Iulian CHIRITA of Romania emerged as the champion in the Under 19 Boys’ event at the 2023 HEIDELBERG MATERIALS Europe Youth Top 10 in Bucharest successfully defending his title won in France last year. “I did it again and I am so happy that I won the title two times in a row. It was very difficult to play especially because the competition from my teammates was fierce. I felt like I lost my strength before the last duel against Mateusz ZALEWSKI; I had to dig deep to find the power to beat him in order to retain my title ” said CHIRITA. Quarterfinalist at the European Youth Championships he climbed to the top of the medal podium in Romania with only one defeat in nine matches. CHIRITA suffered his sole loss to the second seed Hugo DESCHAMPS of France. The top-seeded player European Under 19 champion in singles and quarterfinalist at the European Games in Krakow Eduard IONESCU of Romania lost to CHIRITA and finished in second place. The medal podium is dominated by Romanian players as Darius MOVILEANU finished in third place. Darius faced defeat at the hands of his three teammates CHIRITA IONESCU and Dragos BUJOR as well as Simon BELIK of Czechia. Iulian CHIRITA Romania 8/1 Eduard IONESCU Romania 8/1 Darius MOVILEANU Romnia 5/4 Hugo DESCHAMPS France 5/4 David SZANTOSI Hungary 4/5 Dragos BUJOR Romania 4/5 Teodor ISTRATE Romnia 4/5 Simon BELIK Czechia 4/5 Mateusz ZALEWSKI Poland 2/7 Tom CLOSET Belgium 8/1
Leana HOCHART Climbs to the Top in Under 15 Girls’ Event
The winner of the Under 15 Girls’ event at the 2023 HEIDELBERG MATERIALS Europe Youth Top 10 is Leana HOCHART. The French player improved her status from last year moving from the second position to the top spot in Bucharest with a clear record. In four matches against Koharu ITAGAKI of Germany Hanka KODETOVA of Czechia Maria BERZOSA of Spain and Josephina NEUMANN of Germany Leana was pushed to go the full distance but she emerged victorious. “It feels so good to finish the tournament unbeaten. It was very hard but this medal made it worth it. It will help me forget how tired I am now ” said Leana HOCHART. Koharu ITAGAKI is second with three defeats. Besides HOCHART she also lost to KODETOVA and NEUMANN. European champion KODETOVA also suffered three losses falling to EYC silver medalists Nina GUO ZHENG of France HOCHART and Julia LEAL of Portugal. Leana HOCHART France 9/0 Koharu ITAGAKI Germany 6/3 Hanka KODETOVA Czechia 6/3 Nina GUO ZHENG France 6/3 Josephina NEUMANN Germany 5/4 Gaetane BLED France 3/6 Andrea JIFCU Romania 3/6 Nora DOHOCZKI Hungary 3/6 Julia LEAL Portugal 2/7 Maria BERZOSA Spain 2/7
Elena ZAHARIA Reigns Supreme in Bucharest
As the top-seeded player in the Under 19 event European champion Elena ZAHARIA dominated in Bucharest at the 2023 HEIDELBERG MATERIALS Europe Youth Top 10. Over three days of competition in Romania’s capital Elena remained undefeated after nine rounds. Elena ZAHARIA of Romania previously won the Under 15 event in 2019 in Dutch Noordwijk. However since then she came close but hadn’t secured the Under 19 title finishing third in Berlin 2020 and second in 2021 and 2022 in Tours. Now she has achieved that goal. “I already have the title in Under 15 and I was so close last year to win in Under 19. Now I made it. This is my last year and from the beginning of the tournament I was determined to win all the matches. Now I am focused on the forthcoming World Championships because last year I was close to the medal podium there too and now I want to reach it ” said ZAHARIA. Mia GRIESEL of Germany secured the second position. She suffered losses to ZAHARIA and Clea DE STOPPELEIRE of France. Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland finished third with the same match ratio but she lost to Mia. Elena ZAHARIA Romania 9/0 Mia GRIESEL Germany 7/2 Zuzanna WIELGOS Poland 7/2 Ioana SINGEORZAN Romania 5/4 Clea DE STOPPELEIRE France 5/4 Anna BRZYSKA Poland 3/6 Bianca MEI ROSU Romania 3/6 Ines MATOS Portugal 2/7 Natalia BOGDANOWICZ Poland 2/7 by Agathe AVEZOU France 0/9
Excitement Builds as Top Seeds Maintain Dominance at 2023 Europe Youth Top 10 in Bucharest
On the second day of play at the 2023 HEIDELBERG MATERIALS Europe Youth Top 10 in Bucharest the excitement is building as we approach the duels between the top players in the events. Top seeds Elena ZAHARIA of Romania Leana HOCHART of France and Tiago ABIODUN of Portugal are still unbeaten but challengers still have their chances. The only exception is the Under 19 event where the top-seeded Eduard IONESCU of Romania had to concede the lead to his teammate Iulian CHIRITA. In the Under 19 Girls Event the situation at the top of the standings remains unchanged. At home soil Elena ZAHARIA reigns supreme. She recorded six wins and was severely challenged only in the duel against Anna BRZYSKA of Poland winning 4-3. Mia GRIESEL of Germany is second with one defeat against French player Clea DE STOPPELEIRE followed by Anna BRZYSKA of Poland at the third position with three defeats. On the last day of play ZAHARIA is yet to meet Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland Agathe AVEZOU of France and GRIESEL. In The Under 19 Boys Event CHIRITA defeated the top seed IONESCU but in the last round of the day he also faced defeat at the hands of the second-seeded Hugo DE CHAMPS of France. Hugo is currently third in the standings since he lost to Simon BELIK of Czechia and IONESCU. On the last day of play Eduard will meet BELIK David SZANTOSI of Hungary and Poland’s Mateusz ZALEWSKI. No surprises at the very top of the standings in the Under 15 Boys event. European champion and top seed Tiago ABIODUN of Portugal has shown no weaknesses so far with all six wins. However the event was not without upsets. The eighth-seeded Italian Danilo FASO suffered only one defeat losing only to ABIODUN. He shares the second position with Damian FLORO of Slovakia seeded at the fifth position. Unlike FASO FLORO is yet to play against ABIODUN. Patryk ZYWORONEK of Poland is fourth. The top-seeded player in the Under 15 Girls Event Leana HOCHART of France progresses according to her merits. Last year’s runner-up is unbeaten in six rounds this year in Bucharest. European champion Hanka KODETOVA of Czechia is one place below after yesterday’s defeat against Julia LEAL of Portugal. The two leading players are yet to meet on the final day of the tournament tomorrow. The second-seeded Josephina NEUMANN of Germany follows them closely at the third position currently. She has lost to Andreea JIFCU of Romania and KODETOVA so far. Koharu ITAGAKI of Germany concluded the day at the fourth position.
