Чемпионат Европы 2009 Штутгарт, Германия 13-20 сентября

Live scoring:
-tables 1-4, Porsche-Arena, main playing hall
-tables 5-24, Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, second playing hall
следить за матчами можно здесь
http://em2009.tischtennis.de/en/news/live_scores/

Прямые трансляции из Германии (видео) можно смотреть по ссылке
http://www.ettutv.com/?Menu=Live_video&Action=Li...
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„Looking forward to eight days of worldclass table tennis“

Stuttgart. On Sunday morning the official opening ceremony of the 2009 LIEBHERR European Championships in Stuttgart took place in the Porsche-Arena. Until Sunday next week, Europe’s best table tennis players will demonstrate their skills, a second time in Stuttgart after 1992. Günther H. Oettinger, Minister President of Baden-Württemberg, Dr. Wolfgang Schuster, Mayor of the City of Stuttgart, Thomas Weikert, President of the German Table Tennis Association (DTTB) and Stefano Bosi, President of the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU), uttered their warm welcome to the spectators, participants und officials and said thank you to the assistants and sponsors of this event. 14-year-old singer Catharina Heller from the “Young Opera” Stuttgart marked a music highlight with the song “Fight to Win”.

„Great Sport with a small ball“

„I expect great sport with a small ball“, said Minister President Oettinger in his opening speech. “I hope”, he added, “that table tennis will become upgraded in Germany and Europe through this European Championships”. Following Oettinger, Mayor Schuster described table tennis as a “wonderful” and “exciting” sport, which can be exercised a lifetime.

A talented young singer performs „Fight to win“

Under the applause of the spectators, each of the 47 participating associations was presented with the national flag on the video screen. 14-year-old Catharina Heller, who performed the song “Fight to Win” obtained approval from the spectators, too. At the age of 9, she had already entered the “Young Opera” Stuttgart, a choir for extraordinary talented singers. Even though she already performed on stage in front of 5 000 opera spectators, she had never performed during a big sports event. “The excitement was big at the beginning, but everything went well”, she said. Her next performance on the last day of the championships doesn’t concern her anymore: “Now I am used to it”, she added.

Participants of the Finals in 1992 return to Stuttgart

Thomas Weikert expressed his pleasant anticipation in his speech: “I am looking forward to eight days of world class table tennis.” Championships of “integration and fairness” should promote the fascinating sport. He reminded the audience of the Finals in 1992, when German player Jörg Rosskopf won against Belgian player Jean-Michael Saive. Both return to Stuttgart 17 years later: Rosskopf as a coach in the German squad, Saive as an experienced player in the Belgian team. Before ETTU-President Stefano Bosi declared the championships open, he highlighted the contribution of table tennis in these days to a strong and organized united Europe.
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Vladimir Samsonov: „Of course I’d like to play the finals"

On Saturday the first training sessions started at 10 in the morning in the Porsche-Arena and Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle. According to the training schedule the national teams from Germany, Austria and Belarus were the first ones of the day who could practice for the LIEBHERR European Table-Tennis Championships starting on Sunday.

One of the top seeds, Belorussian player Vladimir Samsonov, practiced with his team partner Evgueni Chtchetinine. While he finished the training, Timo Boll entered the playing area. They showed their good relationship, talking for a few minutes. Samsonov does not want to exclude that Boll will be his opponent in the single final again this time like previous year in Saint Petersburg. “Of course I’d like to play the finals. Timo is the top favorite.”