Tough draw for SAMARA in Dubai

January 7, 2014
12:00 am
Other Events

In the first round of the Men’s Singles Event at the GAC GROUP 2013 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Dubai Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany will face KIM Minseok of Korea. That is the outcome of the draw held today in Mövenpick Hotel & Apartments Bur Duba,

European champion and Olympic bronze medalist will play against young Korean who won Under 21 Men’s Singles title at 2011 World Tour Grand Finals. Abdel-Kader SALIFOU of France will meet Brazil’s Cazuo MATSUMOTO. MATSUMOTO is ranked at position no 86, whilst SALIFOU occupies position no. 103.

In Women’s Singles Event European champion from 2010 and 2012, Viktoria PAVLOVICH of Belarus will play against CHENG I-Ching of Taipei. CHENG was runner – up with Huang Yi Hwa in Women’s Doubles Event at GAC Group 2012 Grand Finals. Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania will meet seeded no two LIU Shiwen of China. It will be re run of the final of the Women’s World Cup played in 2012. SAMARA is the only European player ever to reach the ultimate stage of this event, and she was beaten by LIU Shiwen. LIU has won the Women’s World Cup on all three appearances (2009, 2012, 2013); she has never lost a match in the competition LI Jiao of Netherlands, the most experienced player on the field in the Women’s Singles Event, will play against JEON Jihee of Korea. Double European champion from 2007 and 2011 is no. 8 seed in Dubai, whilst JEON is 13th. Maria DOLGIKH of Russia will play against FENG Tianwei of Singapore.

In men’s Doubles Event Robert GARDOS and Daniel HABESOHN of Austria will play against KIM Minseok and SEO Hyundeok of Korea, whilst Kristian KARLSSON and Mattias KARLSSON will meet Alexey LIVENTSOV and Mikhail PAIKOV of Russia.

In Women’s Doubles Event Dutch pairings Linda CREEMERS and LI Jiao will meet PARK Youngsook and YANG Haeun of Korea. BARTHEL Zhenqi and SHAN Xiaona of Germany will play against FENG Tianwei and YU Mengyu of Singapore. Sofia POLCANOVA and Amelie SOLJA of Austria will face no. two seeds CHENG I-Ching and HUANG Yi-Hua of Taipei.

Bidding Process Opens for 2027 ETTU Ranking Inclusion Events

The European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) has officially launched the bidding process for the 2027 ETTU Ranking Inclusion Events, inviting Member Associations to submit applications to host tournaments that will...

Prospectus Published for 2026 European Individual Championships in Ljubljana

The official Prospectus for the 2026 European Individual Championships has now been published. The Championships will be staged in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from 11 to 18 October 2026, with the Slovenian...

Bidding Process Opens for the 2027 JOOLA Europe Youth Series

ETTU has officially opened the bidding process for the 2027 JOOLA Europe Youth Series, inviting Member Associations to submit applications to host one of the events on next year’s calendar....

Qualification Pathway Approved for the Mixed Team Event at the 2027 European Games

The ETTU Executive Board has adopted the qualification pathway for the Mixed Team Event at the 2027 European Games in Istanbul. The European Games will feature 16 mixed teams, with...