Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV and Netherland’s LI Jiao are the inaugural European Games champions in Baku, Azerbaijan, gaining them direct entry to the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
The table tennis event of the first ever European Games, which took place from 13 -19 June 2015, is the first of 9 ITTF continental qualification tournaments for top athletes around the world to battle for a spot at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.
In the final hurdle for the Men’s Singles title, OVTCHAROV faced the challenge of the Belarusian legend, Vladimir SAMSONOV in a tight 7-games thriller, stretching both players to their limits. The 26-year-old German eventually prevailed 4 games to 3 (10:12, 7:11, 11:9, 11:3, 9:11, 11:7, 11:8) to take home the crown.
“We had a disappointing Men’s Team event, but the gold from our women’s team really gave me extra motivation for the singles event,” explained OVTCHAROV. “It was a very difficult and long match, and I was suffering from back pain at the beginning. My friend SAMSONOV also deserved to win it. He pushed me to the limits”
The Women’s Singles gold medal was contested by surprise finalists LI Jie (NED) and LI Jiao (NED), who upset HAN Ying (No.1 seed, GER) and LIU Jia (No.2 seed, AUT) respectively en route to the finals.
In the all-Dutch fight for gold, the more experienced LI Jiao got the better of the situation to overcome her compatriot 4-0 (13:11, 11:5, 12:10, 11:5) to set foot in her third Olympics quest.
“Our aim was to secure good result here and we had very strong preparations. In past three weeks, I had hard trainings and I dedicated my full time to be ready for the challenge in Baku,” explained LI Jiao. “The final against LI Jie was particularly mentally difficult. We have known each other for 16 years, but I had to think about it like it is just another match.”
Clinching both the gold and silver in the Women’s Singles, Netherlands also won silver in the Women’s Team event, making them the most successful nation in the Women’s events. The Dutch team of LI Jiao, LI Jie and Britt EERLAND lost 2-3 to the tournament favorites Germany, represented by HAN Ying, SHAN Xiaona and Petrissa SOLJA.
Reigning European Men’s Team Champions, the Portuguese team of Marcos FREITAS, Tiago APOLONIA and Joao GERALDO overcame France (Simon GAUZY, Adrien MATTENET, Emmanuel LEBESSON) 3-1 to add another title to their name.
Men’s Singles:
Gold: Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER)
Silver: Vladimir SAMSONOV (BLR)
Bronze: KOU Lei (UKR)
Women’s Singles:
Gold: LI Jiao (NED)
Silver: LI Jie (NED)
Bronze: Melek HU (TUR)
Men’s Team:
Gold: Portugal
Silver: France
Bronze: Austria
Women’s Team:
Gold: Germany
Silver: Netherlands
Bronze: Czech Republic
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