European trio faces enormous task

LI Jiao, Viktoria PAVLOVICH and Elizabeta SAMARA are the leading European names at the forthcoming US$ 1,000,000 GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, to be staged in Dubai from Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th January 2014. So far all the odds are agai,

LI Jiao, Viktoria PAVLOVICH and Elizabeta SAMARA are the leading European names at the forthcoming US$ 1,000,000 GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, to be staged in Dubai from Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th January 2014. So far all the odds are against them. From 1996, when the first Event has been staged, never non-Asian player has won the Women’s Singles Event title. In Dubai in the Women’s Singles event, Viktoria PAVLOVICH of Belarus is the no. 6 seed, LI Jiao of the Netherlands in the no. 8 seed with Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA being one place lower, she is the no. 9 seed.

At the European Championships LI Jiao secured the Women’s Singles title in Belgrade in 2007 and in Gdansk in 2011; whilst Viktoria PAVLOVICH succeeded in Ostrava in 2010 and in Herning in 2012.  At the European Championships in Stuttgart and in Herning, SAMARA won the Women’s Doubles event with colleague Daniela DODEAN.

In Dubai, it will be no less than the seventh appearance in the Grand Finals for Viktoria PAVLOVICH, for Elizabeta SAMARA her fifth; whilst for LI Jiao she will be on duty for the fourth time; for Linda CREEMERS, she will be on debut. Dutch player will play with LI in Women’s Doubles Event. Top seed in Women’s Singles Event is DING Ning of China followed by compatriots LIU Shiwen, LI Xiaoxia and Korea’s SEO Hyowon. FENG Tianwei of Singapore is listed at position no. 5. In Doubles Event leading names are China’s DING Ning and LI Xiaoxia, whilst BARTHEL Zhenqi and SHAN Xiaona are placed at the position no. 3, Linda CREEMERS and LI Jiao are fifth on the list and Sofia POLCANOVA and Amelie SOLJA of Austria are 8th

 

Related News

Shocks and Strong Starts: Drama Unfolds in Girls’ Team Events

In the Under 19 Girls’ Team Event, top seeds France faced no difficulties. In the opening round of the tournament, the reigning champions overcame Slovakia in straight matches. Nia GUO...

Read more

MANTZ Begins Coaching Journey with Belgium at the 2025 European Youth Championships

The 2017 European Under 21 champion and member of Germany’s gold-winning team at the 2021 European Championships, Chantal MANTZ, has taken on a new role at the 2025 European Youth...

Read more

2025 EYC: No Favorites Are Safe in Ostrava

Already on the opening day of the 2025 European Youth Championships in Ostrava, fierce battles and surprising upsets marked the Team Events. In the Under 19 Junior Event, Czechia, backed...

Read more

The 67th EYC in Ostrava Commences: KODET Aiming for Third Consecutive Gold on Home Soil

The 67th European Youth Championships officially began today in Ostrava, Czech Republic. The competition opened with the team events, and fans can follow all the action on ETTU TV and...

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