our lives. We need to be mindful of the impact our actions have on the environment and take steps to mitigate it. ETTU is committed to sustainability: as one of the objectives in our Strategic Plan for 2023-2028 sustainability is a top priority for us. To promote sustainability among our stakeholders we have put sustainability at the centre of our latest event the European U21 Championships in Sarajevo under the theme: Spin towards Sustainability. During the event we made a conscious effort to be carbon neutral by not using any kind of transportation to move from the hotel to the venue avoiding the use of plastic bottles and discussing among the EB members what steps can be taken to make ETTU more sustainable in the future. It is essential that sports organizations like ETTU take a leadership role in promoting sustainability not only using our platform to reach a broad audience but implementing changes that can have a significant impact. In conclusion on this World Table Tennis Day let us celebrate our love for the sport while also being mindful of the impact we have on our planet. Together we can make a difference and create a better world for future generations Follow the ITTF Foundation 24h Live Stream here.
2024 European Under 21 Championships awarded to North Macedonia
After successful presentation during the European Under 21 Championships in Sarajevo ETTU Executive Board awarded 2024 European Under 21 Championships to North Macedonia Federation. The Championships will be held in Skopje. “Executive Board was impressed by North Macedonia bid to the 2024 U-21 European Championships. We also had a very positive feedback after last month inspection visit confirming hotel and venue are linked avoiding further transportation for participants and complying with ETTU sustainability goals described on our Strategic Plan. While we are trying to bring European table tennis events to all over Europe we very much trust the experience of the North Macedonia Table Tennis Association in organizing international competitions being very confident the 2024 U-21 European Championships will be another ETTU great event ” said ETTU Acting President Pedro MOURA. Table Tennis Federation of North Macedonia works independently since 1991 and in past years has organized a number of International events and regional tournaments such as: Balkan Youth Championships in 2019 ITTF Junior Circuit in 2019 WTT Youth Star Contender in 2022. “After a number of successfully organised Regional and World Youth competitions we clearly intended to present our Association as a credible partner for ETTU. Our aim is to prove ourselves as organizers of big International events with a European touch. We believe that this should be the first interim step ahead of organisation of other big youth and senior Continental events ” said NMTTF President Goran TILOVSKI. The benefits of European Championships are manifold. “Organisation of such Continental event will give huge local impact both in terms of developments support for our youth players as well as will strongly motivate and increase the pace of development of our local Federation. Organisation of Continental event in our country will further increase the credibility of the Table Tennis Association of North Macedonia in the eye of the local state and sport stakeholders as well as will bring the cooperation with ETTU to the next level.” The venue of the Championships will be the “Jane SANDANSKI” Arena with the hotel as a part of the sport complex. The capacity of the bigger hall is 6.500 whilst the smaller venue with the capacity of 800 seats will be used as a training hall. The Arena was opened in August 2014.
Busy agenda at the ETTU Executive Board meeting last week in Sarajevo
ETTU Executive Board meeting was held in Sarajevo during the European Under 21 Championships under the leadership of Acting President Pedro MOURA. The two days meeting was attended by EB members: Acting President Pedro MOURA Acting Deputy-President Heike AHLERT Vice-President for Finances Sandra DEATON Vice-President Sonja GREFBERG Vice-President Ina JOZEPSONE Vice-President Miguel VICENS Athletes Commission Chair Chiara COLANTONI Secretary General Pierre KASS Deputy Secretary General Galia DVORAK. While Executive Board was updated on 2022 and 2023 ETTU financial situation the ETTU official representation during next World Table Tennis Championships in Durban and the Memorandum of Understanding with TT Cup some very important and strategic decisions were taken towards the future: Development Program Manager will present Executive Board a plan to financial support the Member Associations willing to participate on the new Europe Youth Series. The Executive Board confirmed to introduce a Final 4 event starting with the 2023-2024 season for both Champions League men and women and confirmed to reintroduce quarter finals with home and away matches for the Champions League men. An open tender will be finalised for the Final 4. The EB has also approved a proposal to change the system of play for the “Stage 1” of the European Team Championships considering international calendar busy schedule. In the proposal the 18 best teams will be directly qualified to the Final Stage of the European Championships. The Final Stage will be played by 24 teams with the current system of play. All the teams which are not directly qualified will compete for the remaining 6 spots (or the remaining 5 spots in case the host team of the final stage is not qualified directly) at the “Stage 1”. All the matches of this stage will be played in one event and one location. The system of play of the “Stage 1” will consist of a group stage and a knockout stage. A regulation proposal will be prepared for the ETTU Congress in Malmö. Finally followed by the ITTF Executive Board announcement regarding the endorsement of the recent statement from the International Olympic Committee ETTU Executive Board discussed the same topic of the status of players with a Russian or Belarusian passport in the international competitions. The Executive Board accepted by majority of the votes to join a working group with ITTF and the Russian Table Tennis Federation. “This working group has the objective to evaluate a possible pathway for the return of Russian and Belorussian players to ETTU competitions under IOC and ITTF recent recommendations ” said Acting President Pedro MOURA.
