Orenburg Russian Champion – and soon even Champions League Winner?

Ovtcharov – one more title

Russian Champion once again – and maybe soon Champions League Winner again. That’s the impressive balance which DONIC star Dimitrij Ovtcharov has achieved during the recent weeks with the club Fakel Gazprom Orenburg. First Dima was responsible that the club won the fifth title in the Russian Championships – an impressive balance for the club which had been founded in 2001 and which during its recent 11 years of history has won the Russian Cup twice (2006 and 2009) as well as the ETTU Cup in 2011. And now even the very big success is possible: the triumph in the Champions League. The chances are very good. Orenburg won the final of the first round against the Russian competitor UMMC Ekaterinenburg with 3:0 and only lost two sets. This means best conditions for the second round which takes place in Orenburg on 17th May.
But Orenburg has been warned. In this competition UMMC was already twice able to advance after a 0:3 defeat in the first round: In the quarter final against the French club Levallois and in the semi-final against the club 1.FC Saarbrücken. With the Chinese world-class defender Hou Yingchao, the Dane Michael Maze and the ambitious Russian star Alexander Shibaev the team has got three players who might present unsteady performances on some days, but basically they are able to win against everyone.

“We are alerted”, Ovtcharov said. He knows: ”If we lose the first single in the second round with 0:3, we are already under pressure.”
But the DONIC team Orenburg confidently enters the second round. A club which has won the first round in a sold-out hall in front of 2000 spectators can be optimistic, considering also the brilliant result of 9:2 sets. Winning one match or three sets would be enough for Orenburg to win the title, and how much the club focuses on winning the title after the defeat in the previous year against Borussia, they impressively proved in the first round. In the opening match DONIC star Dima Ovtachrov won against Shibaev with 3:0 (6,9,5) – and that after the Russian had won over Dima with 3:0 one week before in the frame of the Russian Championships. Vladimir Samsonov mastered Michael Maze with 3:1, although the Dane was leading 7:4 in the fourth set. And Alexeij Smirnov managed the biggest surprise when winning 3:1 over Hou Yingchao. “During the recent years the two players had played against each other in eight matches and Hou Yingchao had won all of the eight matches”, announced Ovtacharov. The Chinese, who is famous for his extreme back spin, had an good balance: against Samsonov 1:1, against Ovtcharov 2:2. “The more times you play against him, the easier it gets”, says DONIC star Dima. “I think Ekaterinenburg was afraid that Hou Yingcharo would lose against Vladi and me and therefore they put him on position three,  to be sure that he can make a point there!

The defeat was even more painful for UMMC, as Orenburg and Ekaterinenburg aren’t only two Russian clubs. “Between these two clubs there is an enormous rivalry”, said Ovtcharov, “that’s almost like the situation when Real Madrid and the club FC Barcelona meet.”

Orenburg has already got the Champion title – for Ovtcharov in his second year at the Russian top club the second national title. How precious Dima is for the Champions Leage shows his balance of the recent four years in this competition: During this time period he has always reached the final – and this with three different clubs. 2009 he won the title with Düsseldorf, 2010 (with Charleroi) and 2011 (with Orenburg) he became second, and now on 17th May, he’ll fight again.

ITTF press release dated 4th Mai 2012

Agreement Extended with DONIC for Men's World Cup

The DONIC table at the LIEBHERR 2011 Men's World Cup in Paris.

Photo by Vincent Kovacss.

Selected for the LIEBHERR Men's World Cup, staged in Paris in November 2011, the German manufacturer DONIC will once again be the table sponsor and supplier in 2012 when the tournament is staged in Liverpool from Friday 28th to Sunday 30th September.
Not only will DONIC be the sponsor in 2012; brokered by TMS International, the marketing partner of the International Table Tennis Federation, DONIC will be the table sponsor and supplier for the prestigious competition for a further three years.
A deal has been signed that extends the current agreement to 2015
"The ITTF is extremely pleased that DONIC took the initiative and requested an extension to the sponsorship as the table supplier for the Men's World Cup", said Adham Sharara, ITTF President. "This initiative was received with open arms by the ITTF, as we look for a long term partnership with DONIC and innovative table designs; it goes without saying that DONIC provides "state-of-the-art" tables for this prestigious ITTF World Title event."
Notably Sweden's Jan-Ove Waldner and Jörgen Persson are two of the most celebrated names the company has supported. More recently, two of Europe's most exciting young players Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Russia's Kirill Skachkov, have signed contracts with DONIC.
"The Men's World Cup is one of the most important and image enhancing tournaments on the world table tennis circuit", said Frank Schreiner, the President of DONIC. "We are very pleased that the ITTF has confidence in our brand and has agreed to prolong the agreement as the table supplier for the Men's World Cup for further five years."
Confidence in the brand most certainly, the company has a reputation for excellence with the International Table Tennis Federation not being the only organisation to place faith in the company.
"As table supplier at various European Championships, 2012 in Denmark and 2013 in Austria, it is very important for DONIC, as one of the most renowned brands world-wide, to be also present at ITTF world events", added Frank Schreiner.
DONIC is a global brand, most recently the company was the equipment sponsor of the GAC GROUP 2012 ITTF World Tour Spanish Open in Almeria.
"We are very pleased to extend this agreement until 2015, it fits our aim perfectly to have partners that commit long-term to ITTF World Title properties", said Anders Thunstrm, Managing Director, TMS International. "When DONIC asked us to look for an opportunity to reach an agreement until 2015, we did not hesitate to contact the ITTF and see if a deal could be made".
The contact was made, the deal was signed, DONIC is the sponsor and supplier for the LIEBHERR Men's World Cup for the next four editions.
-End of Press Release-
By Ian Marshall
 