Opening day at the HEIDELBERG MATERIALS Europe Youth Top 10
The 2023 HEIDELBERG MATERIALS Europe Youth Top 10 got underway today in Bucharest Romania and the opening day of play saw a few upsets. The top seed in Bucharest European Champion Eduard IONESCU of Romania maintained his perfect record after three rounds. He remained unbeaten after facing teammate Darius MOVILEANU Hugo DESCHAMPS of France and Tom CLOSSET of Belgium. Last year’s winner Iulian CHIRITA of Romania also secured all three wins today. CHIRITA triumphed over MOVILEANU Teodor ISTRATE of Romania and David SZANTOSI of Hungary. In the Under 19 Girls Event the leading duo Elena ZAHARIA of Romania and Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland seeded first and third topped the standings on the first day of play. ZAHARIA defeated her teammates Ioana SINGEORZAN Bianca MEI ROSU and Clea DE STOPPELEIRE of France. WIELGOS emerged victorious against Ines MATOS of Portugal and two teammates Anna BRZYSKA and Natalia BOGDANOWICZ. In the Under 15 Boys Event two players remained undefeated after three rounds. Top-seeded Portugal’s Tiago ABIODUN lived up to his status as the European Champion from Gliwice. He overcame Danilo FASO of Italy Sandro CAVAILLE of France and Robert ISTRATE of Romania. Seeded at the fifth position Damian FLORO of Slovakia also finished the day undefeated. He defeated ISTRATE Patryk ZYWORONEK of Poland and Botond VARGA of Hungary. In the Under 15 Girls Event top-seeded Leana HOCHART of France remained unbeaten. She secured victories over Nina GUO ZHENG of France third-seeded Maria BERZOSA of Spain and another teammate Gaetane BLED. Seeded only at the tenth position Andreea JIFCU shone on her home soil. Romania’s player ended the day in second place with victories over Julia LEAL of Portugal and the second-seeded Josephina NEUMANN of Germany who currently sits third in the standings. Only the European champion Hanka KODETOVA of Czechia managed to defeat her. However KODETOVA also failed to secure all three wins losing to Julia LEAL of Portugal.
NAAP activity: KOLODZIEJCZYK in Latvia
With the assistance of the European Table Tennis Union – National Associations Assistance Program and the Latvian Sport Federation Council the Table Tennis Federation of Latvia organized a seminar for Latvian coaches. The seminar took place on September 25-26 and drew the participation of 34 coaches from Latvia Lithuania Estonia and Iceland all eager to enhance their knowledge of the sport with 18 of them being women. The table tennis sessions were conducted by Jaroslaw KOLODZIEJCZYK Chair of the ETTU Coaching Committee. The feedback from the participants was overwhelmingly positive and they expressed a keen interest in participating in similar events in the future. During the course KOLODZIEJCZYK covered theoretical topics and an additional session was dedicated to practical exercises. In this practical segment the coach was assisted by five young Latvian players who contributed to the learning experience. The Table Tennis Federation of Latvia extended its gratitude to the European Table Tennis Union for supporting this valuable project and eagerly anticipates engaging in future collaborative activities.
All European Singles Champions to Compete in Bucharest
The 2023 HEIDELBERG MATERIALS Europe Youth Top 10 tournament will be taking place in Bucharest Romania this week from September 29th to October 1st. The standout participants in the Under 19 Boys’ and Girls’ Events are the host nation’s representatives who are also the reigning European champions in their respective Under 19 Boys’ and Girls’ Singles events from Gliwice this summer: Eduard IONESCU and Elena ZAHARIA. Leading the Under 15 Events are the European champion in Under 15 Boys Portugal’s Tiago ABIODUN and the French player Leana HOCHART. In the Boys’ Under 19 event the top seed IONESCU did not participate last year in Tours. In the 2022 edition Iulian CHIRITA from Romania secured the title and in Bucharest he is seeded fifth. Hugo DESCHAMPS of France is now the second seed; he finished third overall last year. Simon BELIK of Czechia who was ranked tenth last year is the third seed followed by Tom CLOSSET of Belgium Darius MOVILEANU Andrei ISTRATE (fourth in Tours) and Dragos BUJOR of Romania who was sixth. David SZANTOSI of Hungary who was fifth in 2022 is seeded one place above Poland’s Mateusz ZALEWSKI this year. Elena ZAHARIA of Romania won the Under 15 event in 2019 in Dutch Noordwijk and since then she has come close but hasn’t won the Under 19 title finishing third in Berlin 2020 and second in 2021 and 2022 in Tours. Her teammate and vice-champion from this year’s European Youth Championships Ioana SINGEORZAN is seeded second. Last year she finished the competition in third place. Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland is the third seed followed by Agathe AVEZOU of France Anna BRZYSKA and Natalia BOGDANOWICZ of Poland. The winner of the Under 15 event last year Bianca MEI ROSU of Romania is seeded seventh followed by Mia GRIESEL of Germany Ines MATOS of Portugal and Clea DE STOPPELEIRE of France. In France ABIODUN finished the tournament in sixth place but his title in Poland has placed him at the top of the seedings in Bucharest. Julian RZIHAUSCHEK of Austria was seventh in Tours and is now seeded one place below Tiago again. Patryk ZYWORONEK of Poland the finalist in Gliwice is the third seed followed by Petr HODINA of Austria Damian FLORO of Slovakia Botond VARGA of Hungary Sandro CAVAILLE of France Danilo FASO of Italy Robert ISTRATE of Romania and Nathan PILARD of France. In the Under 15 Girls’ event HOCHART finished in second place last year. Now she leads the list followed by Josephina NEUMANN of Germany Maria BERZOSA of Spain European silver medalists in singles Nina GUO ZHENG of France Gaetane BLED of France European champion Hanka KODETOVA of Czechia Koharu ITAGAKI of Germany Julia LEAL of Portugal Nora DOHOCZKI of Hungary and Andrea JIFCU of Romania.
