04/03/2011 – The Irish Senior Nationals take place this weekend at the ALSAA Centre Dublin on this Saturday and Sunday. The favourite in the Men’s Singles is Irish No. 1 John MURPHY who is seeded to meet top junior Ashley ROBINSON in the fina

04/03/2011 – Timo BOLL cancelled late last night for the German National Championships. When he returned from Beijing yesterday he was too tired to continue playing another weekend. “I am really sorry – especially for the organizers and Apart from BOLL and 22-year-old national team player Steffen MENGEL (injury) all German top players participate in the men’s and women’s competition in Bamberg Bavaria. Male top seed is now Christian SUSS. In the women’s competition is still WU Jiaduo. (by Simone HINZ Courtesy DTTB)

04/03/2011 – The 78th Elite Swiss championships are on the horizon. The best table tennis players of Switzerland this weekend will be competing in the sports hall in Wil Lindenhof for the prestigious titles. In addition the TTC Wil will distribute p https://www.ettu.org 04/03/2011 – The 78th Elite Swiss championships are on the horizon. The best table tennis players of Switzerland this weekend will be competing in the sports hall in Wil Lindenhof for the prestigious titles. In addition the TTC Wil will distribute prize money in total of 5 000 francs and the TV will be present. On Sunday 6 March the Swiss sports television at 20:30 and 22:30 will have one hour report from the Championships. Christian HOTZ and Rahel ASCHWANDEN the host club representatives hopes that they will bring the top prize to their club. In mixed doubles the 17-year old ASCHWANDEN is even defending champion (with Denis JOSET). National player HOTZ however won the title in 2008 and reached couple times final stage of the Event. Nevertheless in the Singles Event the previous winner Nicola MOHLER (St. Louis FR) and Monika FUHRER (Neuhausen) are clear favorites for the victory. Both were in the last few months in good shape. In addition to HOTZ and Denis JOSET reigning Swiss champion in doubles and mixed could challenge MOHLER. Veteran Thierry MILLER is still one of the strongest Swiss players and has repeatedly proven that he can improve his form in the day. A new face in the men’s is Samy ZMIROU – the NLA’s player of Meyrin. He has the French and the Swiss passport and he is obviously a medal contender. In the Women’s Singles Event Rachel MORET tournament champion from Bruges will try to reclaim her title from 2009. Rahel ASCHWANDEN however has the possible quarter-final opponent Monica FUHRER so she has a difficult draw. We must keep in mind the older generation represented by Vera BAZZI Ilona RENOLD and Elmira ANTONYAN. Many international successes of ex-national players BAZZI (Austria) and ANTONYAN (Armenia) speak for themselves. (By Thomas NEUENSCHWANDER courtesy of Swiss TTA) Photo: Monika FUHRER (courtesy ITTF)

04/03/2011 – The Scottish National Championships take place in Glasgow over two days this weekend. On the 5th March top seed Gavin RUMGAY will be a firm favourite to win his 7th National singles title. Other top seeds Craig HOWIESON Stewart CRAWF https://www.ettu.org 04/03/2011 – The Scottish National Championships take place in Glasgow over two days this weekend. On the 5th March top seed Gavin RUMGAY will be a firm favourite to win his 7th National singles title. Other top seeds Craig HOWIESON Stewart CRAWFORD and Niall CAMERON will be hard to beat in singles and in their doubles pairings but they should face an improved challenge from a number of younger players in the knockout stages of both competitions. Craig and Stewart are top seeded to retain their doubles title for the fifth time. The top 3 seeds Corinna WHITAKER Gillian EDWARDS and Natasha MILLIKEN should contest the Women’s singles title and Corinna and Natasha will be seeded to retain the doubles. On the 6th March the Junior Cadet and Minor Championships take place and there is the potential for a few tough matches at the latter stages of each competition. In Juniors Boys new Scottish No.1 Scott BARTON and Calum MAIN lead the way but recent results indicate that this competition could contain a few shocks. Calum recently scored a 3-2 win over Scott in the Scottish Schools Championships and both players had unexpected losses at the Junior Assessment tournament in February. In Cadet boys Blair Fowler and Christopher Wheeler look set to renew their intense rivalry for the singles title whilst Christopher is a strong favourite for the Minor boys title. Lynda FLAWS will travel from Denmark for the championships and will be the top seed for the Junior Girls competition. She will face tough opposition from Renee HO Bethany ROSS and Lara STIRLING for the title. Twelve year old Lucy ELLIOTT will be top seed in the Cadet and Minor Girls competitions and will take on the tough task of winning both titles against the in form pair of Rachel CRAWFORD and Fiona SCOTT. (By David MAIN courtesy of Scottish TTA) Photo: Gavin RUMGAY (courtesy ITTF)

