07/29/2010       2010 Korea Junior & Cadet Open - ITTF Premium Junior Circuit

The host nation dominated the girls’ team events at the Korean Junior and Cadet Open on Thursday 29th July 2010; they provided both finalists in the Junior Girls’ Team competition, whilst also supplying the winner of the Cadet Girls’ Team competition.

Represented by Song Ma Eum, Choi Jung Min and Jo Yu Jin, Korea `B’ emerged as the Junior Girls’ Team champions.

Meanwhile, in the Cadet Girls’ Team competition, the top honours went to the outfit of Jung Yu Mi, Kim Dahae and Lee Dasom.

 07/28/2010       2010 The Central American and Caribbean Games

Trinidad and Tobago’s Dexter St Louis was the player to upset the statistics in the first stage of proceedings in the Men’s Singles event at the Central American and Caribbean Games in the Puerto Rican city of San German on Wednesday 28th July 2010.

In three straight games he beat Colombia’s tenth seeded Alex Echavarria to book top place in the group

The consolation for the Colombian was that he finished in second place in the group and thus joins Dexter St Louis in the main draw.

However, a shock result it was not.

 07/28/2010      

Putting theory into practice, a most logical way of working, was the policy adopted by Sweden’s always well organised Emanuel Christiansson for the ITTF Level Two Course staged in the South African city of Pretoria from Monday 19th to Saturday 24th July 2010.

A total of three women and eleven men attended the six day course organised by the ITTF Development Programme in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity with theory sessions being staged in the morning followed by practical sessions in the afternoon.

Home for the course was the Badminton Centre at the Pretoria Showground.

 07/28/2010      

In the early hours of Sunday 26th December 2004 an undersea earthquake, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia triggered what is has been recorded in history as the Boxing Day Tsunami.

Over 230,000 people in 14 countries, lost their lives; it was one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded; the Asian countries of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand were the hardest hit.

The International Table Tennis Federation responded immediately with assistance as did several table tennis manufacturers with the Tamasu Company who markets its products under the trade name of Butterfly being at the helm of assistance.

 07/27/2010       2010 Korean Hopes Challenge

The host nation dominated matters at the Korean Hopes Challenge in Pohang on Tuesday 27th July 2010; they captured gold in both the Boys’ and Girls’ Singles events, with Cho Seung Min, a name with a familiar ring, winning the male title and Chi Ye Rin, the counterpart female crown.

At the final hurdle Cho Seung Min overcame compatriot Lee Jang Mok; whilst Choi Ye Ra accounted for Marie Migot of France.

A silver medal for Marie Migot, a member of the ITTF World Hopes Team and it was a performance that impressed Mikael Andersson, the ITTF Executive Director – Education and Training.

 07/26/2010      

Situated on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, Rabat is the capital city of Morocco but in terms of geographical size and population it is the country’s second largest city, the largest being Casablanca.

However, in table tennis terms it is both the capital and the largest of all Morocco’s conurbations; current initiatives most certainly suggest that in Rabat, the sport is thriving.

An ITTF Pro Tour tournament concluded on Monday 26th July 2010 with Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus retaining the Men’s Singles title he had won one year earlier when the inaugural event was staged.

 07/26/2010      

Matters concluded in St George’s, it was a journey to St John’s for the next ITTF/PTT Level One Coaches Course in the travels of Spain Ramon Ortega Montes in the Caribbean island of Grenada.

Organised under the auspices of the ITTF Development Programme in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity, the first course had started on Wednesday 14th July, the second commenced six days later on Tuesday 20th July, with the scheduled finishing date being Monday 26th July 2010.

 07/26/2010      

The ever growing ITTF Development Programme took another step forward in the Brazilian city of Marilia in mid July, when the recently translated Portuguese version of the ITTF/PTT Level One Manual was used for a self-funded course.

A detailed programme saw Nelson Machado, the driving force behind the Marilia Table Tennis Club, conduct an ITTF/PTT Level One Course from Friday 16th to Monday 19th July 2010, followed immediately by an ITTF Level Two Course for the more experienced under the direction of Brazilian National Coach, Lincon Yasuda.

 07/26/2010       2010 Morocco Open Hassan II - ITTF Pro Tour

Victory for the top seed in the Men’s Singles event and in the ensuing Women’s Singles final at the Morocco Hasan II Open in Rabat on Monday 26th July 2010, it was also success for the top seed.

Seventeen year old Kasumi Ishikawa beat compatriot, Reiko Hiura, the no.3 seed, in five games to secure the title and thus became one of the youngest ever Men’s or Women’s Singles champions on the ITTF Pro Tour.

Kasumi Ishikawa won 11-3, 10-12, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9

However, she is not the youngest ever winner; that privilege belongs to another gifted female left hander.

 07/26/2010       2010 Ecuador Junior & Cadet Open - ITTF Junior Circuit

The year 2007 saw the Mega 5 enacted in the Ecuadorian city of Cuenca; it was a brave move, three tournaments, a training camp and the opening of the High Performance Training Centre in Guayaquil.

It is that totally refurbished Training Centre, which is situated within walking distance of the airport and provides Olympic standard playing conditions, to which the Mega 5 returns in 2010.

Matters start with the monthly Grand Prix tournament on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th August 2010, team and singles events in the Junior and Cadet age group categories being on the menu.