Only potential Olympians allowed to practice in Slovakia during lockdown

Current moment is very difficult for the sport in Slovakia- especially for the table tennis. Only 5 professional sports are allowed to organise their top leagues. Table tennis unfortunately is not included.

 From 21st December it is not possible to practice and already all the leagues in most of the sports were stopped very early. A table tennis championship was halted after second round – in October.

The lockdown should be cancelled probably on 7th of February. In Slovakia players hope that situation will be better and they will be able to return to the table tennis halls from that date – if not for playing matches at least for practice.

The best players – which have professional contracts can have a usual practice but without strong sparring partners. It includes only a small number of players.

The National Slovak Championships is postponed to unspecified date. In National Association they hope for new dates in May or June – it depends from the situation and the international calendar which is now unknown.

In many European countries the table tennis associations can play their top leagues and have exceptions for practice for the national representation in all categories. In Slovakia only the potential participants of Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 can play.

Jaromír TRUKSA Slovak men’s national team coach and member of the Executive committee STTA stated: „Our best player Yang WANG has a problem with restrictions in China and we have really problems with his traveling to Europe. He is a Slovak citizen but he went to visit his family to China. He was in quarantine for 4 weeks. It is very long time without practice. It is really hard situation for our Slovak team and for their preparation for Olympic Games qualification.“

Zdenko KRÍŽ president of the STTA added: „It is big success that Slovak Olympic and Sports Committee negotiated with Slovak Government especially for official Decrees for our 4 candidates of start on the Olympic Games in Tokyo. They will have from now better conditions for high level practice and priority for vaccination against COVID-19.“

 

 

Related News

Finlandia Open Victories for the Netherlands and France

The international Finlandia Open table tennis tournament concluded over the weekend at the Kisakallio Sports Institute in Lohja, Finland. In the Men’s Singles, Dutch player Milo de BOER emerged victorious,...

Read more

Finlandia Open 2024 – U21 Titles Clinched by VAN DESSEL and Jeanne ROBBES

The first champions of the 2024 Finlandia Open table tennis tournament were crowned on Friday evening. In the U21 Men’s category, Mael VAN DESSEL of Luxembourg triumphed over Norway’s Alexander...

Read more

Moldova Hosts Successful Seminar on Training Young Table Tennis Talents

As part of the European Table Tennis Union’s (ETTU) National Association Assistance Program (NAAP), a practical-methodical seminar titled “The Process of Training Young Players – The Road to the Olympics”...

Read more

2025 Champions League Final 4 Saarbrücken: Book the tickets now

This year, 4,500 spectators in Saarlandhalle Saarbrücken contributed to the resounding success of the first-ever Champions League Final 4. The event returns next year, promising another thrilling experience for players...

Read more

Contact

About Us

Privacy Policy

Terms and Conditions

The European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) is the governing body of the sport of table tennis in Europe, and is the only authority recognized for this purpose by the International Table Tennis Federation. The ETTU deals with all matters relating to table tennis at a European level, including the development and promotion of the sport in the territories controlled by its 58 member associations, and the organization of continental table tennis competitions, including the European Championships.

Powered By

All Competitions

Senior Competitions

Club Competitions

Youth Competitions

More Competitions