Media accreditation process for the Krakow-Malopolska European Games has started
Please find the following LOC Official Communication about the Media Accreditation process below: The media accreditation process for the Krakow-Malopolska European Games has started. The forms can be found on the official website at the link: https://www.european-games.org/institutional/media/ There are four application forms for different categories: journalists (press websites radio reporters) photographers tv without broadcasting rights (ENR) documentary film (also ENR – without broadcasting rights). At the bottom of the page you will find instructions on how to complete the form and information about the process which will run until 15th May 2023. The public form is prepared for journalists from Poland and outside Europe but also for European Federations reporters and photographers. Journalists from EOC countries apply for accreditation through their NOC. The email of our press office is: media@ie2023.pl
PG Roxette makes the official song for ETTC in Malmö
Between the 10th and 17th of September 2023 it is time for the European table tennis elite to enter Malmö Arena for the battle of the medals. On the men’s side Sweden is one of the favorites with players like vice world champion Truls MÖREGÅRDH and the world champions in doubles Mattias FALCK and Kristian KARLSSON We are now happy to announce that the world famous artist Per GESSLE with songs like “It Must Have Been Love” “Listen To Your Heart” and “The Look” in his repertoire will sing the official song for the Championships with this band PG Roxette. The title is “The Craziest Thing” and the song will be released on all streaming platforms and as vinyl single on the 18th of August. – It is a delight that Per Gessle once again makes a song for a big table tennis event. Last time in Halmstad 2018 was a big success. This song is very grand and happy and will be great in Malmö Arena. I’m convinced that the song will work perfectly as a motivation song for our players in their hunt for medals says Peter Johansson Event Director for the ETTC. The song originally released on PG Roxette’s latest album Pop-Up Dynamo is written by Per GESSLE and Eddie JOHNSSON. In connection to the European Championships in Malmö a new version of the song has been produced. – I am very honored to once again make the official table tennis song for a European or World Championships. In 2018 it was “Name You Beautiful” in happy Halmstad and this time the title of my contribution is “The Craziest Thing”. Filled with spin and energy and as effective and rapid as a diagonal forehand smash says Per GESSLE. The European Table Tennis Championships will be played in Malmö Arena 10–17 September 2023. The event starts with group stage matcher 10–12 September and ends with play-off matches 14–17 September. Hosts are the European Table Tennis Union The Swedish Table Tennis Association and the host city Malmö.