ETTU Club Competitions 2nd Stage Draw
After the opening week of matches in the Champions League and Europe Cup Men and Women the ETTU Club Competitions 2nd Stage Draw was held today in Luxembourg. In the Champions League Men the winners of the four groups have advanced to join the top eight seeds. Stage 2 will consist of home and away matches (double round robin). The four runners-up from Stage 2 will be relegated to the Europe Cup quarter-finals. The four third-placed teams from Stage 2 will be eliminated from the ECC. The four winners from Stage 2 will continue to the final stage which will include semi-finals and a final played in a Final 4 format. Germany’s Saarbrücken will host the F4 tournament this year. In the Champions League Women the four winners and four runners-up from Stage 2 will continue to the final stage. The quarter-finals semi-finals and finals will be played as home and away matches (double round robin). In the Europe Cup Men and Women the four groups in Stage 2 will play a single round-robin format over 2-3 days at one location for each group. The teams finishing 2nd 3rd and 4th in the group stage except those already relegated from the Champions League to the Europe Cup will be relegated to the Europe Trophy. The four winners and four runners-up from Stage 2 will advance to Round 3. Round 3 will consist of home and away matches (double round robin). The Round 3 winners will proceed to the quarter-finals and compete against the relegated teams from the Champions League (CL Round 2 2nds). The quarter-finals semi-finals and finals in the Europe Cup will also be played as home and away matches (double round robin).
The Draw for the ECC 2nd stage scheduled for Wednesday
The Draw for the European Club Competition 2nd stage will be on Wednesday 27th September at 1415 CET. The Draw will be streamed on ETTU tv https://www.ettu.tv/en-int/page/home-ettu
Finlandia Open is back at Kisakallio
The traditional Finlandia Open competition is set to return after a year’s hiatus taking place from November 30 to December 3 2023 at the Kisakallio Sports Institute in Lohja. This location is conveniently situated less than an hour away from Helsinki Airport. The singles events will utilize the progressive knockout system to determine the final ranking of each player. This format ensures that each player will have the opportunity to participate in several singles matches over the weekend. The U21 classes on the other hand will follow the traditional cup system as explained by FO’s project manager Mika Räsänen. Throughout the years illustrious world table tennis stars such as LIU Guoliang Jan-Ove WALDNER Mattias KARLSSON (Falck) and Jon PERSSON have left their mark on the Finlandia Open trophy. The most recent men’s singles champions include Finnish player Benedek OLÁH (2019) and French athlete Enzo ANGLES (2021). The question now is who will be the next champions? Participants in the Finlandia Open will have the opportunity to earn ETTU ranking points in accordance with Rulebook Chapter 6.9 European Ranking International Sanctioned Events. The Kisakallio Sports Institute boasts excellent facilities for this international table tennis competition. For more information and the competition’s invitation please visit the Finnish Table Tennis Association website.
