CCB Europe Top 16 Cup
For a sixth time Greek star Panagiotis GIONIS will play at the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux (2nd and 3rd February). It will be for a second time in the row in Switzerland but this time GIONIS aim higher position than last year.
Last year in Montreux GIONIS was fifth now first aim is to reach semifinal and then to try to go even higher.
“My goal is to enter the first four which will qualify me for the World Cup. I was 5th in Europe Top 16 last year to secure the place in the World Cup last year and I want to make it even better this season. I know that it is difficult and the draw will also play a role but I am in good shape and I can claim very good results” said the top Greek player.
Panagiotis GIONIS creates his own tradition in Top 16 of Europe as he entered the invitations for the 6th consecutive season. He made his first appearance in 2014 after he won bronze medal in Singles and silver in the Teams Event at the European Championship in Austria. Since then he is regular participant. In fact he is walking in the footsteps of Kallinikos KREANGA who had made two big streaks in his total of 11 appearances. The winner of Top 12 in 2011 in Liège played constantly in the competition from 1996 to 2001 and after 2007 to 2011 marking many successes.
GIONIS’ best achievement is bronze medal which he won in Baku in 2015. In the fight for positions 3-4 he had defeated the French Simon GAUZY. The great defensive player is now in Budapest for the World Tour of Hungary and it will make a solid rehearsal for Top 16 and the Table Tennis Champions League Men quarter-finals. There his team Bogoria a champion of the Polish League will play on January 24 in the first quarter-final against his former team German Borussia Düsseldorf.
In men’s singles at the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux will play: Timo BOLL (Germany) Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (Germany) Mattias FALCK (Sweden) Liam PITCHFORD (England) Vladimir SAMSONOV (Belarus) Jonathan GROTH (Denmark) Simon GAUZY (France) Kristian KARLSSON (Sweden) Marcos FREITAS (Portugal) Emmanuel LEBESSON (France) Daniel HABESOHN (Austria) Tiago APOLONIA (Portugal) KOU Lei (Ukraine) Oividiu IONESCU (Romania) Panagiotis GIONIS (Greece) Lionel WEBER (Switzerland).
Women’s Event: Sofia POLCANOVA (Austria) Bernadette SZOCS (Romania) Elizabeta SAMARA (Romania) LI Jie (Netherlands) Petrissa SOLJA (Germany) Matilda EKHOLM (Sweden) LI Qian (Poland) Georgina POTA (Hungary) Britt EERLAND (Netherlands) Polina MIKHAILOVA (Russia) NI Xia Lian (Luxembourg) Nina MITTELHAM (Germany) Natalia PARTYKA (Poland) Hana MATELOVA ( Czech Republic) Barbora BALAZOVA (Slovakia) Rachel MORET (Switzerland).
Tickets are available here.
