Sharath leads the Indian Challenge at Chile Pro Tour

India is fielding 18 of it's best players at the Chile Pro Tour Table Tennis Tournament at Santiago on Aug 10-14.

Sharath is seeded third in the Men's event. In addition to this, India has four other seeded players in the top 16, which is unprecedented in a Pro Tour event. India even boasts of 3 seeds in the Women's event.
Sharath is partnering Soumyadeep Roy at this event in the doubles and they are the second seeds.

India's brighest chances are also the youngest with Soumyajit Ghosh and Harmeet Desai as the top two seeds in the Boys U-21 event. Manika Batra is the lone seed in the Girls U-21 section. 

1     ACHANTA Sharath Kamal
2     SAHA Subhajit 
3     RAVICHANDRAN Abishek 
4     GHOSH Soumyajit
5     ROY Soumyadeep  
6     CHAKRABORTY Sourav 
7     DESAI Harmeet 
8     GNANASEKARAN Sathiyan 
9     SHETTY Sanil  
10     SAHA Sourav 
11     KUMARESAN Shamini 
12     PATKAR Madhurika  
13     GHATAK Poulomi 
14     BATRA Manika 
15     PRABHU Mamata 
16     DAS Ankita  
17     SAHASRABUDHE Pooja
18     DESHPANDE Divya  

Valeri Kim wins the 2011 Techflash title

(PSBJ photo/Marcus Donner)

Valeri Kim beat Tatyana Schastlivay of Akvelon to win theTechflash Table Tennis Championship.

The tournament was held at the Showbox SoDo. Kim is a developer at Microsoft. It was his third title. A total of over 80 players participated in the tourney.


Yiyong Fan of the Washington Table Tennis Center in Bellevue and the No. 5 in all of the USA gave a lightning display.

Nagpur State Ranking Final Day Results

Here are the results of the final day at the Maharashtra State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament at Nagpur.

Wang Hao - Lost and injured, but still a Big hearted Hero

Wang Hao was injured on his left foot before his club Bayi's match against Bazhou in the Chinese Super League. So far, Wang Hao had spearheaded the challenge against much feared opponents, ably helped by teenager Yan An.

Wang Hao first lost to Cui Qinglei and then decided to play the reverse rubber even though he was injured. And his reason for doing this? "“The audience has come all the way here to watch and that is the reason why I need to play.” Now, this is the spirit that will make Table Tennis popular. Wang Hao sensed that the crowd has arrived to watch him and Xu Xin (both super stars in China) play. Wang did not stand a chance against the fit and agile Xu Xin and duly lost. But he won many hearts.

Immediately after the match, he flew to Beijing to consult doctors. Wang Tao, a former World Championship finalist and the coach of the team, was a worried man. He was hoping that the super hero will be back in action in the Main rounds since Bayi has already qualified mainly due to Wang Hao's earlier exploits.

We salute the Hero, down but definitely not out!

Sanmay repeats double with authority

Sanmay Paranjape won the Youth and Men's titles at Nagpur. This time he won both the finals 4-0.

Vedika Garg won the Women's title, while Sruja Bhat grabbed the Youth girls crown. Pune dominated the tournament by winning the Junior Boys and Girls crown when Chinmay Datar and Devika Bhide won.

Details and results to follow.

The Gritty Jan Ove Waldner! Read this.

Excerpt from an amazing article:

Summer 1980:
Jan-Ove Waldner visits China for the first time. The boy, who already has the reputation of a prodigy, plays in front of 12,000 enthusiastic spectators at the Shanghai Open. He experiences hard training for the first time in his life. The caretaker, of the hall in which he is practising, challenges him to a match and wins easily. Jan-Ove plays against many Chinese teenagers and loses many matches. Nevertheless, he learns from every encounter. He stores techniques, tactics and countless details in his brain. Deep in his subconscious mind burns the passion of this small boy: I'll show them! I'll beat the lot of them!".

Read the fascinating rise and rise of the Table Tennis legend Jan Ove Waldner at the following URL: http://www.tabletennis-sportsm​adison.com/en/action-contingut​s.continguts+subcat-731/The+Ja​n-Ove+Waldner+story.htm

Original texts thanks to DONIC - Exclusive Distribution by www.tenismesa.es

Nagpur State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament Results 2011

YOUTH BOYS SINGLES

Quarter	Sanmay Paranjape(PNA)  [Seed - 1] Bt Ravindra Kotiyan(MSD) [Seed - 8]	11/7,11/6,11/8,11/6
Quarter	Shubhankar Renavikar(PNA)  [Seed - 6] Bt Chinmay Datar(PNA) [Seed - 3]	11/5,9/11,11/9,11/7,11/6
Quarter	Devdatta Fadnavis(NGP)  [Seed - 4] Bt Sanish Ambekar(THN) [Seed - 12]	14/12,10/12,11/6,11/5,12/10
Quarter	Paresh Murekar(MCD)  [Seed - 10] Bt Rohan Sameer Kulkarni(PNA) [Seed - 15]	11/9,11/4,11/7,10/12,8/11,11/7

