The reigning champions in the Women’s Champions League KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL Tarnobrzeg began the 2023/24 season in an impressive fashion. During the opening week of Stage two the Polish club secured two victories out of two matches. Today they beat Serbia’s STK Novi Sad. In opening two duel of the match last year’s quarterfinalists failed to create any opportunities to apply pressure on KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL Tarnobrzeg as they arrived in Poland without their Asian player who will join the club in November. HAN Ying defeated Aneta MAKSUTI in straight games and YANG Xiaoxin beat the 19-year-old Reka BEZEG in a similar style. YU Fu was on the way to seal the match with qick 11-7 in the opening game but in the second one Tijana JOKIC changed the course of the match. She took control and won third duel. However HAN Ying was there to prevent any surprise. She overcame BEZEG in quick three games. In the first match of Stage 2 the Polish club also defeated Joue Les Tours TT in straight matches. KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL Tarnobrzeg – STK Novi Sad 3-0 HAN Ying – Aneta MAKSUTI 3-0 (11-6 11-8 11-4) YANG Xiaoxin – Reka BEZEG 3-0 (11-3 11-5 11-3) YU Fu – Tijana JOKIC 1-3 (11-5 7-11 9-11 7-11) HAN Ying – Reka BEZEG 3-0 (11-3 11-1 11-2)
Czechia Dominates in the Under 13 Category
On the third day of play at the Europe Youth Series 2023 Czech Open in Plzen the winners in the team events were crowned. Champions in their respective categories are Austria and Hungary in the Under 15 events while Czechia won both finals in the Under 13 categories. In the Under 13 Boys Team Final Ireland’s Peadar SHERIDAN and Stefan BONCHEV pushed Czechia’s Ondrej MORAVEK and Oliver OLEJNKIK to go the full distance before the hosts secured a 3-2 victory. Ireland’s SHERIDAN gave his team a strong start and Ireland’s doubles also managed to secure a point but MORAVEK won both his singles matches and OLEJNIK added another win in singles. Sweden’s Melker JOHANSSON and Vidar LARSSON are third. The hosts also celebrated victory in the final of the Under 13 Girls Event. Czechia 1 composed of Adela BRHELOVA and Laura MARSICKOVA overcame Switzerland’s Ilvi ULRICH and Akhyata PATRA in straight matches. Bronze medalists are Germany’s WEI Linyun and WEI Rouqi. In the final of the Under 15 Boys Team Event Austria 1 represented by Benjamin GIRLINGER and Tobias TISCHBERGER overcame Hungary with Lenard SABO and Mark GERGELY in straight matches. After an impressive performance in the singles the doubles match went the full distance and ended by a narrow margin. Belgium’s Charles JANSSENS and Maxime DEGIVE concluded the competition at the position no. 3. In the Under 15 Girls Event at the final hurdle Hungary 1 with Sophie BARCSAI and Nora DOHOCZKI overcame Hungary 2 with Johanna PETERY and Lizett FAZEKAS with a 3-1 score. Lizett FAZEKAS gave Hungary 2 a perfect start with a win over BARCSAI but DOHOCZKI leveled the score before Hungary 1 won the doubles and Sophie sealed the final with a win over PETERY. Czechia’s Andrea SLAMOVA and Anna HOLEJSOVSKA added another medal to host’s record. They finished at the position no. 3
Swiss Under 13 Team Concludes First Stage at the Top of the Standings
The first stage of the team events at the Europe Youth Series 2023 Czech Open in Plzen has concluded. The teams placed in the first and second positions in their respective groups will play the final match tomorrow for the title. In the Under 13 Girls’ Event Switzerland’s first team composed of Akhyata PATRA and Ilvi ULRICH won the opening stage. They recorded seven wins with five of them in straight matches. The Swiss team will face Czechia 1 represented by Adela BRHELOVA and Laura MARSICKOVA who lost only one match. Germany’s second team composed of Linyun WEI and Rouqi WEI finished in third place. Swiss girls’ team coach Pedro PELZ provided an overview of his team’s performance in the opening days of the tournament. “Back in Serbia at the Youth Series tournament in Dimitrovgrad we reached the team’s final with Akhyata PATRA who won all her singles matches. It was only in the final that she lost one against FAZEKAS. She played with Enya HU at that time. Now Akhyata is playing with Ilvi ULRICH and Enya HU (2013) is partnered with Michelle WU (2013). The level is slightly higher than in Serbia I would say due to the presence of teams from Germany and the Czech Republic in the competition. Akhyata and Ilvi consistently displayed a high level in their singles matches with a 12:2 record and they won all their doubles matches. It was crucial to secure victories in those two matches ” reported coach PELZ. “So it’s a significant goal to know that you have an excellent chance to win the doubles