________________________________________
Editors Notes:

DONIC believes in quality, innovation and speed. To be the first on the market with a new product is DONIC's tradition. Permanent innovations for more than 25 years have powered DONIC to one of the most renowned table tennis brands in the world.
The International Table Tennis Federation is responsible for the global sport of table tennis and has 217 affiliated National Associations.

Table Tennis is an Olympic Sport, introduced at the 1988 Seoul Olympics Games.

Table Tennis is also a Paralympic Sport.

World Cup

Heroes are born in Liverpool

Liverpool is used to heroes. The town in the north-west of England is not only the home town of the legendary Beatles, but also of the “Reds”, as the football players of the FC Riverton are called, as well as of the FC Everton. And very soon it will also be the organizer of the Men’s World Cup which is held in the seaport from 28 to 30 September.

As it was already often the case with important events, the organizers rely on DONIC material. The traditional German company supplies the tables and nets for the prestigious tournament and at least one player from the circle of the DONIC stars is known as the favourite for a start in Liverpool: Dimitrij Ovtcharov meanwhile among the top 10 in the world ranking list, will quasi have a home match on DONIC tables. But we have to wait and see whether this helps to cause a surprise against the elite from Asia as well as against Timo Boll. But who knows? As it is generally known: From time to time heroes are born in Liverpool…

European Youth Championships in Schwechat / Austria

Wanted: Waldner’s successor

The Team WTTC in Dortmund and the European Olympic Qualification tournament in Luxembourg have just been over, but the stars of the scene are only allowed to catch a short breath. Now the German Bundesleague starts to get into the hot phase and there are only less than 100 days left before the Olympic Games in London start. However, before the opening of the Olympics there is another highlight in the international tournament calendar: The European Youth Championships which will be held in the Multiversum in Schwechat near Vienna / Austria from 13th to 22nd July and for all the players who take part there, this is the highlight of the year.

And there will be a lot of players that start in the Multiversum Schwechat – more than ever. With 52 nations, the previous record of 44 associations that were present at the European Youth Championships 2010 in Istanbul / Turkey, has been exceeded considerably. The boys and girls as well as cadets will do four competitions each (team, single, double and mixed). This means the logistic requirements, the organizers have to cope with, are very high. And for this event where the stars of tomorrow are present, they decided to take the best equipment. They play on DONIC Delhi SLC tables and over DONIC Stress nets as well as with Nittaku balls.

The Werner Schlager Academy Schwechat, which is the organizer of this continental major event with hundreds of participants, has got a lot to do and plans already ahead. 2013 the European Championships of the women’s and men’s teams will also take place in the Multiversum in Schwechat and also for this event DONIC will be the table supplier. If the Austrian are able to manage this rehearsal of the European Youth Championships successfully, they can relaxed wait for the next highlight in next year, as “considering the number of active players the European Youth Championships are even bigger than the standard European Championships”, says Rudolf Sporrer, the general secretary, of the Austrian Table Tennis Association.

The European Youth Championships have already often been the hour of birth of many future world class players – and so it was for the best table tennis player of all times: DONIC star Jan-Ove Waldner won 7 gold medals at the European Youth Championships and therefore is the record holder until now. Due to his unique ball feeling and his phenomenal performances he has made himself immortal in the world of table tennis. In some weeks they will be looking for his successors in Schwechat. And they all can rely on the same basis which has also supported Waldner from his childhood on: Quality from DONIC.