YOUTH GIRLS SINGLES

Quarter	Sayali Deshpande(PNA)  [Seed - 2] Bt Sanika Divekar(THN) [Seed - 10]	11/7,11/5,7/11,11/7,11/9
Quarter	Vedika Garg(THN)  [Seed - 1] Bt Jagruti Murbadkar(THN) [Seed - 9]	11/4,11/6,11/7,11/4
Quarter	Sruja Bhat(PNA)  [Seed - 3] Bt Rutuja Khopkar(THN) [Seed - 6]	11/9,11/9,12/10,4/11,10/12,4/11,11/8
Quarter	Devika Bhide(PNA)  [Seed - 5] Bt Shirin Inamdar(THN) [Seed - 4]	11/5,11/5,11/8,7/11,8/11,11/6

MENS SINGLES

Quarter	Sanmay Paranjape(PNA)  [Seed - 1] Bt Ravindra Kotiyan(MSD)	9/11,11/7,11/5,11/2,8/11,11/4
Quarter	Eric Fernandes(MSD)  [Seed - 2] Bt Atul Bapat(PNA) [Seed - 7]	11/8,11/7,11/7,13/11
Quarter	Chaitanya Udare(thn)(THN)  [Seed - 12] Bt Mahendra Chiplunkar(MCD) [Seed - 13]	11/6,6/11,9/11,6/11,11/5,11/9,11/8
Quarter	Rohit Chaudhary(PNA)  [Seed - 6] Bt Jay Shroff(MSD) [Seed - 14]	11/2,11/4,8/11,11/9,10/12,12/10

WOMENS SINGLES

Quarter	Devika Bhide(PNA)  [Seed - 4] Bt Sanika Muley(ABD)	11/3,6/11,11/6,11/8,11/4
Quarter	Sanika Divekar(THN)  [Seed - 8] Bt Prajakta Tipale(THN) [Seed - 1]	14/12,11/9,13/11,2/11,7/11,11/5
Quarter	Deepti Chaphekar(PNA)  [Seed - 3] Bt Shirin Inamdar(THN) [Seed - 6]	11/7,17/15,11/4,11/6
Quarter	Vedika Garg(THN)  [Seed - 2] Bt Sayali Deshpande(PNA) [Seed - 7]	11/3,8/11,11/9,11/4,10/12,8/11,11/5

Nagpur State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament Results

 

JUNIOR GIRLS SINGLES

Quarter	Jagruti Murbadkar(THN)  [Seed - 5] Bt Sruja Bhat(PNA) [Seed - 4]	11/7,11/9,9/11,13/11,1/11,12/10
Quarter	Rutuja Khopkar(THN)  [Seed - 1] Bt Noopur Walve(THN) [Seed - 8]	13/11,14/12,11/6,11/6
Quarter	Sanika Muley(ABD)  [Seed - 6] Bt Shirin Inamdar(THN) [Seed - 3]	13/11,5/11,11/9,13/11,5/11,11/9
Quarter	Devika Bhide(PNA)  [Seed - 2] Bt Sanika Divekar(THN) [Seed - 7]	6/11,11/8,9/11,11/9,13/11,12/10

JUNIOR BOYS SINGLES

Quarter	Shubhankar Renavikar(PNA)  [Seed - 3] Bt Neel Joshi(PNA) [Seed - 6]	11/6,11/6,11/3,12/10
Quarter	Chinmay Datar(PNA)  [Seed - 4] Bt Parth Phansekar(THN) [Seed - 5]	5/11,13/11,11/6,7/11,11/5,11/6
Quarter	Sanish Ambekar(THN)  [Seed - 9] Bt Jay Shroff(MSD) [Seed - 1]	11/7,11/9,7/11,11/7,9/11,11/9
Quarter	Devdatta Fadnavis(NGP)  [Seed - 2] Bt Sarvesh Chandratre(NSK) [Seed - 7]	9/11,11/7,11/7,11/6,11/5

Abhishek puts up a brilliant show; Juniors give Chinese a huge scare

Asian Junior Table Tennis, Delhi

Sourav Saha lost to World No.18 after leading 3-0. Harmeet Desai lost close 2-4 to World No.4. Sathiyan lost to world No. 2, 4-3.