04/03/2011 – The Welsh National Championships will take place at the Welsh National Sports Centre Cardiff. The Juniors and Cadets will play on Saturday an the Seniors and the Vets will play on Sunday. Men’s Singles – Ryan JENKINS nine(9 https://www.ettu.org 04/03/2011 – The Welsh National Championships will take place at the Welsh National Sports Centre Cardiff. The Juniors and Cadets will play on Saturday an the Seniors and the Vets will play on Sunday. Men’s Singles – Ryan JENKINS nine(9) times previous winner is our No 1 seed and his brother Stephen the No2 seed it will be a tough ask to stop Ryan winning. Ladies Singles – Naomi OWEN six(6) time previous winner is No1 seed with Charlotte CAREY No2 is will be interesting to see how close Charlotte can get or even take Naomi. Vets Singles – Tony COLLINS is No1 seed with Steve EADRES No 2 and it could go either way. Juniors Boys- Conor EDWARDS No1 seed will have to work hard to take Chris GRIFFITHS the second seed but Daniel O’CONNELL has slipped down the ranking list due to missing some tournaments but is playing well. Junior Girls – Charlotte CAREY No1 seed will be pushed by the PHILLIPS twins of Angharad and Megan Angharad is No. 2 seed. Cadet Boys – Conor EDWARS No1 seed will be pushed by No2 seed Alex PROSSER and Chris GRIFFITHS. Cadet Girls – Charlotte CAREY is No1 seed and should be too strong for No2 seed Beth ROBERTS. Last year’s Singles Winners Men’s – Adam ROBERTSONLadies – Naomi OWENVet Men’s – Mark SIMMONVet Ladies – Regina GRECHJunior Boys – Daniel O’CONNELLJunior Girls – Charlotte CAREYCadet Boys – Lee MORGANCadet Girls – Charlotte CAREY Last years Doubles Winners Men’s – Cameron THOMAS / Patrick THOMASLadies – Charlotte CarEy / Naomi OWENMixed – David OWEN / Naomi OWENVets – Peter CHAMPION / Steve EADESJunior Boys – Alex PROSSER / Conor EDWARDSJunior Girls – Angharad PHILLIPS/Megan PHILLIPS (By Ron DAVIES courtesy of Table Tennis Association of Wales) Photo: Ryan JENKINS (courtesy ITTF)

04/03/2011 – In Bosnia and Herzegovina Ilijas will host the National Championships this weekend. The entries lists includes the 24 names in both Men’s and Women’s Event. Top 8 players qualified by the rankings whilst other had to negoti

04/03/2011 – Last year in Zrenjanin Bojan CREPULJA played in semi final. This year at the same place he will try to go step further and reach the title at the Serbian National Championships. The leading names last year’s winner Zolt PETE and

04/03/2011 – Cajasur Priego TM won the Spanish Copa Del Rey in the Palacio de los Juegos del Mediterraneo de Almeria. In the final Carlos David MACHADO CHEN Junji and Constantin CIOTI overcame HU Bin Marc DURAN and Josep Luis Andrade from DKV Borg