if necessary.” Speaking about their opponents PELZ noted that the hosts presented a significant challenge to PATRA and ULRICH the very same team they will meet in the final. “The toughest match was against Czechia 1. The result was 3:0 but every single match was challenging to win. So we’ll see how it goes in the final tomorrow. There they’ll need to secure three points and you never know which player you’ll face first. I believe we have a very good chance to win this team tournament if both our players prepare well for the final and play tactically. Of course they’ll have to fight for every ball.” At the Under 13 European Championships in June Akhyata and Ilvi won almost all their matches in the team competition which is why we finished in 10th place. “Switzerland’s younger girls’ team with Enya and Michelle is also performing well. Both of them have a 4:3 record in their singles matches which is very impressive. I believe they both have the potential to reach a top level in Europe in the U15 category.” Coach PELZ praised the organizers in Plzen. “The tournament is very well organized. The playing conditions for the players in the main and practice hall are excellent. Additionally the food accommodations and the transportation from the hotel to the hall are well-organized. There’s really nothing to complain about.”
Reigning Champions Successfully Start Their Journey in the Champions League
In the opening match of Stage two in the Women’s Champions League the reigning champions KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL Tarnobrzeg defeated Joue Les Tours TT in straight matches. The Polish club showed no mercy and embarked on their quest for a third consecutive title with their strongest lineup. Europe’s number one player HAN Ying of Germany opened the duel with a victory over HE Li. YANG Xiaoxin of Monaco ranked eighth in Europe pushed the team further forward with a hard-fought victory over Audrey ZARIF. YANG was two games down before she made a remarkable comeback to win. Europe’s fifth-ranked player Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania sealed the match with a victory over Nolwenn FORT. Once again FORT forced SAMARA to go the distance before the match was resolved in favor of Romania’s star. “We had a challenging start but we achieved a great result. YANG Xiaoxin’s match and my duel were very close but in the end it’s important that we won. Maybe we had a bit of luck but overall we are happy with our performance ” said SAMARA. The next duel is scheduled for Saturday. “We have a Polish league match tomorrow and then a day off. It will give us some more time to prepare for Novi Sad ” concluded Elizabeta.TT Joué les Tours had to go through Stage one where Audrey ZARIF HE Li and Nolwenn FORT overcame SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club TT Moravsky Krumlov from Czechia Spanish Tecnigen Linares and HB Ostrov z.s. from Czechia. KTS ENEA SIARKOPOL Tarnobrzeg – Joue Les Tours TT 3-0 HAN Ying – HE Li 3-1 (5-11 11-4 11-5 11-3) YANG Xiaoxin – Audrey ZARIF 3-2 (7-11 9-11 11-2 11-5 6-5) Elizabeta SAMARA – Nolwenn FORT 3-2 (14-12 4-11 11-6 12-14 6-3)
European Youth Enjoyed an Action-Packed Day in Plzen
The Europe Youth Series 2023 Czech Open in Plzen kicked off today with team events for players in the Under 15 and Under 13 categories. Teams from Austria Belgium Czechia Germany Hungary Ireland Switzerland and Sweden competed in the group stage matches. In the Under 15 event Austria 1 represented by Benjamin GIRLINGER and Tobias TISCHBERGER achieved four wins in as many matches all concluding in straight games. Hungary 1 secured the second spot. “We arrived in Pilsen with a fairly large team. We have teams in three categories: girls Under 15 boys Under 15 and boys Under 13. Despite the current financial situation and the fact that we are nearing the end of the season we managed to secure funding for our participation in this tournament and I am very pleased about that. The tournament’s playing format is excellent for these age groups. Young players get to play numerous matches throughout the day. They may be tired but they need not fear elimination after just two losses and that’s the biggest advantage. Players can improve with every game without the worry of heading home early ” said Jarek KOLODZIEJCZYK the coach of Team Austria. When discussing the opening day Coach KOLODZIEJCZYK remarked “The Austrian teams performed well on the first day. I had slightly higher expectations for our girls but I’m not disappointed. The U15 boys have yet to suffer a defeat and the U13 boys’ team is also performing admirably. Nevertheless I believe that the final results are not the most critical aspect here. It’s a means to earn points for the European ranking and assess your abilities. I genuinely appreciate the environment in Pilsen. The brand-new hall with ten tables in a row is also quite intriguing. With this in mind I believe everyone will leave very satisfied.” You can see the results here Pictures here