In the Cadet Boy's, Abhishek Yadav beat top seed, Lim Jong Hoon and reached the semi-finals. He also qualified for the World Junior circuit finals and the Global Cadet challenge. Congrats to all the players for a brilliant show in the team and singles events.

Timo Boll and Ma Lin advance to the Champions Group of Chinese Super League

Timo Boll playing on the same side as Ma Lin for Zhejiang, advanced to the Champions group. The other group is the Relegation group. The matches start on 5th August 2011.

Do you have Table Tennis Ball Control?

Chris Daffin and Steven Randell failed in an attempt recently to break the World Record for Table Tennis Bat and Ball control, but did raise 600 pounds (Rs. 43,000) for charity.

The longest control of a table tennis ball with a table tennis bat is 4 hours, 39 minutes, 52 seconds and was achieved by Deepak Sharma Bajagain (Nepal) at the National Sports Council's Covered Hall in Tripureshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal, on 1 December 2009.  (Source - Guiness World Records)

Deepak Bajgain - Current record holder

Upcoming Table Tennis Tournaments

Karnataka State-ranking table tennis tournament at Tilakwadi Club, Belgaum
[Jul 21 2011 - 24 Jul 2011] 
Maharashtra State Ranking Tournament
[23 Jul 2011 - 27 Jul 2011]

Maharaj Bag Club, Amravati Road, Near Bhole Petrol Pump, Dharampeth, Opp. RTO Office, Nagpur – 440010 
45th Hero Honda Haryana Inter District and Open Table Tennis Championships,2011
[ 28 Jul 2011  -  03 Aug 2011 ]
Highway Dhani,Rohtak 
Maharashtra State Ranking Tournament[2 Aug 2011 - 6 Aug 2011] 

Sahayog Mandir,Sahayog Mandir Path, Off Ram Maruti Road , Ghantali , Thane ( West ).

Jean Michel Saive advances to the finals after beating Sharath Kamal

Sharath lost in the Semis of the Morocco Pro Tour against experienced Jean Michel Saive. Sharath had his chances, but he went down 2-4.

The good news is that he is clawing back to form and this is his best performance of the current season.

Sharath in the Semi finals of the Morocco Open

Sharath beat E Lebesson 4-3 after saving two match points when he was down 8-10 in the decider in the Quarter finals of the Pro Tour Table Tennis tournament at Morocco. Earlier, he was down 1-3 in games. Brilliant comeback.

Please pass the message to your TT friends.
Congrats Champ! You are now in the Semi Finals. Seeding justified.

Editor

Sharath Kamal to play in Morocco Open

Sharath Kamal is seeded fourth at the 2011 Morocco Open Hassan II ITTF Pro Tour even at Rabat.

The tournament starts on July 14th and boasts of an impressive line up headed by Vladimir Samsonov. Kasumi Ishikawa is the top seed in the Women's section.

Men's Top seeds

SAMSONOV Vladimir   BLR  SAIVE Jean-Michel   BEL  FREITAS Marcos   POR  ACHANTA Sharath Kamal   IND  MACHADO Carlos   ESP
Women's Top seeds
ISHIKAWA Kasumi   JPN  HIRANO Sayaka   JPN  WANG Yuegu   SIN  YU Mengyu   SIN  SUN Beibei   SIN

Olympic Champ Ryu Weds

Photo courtesy tabletennista.com

2004 Olympic Table Tennis Champion, Ryu Seung Min exchanged vows with Lee Yun Hee at the Renaissance Seoul Hotel recently.

Ryu has been having a relatively bad patch off late. But here's hoping that his new wife will bring good luck to his TT career.

Photo courtesy tabletennista.com

Naina, Birdie Boro win sub junior titles

Birdie Boro

Naina (AP) and Birdie Boro won the Sub Junior Girls and Boys titles at the North Zone National Table Tennis Ranking tournament being held at Srinagar.

Naina

Earlier, S Selena Deepthi and Akash Nath had won the Cadet Girls and Boys titles.

Kishikawa bags Japan Open title

Seiya Kishikawa beat his more famed rival, Jun Mizutani to win the Kobe Pro tour title. Kishikawa won 4-1.

Feng Tianwei won the women's title by comprehensively beating Ai Fukahara 4-0.

The highlight of the tournament was a spate of upsets in the initial rounds with a record number of seeds being shown the door in the Men's singles 1st rounds.

Editor

Sharath Kamal will play for Werder Bremen TTC this season

India's Star TT player, Achanta Sharath Kamal will represent the Werder Bremen club this season, which starts in September. In his first season in Germany last year, he played for TSV Gräfelfing. Sharath had an impressive record last year but his team mates perfomances left a lot to be desired.

At Werder Bremen TTC, he will get support from Adrian Crisan, Jens Lundquist and Cioti and have chances to advance in the European leagues.