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International Table Tennis Federation 15 Mar 2021
Seeded 30th for the men’s singles event at the World Singles Qualification Tournament, Czech Republic’s Lubomir Jancarik is through to the knockout 1 final in Doha following a remarkable 4-2 win over the no.1 seed from Great Britain, Liam Pitchford (11-6, 2-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10) on Monday 15th March.
Jancarik and Pitchford pictured in action (Photo: Rémy Gros)
by Simon Daish
Jancarik, who lodged an impressive comeback from two games down to beat Spain’s Alvaro Robles in the previous round, needed no such luck in his semi-final meeting with Pitchford. Never behind on games, the Czech showed great character from start to finish and now has his sights set firmly on Tokyo.
World Table Tennis Successfully Launches in Doha 03/14/21
The first ever official series of World Table Tennis (WTT) events, the Middle East Hub concluded yesterday with the successful staging of both WTT Contender and WTT Star Contender with Doha showcasing a new era in table tennis and zero COVID-19 cases.
The two historic events took place at the Lusail Sports Arena with WTT working closely with the Qatari authorities to ensure the new WTT style of events could begin during the pandemic, that makes hosting events extremely complicated.
ITTF CEO/WTT Director Steve Dainton said: “I am delighted that, despite the many challenges of a global pandemic, we are able to give our players, fans and supporters across the world the opportunity to enjoy live, competitive international table tennis at the elite level. Our brand new events this year, starting with the Contender series here in Doha, are taking our sport to the next level, for competitor and viewer alike.
International Table Tennis Federation 21 Jan 2021
Several world-class athletes have been added to the roster at the WTT Middle East Hub, which takes place between 3 – 13 March 2021 at Lusail Sports Arena in Doha, Qatar.
The level of competition has been raised at the first official events of the WTT era thanks to the introduction of some elite names entering as wildcards in the men’s and women’s singles fields. Meanwhile, the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles categories have also been confirmed.
The Middle East Hub will feature two tiers of the new WTT event structure, with a WTT Contender followed by a WTT Star Contender event in consecutive weeks, providing the perfect preparation for some of the world’s leading names to be challenged by the best up-and-coming athletes in table tennis.
International Table Tennis Federation 20 Dec 2020
The highest Spanish entry on the ITTF World Rankings list and an experienced head on the world stage, Alvaro Robles has been the pacesetter for his nation’s efforts over the past decade with numerous appearances at the sport’s most prestigious events.
Robles pulled off one of his finest international achievements last year when he combined with Romania’s Ovidiu Ionescu to claim men’s doubles silver at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships in Budapest. One year on the ITTF caught up with the Spaniard to discuss all things table tennis.
Alvaro Robles, awaiting a successful 2021?