European Games table tennis line-up confirmed with Olympic qualification on offer
The countries taking part in the European Games Kraków-Małopolska 2023 table tennis tournament have been confirmed. Direct qualification to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 next summer is on offer at the Hutnika Arena and hosts Poland will be joined by the top 11 ranked European teams in the current International Table Tennis Federation rankings. That will see Germany Romania Portugal France Hungary Slovakia Luxembourg Austria Czechia Sweden and Ukraine compete in the women’s tournament alongside Poland. Alongside hosts team Poland Germany Sweden France Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Croatia Great Britain Belgium and Denmark will also have teams competing in the men’s tournament. Taking place in the Hutnika Arena in Nowa Huta the event will run from 23 June until 1 July with the winners of the mixed tournament qualifying directly for the 2024 Olympic Games. There are five gold medals on offer in total with men’s singles and team and women’s singles and team taking place as well. EOC Coordination Commission Chair for the European Games 2023 Hasan ARAT said: “The confirmation of the line-up for the table tennis tournament at the European Games is particularly exciting with a spot at next summer’s Olympics available for the winners of the mixed doubles gold medal. Germany will be looking for another strong performance in Poland after dominating the medals at the 2019 European Games in Minsk winning the men’s singles and team events the women’s team and the mixed doubles. Portugal took home the gold medal in the women’s singles. At the 2022 European Championships Germany’s Dang QIU and Austria’s Sofia POLCANOVA were triumphant in the singles. In the doubles the Swedes Mattias FALCK and Kristan KARLSSIN took home the men’s gold while the Austrian-Romanian pair of POLCANOVA and Bernadette SZOCS won the women’s and the French duo of Emmanuiel LEBESSON and Jia Nan YUAN were successful in the mixed event.
Youth selection camp in Havířov
From 2nd to 9th April the ETTU concluded its Eurotalents Selection Camp in Havirov Czechia which provided a platform for 23 boys and 17 girls from 13 Member Associations to exhibit their talents and vie for a sought-after spot in the Eurotalents program. The young athletes underwent a challenging training regimen supervised by Marek CIHAK XU Kai Marek KLASEK and Zvonimir KORENIC with the guidance of fitness coach Patrik KAIZAR. After testing their skills in the internal competition and the evaluation process of the training sessions the following players have been selected to be part of the Eurotalents program in 2024: Laura MARSICKOVA (CZE) Maria Joana RUIVO (POR) Esther HASEK (ESP) Eloisa BARREDA (ESP) Teodora HORVAT (SRB) Nadalia IONASCU (ROU) David TORO (ROU) Ladimir MAYOROV (ESP) Alexandru POP (ROU) Alexander MALOV (ESP) and Peadar SHERIDAN (IRL). The upcoming Eurotalents Selection camp in Kiskunfelegyhaza (HUN) from 4th to 11th August promises to attract more talented young players competing for a chance to join the prestigious Eurotalents program.
Poland topping the list with two gold medals
The tradition of new winners every year at the EC U21 continued in 2023. Samuel KULCZYCKI was the only winner who already had a title from a previous EC U21. The 7 other winners were new. For the first time the mixed doubles was not won by a Romanian pair. However Romania remains by far the most successfull country in the U21 with 7 titles. Poland now with 4 took over the 2nd position from Turkey (3). Still no player won more than 2 titles in the EC U21. 7 players now have 2. The group consisting of Adina DIACONU Özge YILMAZ Ece HARAC Ioannis SGOUROPOULOS Cristian PLETEA and Rares SIPOS was joined by Samuel KULCZYCKI. 2023 – Sarajevo (BIH) (7th edition) Winner Runner-up MS Milosz REDZIMSKI (POL) Csaba ANDRAS (HUN) WS Hana ARAPOVIC (CRO) Sophia KLEE (GER) MD Hugo DESCHAMPS / Thibault PORET (FRA) Maciej KUBIK / Samuel KULCZYCKI (POL) WD Mia GRIESEL (GER) / Bianca Mei ROSU (ROU) Anastasya DYMYTRENKO / Veronika MATIUNINA (UKR) XD Samuel KULCZYCKI / Zuzanna WIELGOS (POL) Eduard IONESCU / Ioana SINGEORZAN (ROU) Medals Table European Under 21 Championships 2023 Players Pos. Name Assoc Gold Silver Bronze 1 Samuel KULCZICKY POL 1 1 1 2 Mia GRIESEL GER 1 2 3 Milosz REDZIMSKI POL 1 1 4 Zuzanna WIELGOS POL 1 4 Hugo DESCHAMPS FRA 1 4 Thibault PORET FRA 1 4 Bianca Mei ROSU ROU 1 4 Hana ARAPOVIC CRO 1 9 Eduard IONESCU ROU 1 1 10 Ioana SINGEORZAN ROU 1 10 Maciej KUBIK POL 1 10 Anastasya DYMYTRENKO UKR 1 10 Veronika MATIUNINA UKR 1 10 Sophie KLEE GER 1 10 Csaba ANDRAS HUN 1 16 Andrei Teodor ISTRATE ROU 3 17 Flavien COTON FRA 1 17 Anna BRZYSKA POL 1 17 Agathe AVEZOU FRA 1 17 Isa COK FRA 1 17 Ines MATOS POR 1 17 Matilde PINTO POR 1 17 Iulian CHIRITA ROU 1 17 Nicole ARLIA ITA 1 Associations Associations Gold Silver Bronze 1 Poland POL 2 1 1 2 Romania ROU 1 1 4 3 Germany GER 1 1 1
