Champions League Men | 14 Sep 2020
TTC Fakel-Gazprom Orenburg always aim for the top
One of the main favorites for the title in the Table Tennis Champions League Man, TTC Fakel-Gazprom is in the same group with KS Dartom Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki in the Second phase of the competition. The players started their preparations and main star Dimitrij OVTCHAROV already had some taste of the competition after the break caused by Pandemic.
"The COVID-19 Pandemic changed our life, and we made certain adjustments to the training process of our club. During the first two months of the Pandemic, all players had to stay in quarantine, each in their own country. They were mostly engaged in general physical exercises and focused on the mental strength. Those who had the opportunity and had a table, train at home. The training sessions were held according to individual plans, and our coach gave his recommendations over the phone or via online communication," explained TTC Fakel-Gazprom Orenburg Vice-President, head coach Victor ANDREEV.
The quarantine measures have been weakened in some countries in May and all players were able to start their training sessions at the table again.
"Some training tournaments were held. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV took part in three tournament series of the Düsseldorf Masters and won two of them. Denis IVONIN took 4th place in the Russian Top-16."
The number of coronavirus cases in Russia and in club's region is becoming less and less every day.
"Nevertheless, we have still strict quarantine measures, all people have to wear masks and gloves in public places and shopping centers and there are restrictions on international flights. The Russians can fly to only a few countries. However, all our players train in full force under the control of the coaches. Although there is still uncertainty about the official competition calendar, we continue to prepare hard for the upcoming matches in the European Champions League and the Russian Premier League."
The club managed to keep the main team.
LIN Yun-Ju, the number one of the Taiwan national team will play in our club this season. He will replace CHUANG Chih-Yuan. We hope that Lin will strengthen our team."
The new season of the Champions League will be held in a new format.
" We will play according to a new system, and so far, we know only one team as opponents. Polish side is a strong European club with a good line-up of players. Now we are waiting for the second opponent to be determined," said Vice-President ANDREEV. " Our main goals are to gain maximum of the upcoming season: first places in the European Champions League and in the Russian Premier League."