KTS Enea Siarkopol Tarnobrzeg Aiming for a Third Consecutive Title
The second stage of the European Club competition kicks off this week with the action in the Champions League Women Group A. The reigning champions Poland’s KTS Enea Siarkopol Tarnobrzeg have their sights set on winning their third consecutive title. They are represented by Europe’s number one player HAN Ying of Germany number five Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania number eight YANG Xiaoxin of Monaco Poland’s top-ranked player Natalija BAJOR who holds the number 10 position and Europe’s number 11 YU Fu of Portugal. Both of their opening matches will be played on home soil. Their first match of the competition this season is against French team TT Joué les Tours on Wednesday followed by a clash against Serbia’s TTC Novi Sad on Saturday. The French team is led by Europe’s number 48 player Audrey ZARIF and China’s LI He. In Novi Sad the Serbian team led by Aneta MAKSUTI and Tijana JOKIC is reinforced with Hong Kong’s LAM Yee Lok and China’s RUI QI Xia. “We will not underestimate them. We played against Novi Sad last year but this season they have a new team so we will see. France is also a strong opponent. We will approach every match carefully. We are all in good shape and defending our title would be amazing ” said SAMARA. In the Extra Liga the 31-time Polish champions KTS Enea Siarkopol Tarnobrzeg defeated Fibrain KU AZS Politechnika Rzeszów in the opening match last Friday. Over the course of this marathon-like month they will play against Polish Vice-Champions Bebetto AZS UJD Częstochowa today. In between the two matches in the Champions League they will face SKTS Sochaczew. The away games for the Tarnobrzeg team in Group A will take place on November 23rd in France and on December 4th in Serbia. In Group B Stage two will kick off in Spain with UCAM Cartagena hosting SKST Plus Hodonin on October 24th. Meanwhile in Group D Metz TT is scheduled to play two matches in two days: on the 26th they will face Hungary’s SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club and the following day they will compete against Italy’s ASD Quattro Mori.
European Rankings Update: October 2023
The European October Rankings are now available. While the senior rankings remained relatively stable with the top players maintaining their positions there have been more changes in the younger categories. In the Men’s Rankings the top eight players – Darko JORGIC of Slovenia QIU Dang and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany Marcos FREITAS of Portugal Felix and Alexis LEBRUN of France Kristian KARLSSON and Truls MOREGARDH of Sweden – have retained their positions from the previous month. Anders LIND of Denmark has moved up one spot to ninth swapping positions with Andrej GACINA of Croatia. In Women’s singles the list begins with HAN Ying of Germany followed by Bernadette SZOCS of Romania Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria Nina MITTELHAM of Germany YUAN Jia Nan of France and Elizabeta SAMARA of Romania. SHAO Jieni of Portugal has advanced one position to seventh while YANG Xiaoxin of Monaco has dropped one place. SHAN Xiaona of Germany has entered the top ten now at position nine followed by Natalia BAJOR of Poland who has remained in tenth place like the previous month. In Under 21 Men’s the LEBRUN brothers top the Rankings with Felix being in first place. MOREGARDH is third and Adrien RASSENFOSSE of Belgium and Eduard IONESCU of Romania are fourth and fifth. In Under 21 Women Prithika PAVADE of France Hana ARAPOVIC of Croatia Camille LUTZ of France and Annett KAUFMANN of Germany are the top 5 players. In Under 19 Eduard IONESCU has remained at the top but his teammates Iulian CHIRITA and Darius MOVILEANU have both moved up two places to be second and third respectively. Hugo DESCHAMPS of France has also moved up two positions from his previous ranking now in fourth place followed by Teodor ISTRATE of Romania who has dropped two positions. Romanian duo Elena ZAHARIA and Ioana SINGEORZAN top the Under 19 list as they did the previous month. Mia GRIESEL of Germany Zezanna WIELGOS and Anna BRZYSKA of Poland have all advanced two positions. In the Under 15 category Tiago ABIODUN of Portugal has maintained his top position followed by Poland’s Patryk ZYWORONEK Slovakia’s Damian FLORO Austria’s Petr HODINA and Julian RZIHAUSCHEK. In this category Danilo FASO of Italy has climbed seven positions to seventh on the list. In the Under 15 Girls category Leana HOCHART has moved up one spot to the top of the list. Her teammate Nina GUO ZHENG has also moved up one place followed by Hanka KODETOVA of Czechia and Germany’s Koharu ITAGAKI. Italian FASO leads the Under 13 Boys Rankings followed by Kacper PIWOWAR of England who has jumped five positions up. Lizett FAZEKAS of Hungary has also made a four-place improvement to be the first in the Under 13 girls’ rankings. You cane see all rankings here