Milosz REDZIMSKI won gold in Sarajevo
The crowned champion of the Men’s Singles Event at the European Under 21 Championships is Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland. In the final REDZIMSKI justified his top seed position and overcame Csaba ANDRAS of Hungary (10 -7 8 4 6). Samuel KULCZYCKI of Poland and Andrei Teodor ISTRATE of Romania clinched bronze. “I think the service was the key to success. I created a lot of troubles to Csaba and I also was good with receive ”said REDZIMSKI. In all-Polish match in the semi final Milosz REDZIMSKI avenged his last year’s defeat at the same stage of the Under 21 Championships against Samuel KULCZYCKI 1:4. Now he accounted for his teammate after six games duel (-10 9 -9 10 5 10). “I think Samuel was much more confident last year. This time I came here as no. one seed so it boosted my confidence a lot. I tried to stay calm and to have the control of the match. I stayed close to the table and played aggressively ” explained Milosz. REDZIMSKI clinched gold medals at the European Championships in mixed doubles in Under 15 category in Team’s events in Under 19 and also had bronze in singles in Under 15. Csaba ANDRAS overcame Andrei Teodor ISTRATE of Romania in other penultimate stage match (12 -9 4 6 8). “I did it thanks to my team. I feel great gratitude toward my coach sparing partner and Hungarian team that supported me here. I was so motivated. I am the first Hungarian player to reach the medal rostrum in Under 21 European Championships and it means so much to me. I played four times in the quarterfinal of the Europeans and finally I broke the barrier ” said ANDRAS.
Hana ARAPOVIC clinched the title in Sarajevo
Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia clinched her first title in singles at the European Under 21 Championships in Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the final she overcame Sophia KLEE of Germany (9 3 8 -5 9). Bronze medalists are Nicole ARLIA of Italy and Mia GRIESEL of Germany. In the final Hana was focused on success. “I tried to be as calm as I could. I played until the last point for the title like it was first. I managed to have the full control over the match ” said ARAPOVIC. In the semi final Sophia KLEE was in fine run against Nicole ARLIA of Italy (1 7 9 5). Last year’s runner up in doubles failed to produce the game to stop KLEE. “I was two times European teams champion in Under 19 event and I have a title in Under 15 doubles at the Europeans but so far this is my first medal in singles and I am very proud of it ” said KLEE. Sophia was absent for a while from the tournaments and this success is even more important for her. “Last year from January to April I was completely out of game I did not come near the table. My knee cap was broken so it took time before I recovered. Eventually I returned and I worked very hard. Now I am so proud and I am happy to be able to win medal again ” said KLEE. Sophia did not give a lot of chances to ARLIA. “I guess she was little bit more nervous than me at the begining. It is not easy we are playing at one table now and the pressure is much higher but I took it better. In general I felt very well and I have been focused ” explained KLEE. In other semi final Hana ARAPOVIC overcame Mia GRIESEL of Germany in another straight games duel (8 7 3 9). Hana finally made a breakthrough in singles at the European Championships. “In three previous Championships in Under 15 and Under 19 I lost in the quarterfinals in singles. This is my first medal and I am so proud ” said Hana. The begining of the game was very close. “ I beat her last year in Top 10 when I won gold but it was very close seven games match which could easily went both sides. I was 3:1 up before she leveled. However then I learned what I can expect and I was ready for tactics. It helped me here ” said the European championships doubles gold medal winner ARAPOVIC.
