Europe Top-16 Cup | 18 Jan 2024

Dimitrij OVTCHAROV: "The Top 16 is one of my absolute favorite tournaments"

When the 16 best players on the continent gather at the Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux on Saturday and Sunday, the German Table Tennis Association (DTTB) will once again be represented in Switzerland with the maximum quota of four athletes. European champion DANG, five-time winner Dimitrij OVTCHAROV, 2021 winner Nina MITTELHAM and Berlin's Xiaona SHAN, who has replaced the injured defending champion Ying HAN (Achilles tendon rupture), will compete for a total prize fund of 100,000 euros in the Salle Omnisport du Pierrier with an exclusive view of Lake Geneva.

For the first time, the traditional rendezvous of the stars in February, in which only two players per nation are eligible to compete, will be held in January. The reason for the postponement is the proximity to the World Team Championships in Busan (South Korea), which take place in the Olympic year in mid-February (16th to 25th).

Since the first event in 1971, Germans have stood on the top step of the three-part podium in the men's and women's events 13 and 12 times respectively. In the last two years, Ying HAN from Düsseldorf, who plays for the Polish Champions League winners KTS Tarnobrzeg, managed to do so, but this time she will have to watch the tournament from her bed. The number eight in the ITTF rankings and best defender in the world underwent surgery on Sunday on her Achilles tendon, which was ruptured last week at the WTT Star Contender in Doha.

 "The surgery went well, I can return home on Tuesday," said Ying HAN, who wants to return to the table tennis tables as soon as possible after her full recovery: "I have a good environment with many people who take perfect care of me. I therefore believe that my recovery and my return to the table will not take any longer than necessary."

The Germans, who have always been among the medalists in recent years and even triumphed in both competitions at the same time four times in a row from 2018 to 2021, also have a good chance and great ambitions in the title race in 2024, which has been given an extremely attractive bonus for the top four players at short notice. Reaching the semi-finals this year also means qualifying for the men's and women's World Cup in Macau in April, the reintroduction of which was announced by the ITTF just a few weeks ago.

In addition to Dang QIU and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV, the men's title contenders include at least the number one in the European rankings and European Games winner Felix LEBRUN (France) and his brother ALEXIS, the winner of the last two years Darko JORGIC (Slovenia), Sweden's European team champion Truls MÖREGARDH and Anton KÄLLBERG, European Games finalist Marcos FREITAS and last year's third-placed Liam PITCHFORD.

In addition to Nina MITTELHAM, European Games winner Bernadette SZÖCS (Romania), European Champion Sofia POLCANOVA (Austria) and France's European Mixed Champion Jia Nan YUAN are also aiming to win the women's tournament, while Xiaona SHAN and former European Champion Elizabeta SAMARA (Romania) are also among the top medal contenders, Sweden's ace defender Linda BERGSTRÖM, France's up-and-coming talent Prithika PAVADE, European Games fourth-placed Natalia BAJOR and Luxembourg's table tennis phenomenon Xia Lian NI, who even at the age of 60 is still performing at the same level as her competitors up to 40 years younger with her unrivalled system of play, experience and excellent physique.

European champion Dang QIU is looking forward to his second Europe Top 16. On his debut a year ago, the top player from Düsseldorf Borussia was only narrowly defeated by Darko JORGIC from Slovenia in a rematch of the European Championship final in Munich, who can win "his" tournament for the third time in a row this year. However, Dang QIU, who is currently ranked tenth in the world and has shown brilliant form in the first two weeks of the year in Doha (Qatar) by reaching the semi-finals of the WTT Finals and the quarter-finals of the Star Contender, wants to prevent that:

 "This year's Top 16 will see one of the most balanced tournaments in its history. At least a handful of players can win the title, so it will very much depend on the form on the day. Truls MÖREGARDH is not even seeded in the top four and is runner-up in the World Championship, while another runner-up from Sweden, Mattias FALCK, is not even qualified. The field is extremely tight and close together. Everyone is extremely keen to win this prestigious title. I expected a very open race for the title."

Olympic record medallist Dimitrij OVTCHAROV would love to climb to the top step of the podium for the sixth time on Sunday. Although the former world number one in the TTC Neu-Ulm jersey is aware of the strong and evenly matched competition, he is looking forward to the prestigious tournament:

"The Europe Top 16 is one of my absolute favorite tournaments and I'm really looking forward to it. That's partly because I've won it five times, reached the final a couple of times and even finished third. I really enjoy playing it and I also really enjoy being in Switzerland. There's always a great atmosphere in the hall, the organisers provide a great service and the athletes are in a nice hotel. It's simply a great atmosphere right on the lake. I'm looking forward to the tournament and I like the format. I'm motivated; I'm one of the top seeds and see myself as one of the title contenders fighting for victory in Montreux."