European Youth Series’ Next Stop – Plzen
Next week the new sports hall Krašovská in Pilsen will serve as the hub for youth table tennis players from across Europe. The inaugural Europe Youth Series Czech Open Plzen 2023 is scheduled to take place from October 11th to 15th. This tournament is part of the European circuit for players in the U13 and U15 categories. Since the event will contribute to the European youth rankings the organizers anticipate the participation of representative teams from twelve European countries. Currently one hundred and fifty players are registered to compete. An event of this magnitude can only be organized with the support of strong partners. The Czech Table Tennis Association with its extensive experience in hosting similar competitions particularly in Moravia is at the forefront. “Thanks to the backing of the Pilsen region the city of Pilsen and local sponsors we decided to host the selection process in Pilsen as well. The European Table Tennis Union has approved our plan and we are thrilled that such an important tournament will take place in the Czech Republic. This will further enhance the prestige of Czech table tennis and provide young players with valuable international experience ” stated Nikolas ENDAL Chairman of the Czech Table Tennis Association. The organizational efforts have been in progress for several months and everything is now in place largely thanks to the excellent cooperation between the Czech Table Tennis Association the city which owns the halls and the organizing team. “We believe that we will execute the tournament at the highest level possible and that Pilsen will become a recurring fixture on the European youth tournament calendar ” concluded tournament director Roman ČECH. The Europe Youth Series tournament features an engaging format with both the U13 and U15 categories participating in a five-day team competition. Additionally there will be singles doubles and mixed doubles competitions.
Club Aréna Hosts International Competition ‘Cup of Hopes’ for Young Table Tennis Players
In the city of Győr Hungary Club Aréna is organizing an International Competition called the “Cup of Hopes” for boys in the Under 11 Under 12 and Under 13 age groups. The competition is scheduled to take place from November 24th to November 26th. Club Aréna is recognized as one of ETTU’s Network and Training Centers and holds an ETTU Certificate for the 2022/2023 season. Players have the option to participate in their respective age groups and those in the U11 age group are also eligible to compete in the U12 and U13 age groups. Similarly participants in the U12 age group may also play in the U13 age group. The competition consists of two stages: 1st stage: Qualification group matches using a round-robin system with groups of 4 or 5 players. 2nd stage: Main draw with a knockout system. All matches will be played in a best-of-five games format. The closing date for entries is November 12 2023 and interested participants should send their entries to gyac@arenagyor.hu.
Tiago ABIODUN Secures Another European Title
Crowned European champion in Gliwice earlier this year Tiago ABIODUN of Portugal claimed another title in Bucharest emerging as the winner of the Under 15 event at the 2023 HEIDELBERG MATERIALS Europe Youth Top 10. As the top-seeded player from Portugal ABIODUN lived up to his status by remaining unbeaten throughout three days of matches. “I am so happy and proud especially since I won the tournament without any defeats in nine rounds. It was hard to play over the past three days in such fierce competition. I think I played my best table tennis. If I have to rate it – I will give it a 10 ” said ABIODUN. Damian FLORO of Slovakia finished second with two defeats. Apart from ABIODUN FLORO also suffered a loss at the hands of Julian RZIHAUSCHEK of Austria. Patryk ZYWORONEK of Poland who lost to Tiago in the final in Gliwice secured the third position. He lost to ABIODUN FLORO and Robert ISTRATE of Romania. Under 13 European champion Danilo FASO of Italy created a few upsets in Bucharest which propelled him to the fourth position. Tiago ABIODUN Portugal 9/0 Damian FLORO Slovakia 7/2 Patryk ZYWORONEK Poland 6/3 Danilo FASO Italy 5/4 Petr HODINA Austria 5/4 Botond VARGA Hungary 4/5 Robert ISTRATE Romania 4/5 Julian RZIHAUSCHEK Austria 2/7 Nathan PILARD France 2/7 Sandro CAVAILLE France 1/8