04/03/2011 – The British Olympic Association (BOA) today confirmed that Team GB will utilise three male and three female Host Nation Qualification Places in order to compete in the London 2012 Olympic Games table tennis competition. The decision was https://www.ettu.org 04/03/2011 – The British Olympic Association (BOA) today confirmed that Team GB will utilise three male and three female Host Nation Qualification Places in order to compete in the London 2012 Olympic Games table tennis competition. The decision was made following detailed consultation with the British Table Tennis Federation (BTTF). BOA Chief Executive and Team GB Chef de Mission Andy HUNT said: “We are very pleased to confirm that Team GB will be represented in both the singles and team table tennis events at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The British Table Tennis Federation has demonstrated to us that they have laid solid foundations to maximise the opportunity of competing at a Home Games and developed programmes to ensure a strong long term legacy for the sport”. “British Table Tennis has proven to us that the young squad of players are capable of delivering a credible performance on the field of play in 2012. In winning the silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games England’s men finished above three nations who competed in the last Olympic Games in Beijing. Real progress is being made in elite performance; there are now four British players – two male two female – ranked in the top 200 in the world compared with none prior to the Beijing 2008 Olympics.“ “Table tennis is a very accessible and affordable sport for people of all ages from all backgrounds. This combined with the ‘London 2012 factor’ and the successful programme of innovative initiatives developed by the British Table Tennis Federation to get people involved with table tennis at grass roots level promises to have a big impact on participation and leave a tangible legacy for the sport.“ “I’m delighted that the British players competing for this weekend’s National Championships in Sheffield will now have the firm goal of competing on home soil in London 2012 to aim towards.“ Alex MURDOCH British Table Tennis Federation Chairman said: “On behalf of the British Table Tennis Federation I am delighted that our players will be represented at the London 2012 Olympic Games. This endorses the significant progress made across the UK by our sport from schools to grass roots to the elite level. This will be a great opportunity to showcase our home grown talent on a truly international stage and further influence the table tennis legacy.“ “Hosting the Olympics will be a great British achievement it is a chance for Britain and London to present itself to the world and I am delighted that our table tennis players will get to do the same.“ Paul DRINKHALL (Sheffield) GB men’s table tennis number one said: “My ultimate dream has always been to be an Olympic medallist and to have the chance to compete in my home country is better than any dream. As a team we have made good progress in recent years and we will aim to produce our best performances to excite the home fans at London 2012.“ NA Liu (Northern Ireland) Team GB women’s table tennis hopeful said: “It has always been my dream to play in the Olympic Games and this has given me the drive and ambition to put 110% into achieving this goal. Competing at the Olympics will be the pinnacle of my career.“ Darius KNIGHT (London) Team GB men’s table tennis hopeful said: “Playing in the Olympics means everything to me. Competing in front of the home crowd is an opportunity that will never come again. It’s a chance to put table tennis on the map in this country. Everyone at one stage has played table tennis or knows of it. It’s a great sport because it can be played anywhere you don’t need lots of money and your size age race religion or ability doesn’t matter. It’s a sport made for everyone to enjoy.“ (English Table Tennis Association Press Release) Photo: Paul DRINKHALL (courtesy ITTF)

03/03/2011 – Luxembourg’s National Closed Championships will take place in Junglinster (Centre Polyvalent “Gaston Stein” all finals semi-finals and quarter-finals will be played on Sunday. Last year winners were Traian CIOCIU (Me https://www.ettu.org 03/03/2011 – Luxembourg’s National Closed Championships will take place in Junglinster (Centre Polyvalent “Gaston Stein” all finals semi-finals and quarter-finals will be played on Sunday. Last year winners were Traian CIOCIU (Men’s singles) Simone HAAN (Women singles) Gilles MICHELY/Mike BAST (Men’s doubles) Sarah DE NUTTE / Tessy GONDERINGER (Women’s doubles) and Gilles MICHELY / Carole HARTMANN (Mixed doubles).Favorites for this year will be for men’s singles the top4 seeded players: Traian CIOCIU (1) Gilles MICHELY (2) J???RAISON (3) and Arlindo DE SOUSA (4). For women’s singles the top 4 seeded players are: Egle SADIKOVIC (1) Simone HAAN (2) Tessy GONDERINGER (3) Sarah DE NUTTE (4). (by Patrick MASSEN courtesy Luxembourg TTA) Photo: Sarah DE NUTTE (Photo Roscher)