1/19/2008 2008 Slovenian Open

Top seed Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus, brought matters to a conclusion on Saturday 19th January 2008 at the Slovenian Open in Velenje by winning the Men’s Singles event with a final victory over the number two seed, Hong Kong’s Li Ching.

Vladimir Samsonov, exercising his usual immaculate control over a table tennis ball, annulled the speed of Li Ching to record a six games victory. The number one seed won 10-12, 11-4, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8, 11-9.

Including two Grand Finals it was the twenty-fourth time in the career of Vladimir Samsonov that he had appeared in a Men’s Singles final on the ITTF Pro Tour; it was the seventeenth time he had emerged as the champion.

 1/19/2008 2008 Slovenian Open

Li Jiao of the Netherlands, the reigning European champion, won the Women’s Singles event at the Slovenian Open in Velenje on Saturday 19th January 2008 beating Veronika Pavlovich of Belarus in the final.

Seeded two, Li Jiao succeeded in four straight games to clinch gold; at the semi-final stage the right handed shakehands grip defensive style of Poland’s Li Qian had been much to the liking of Veronika Pavlovich but the left handed penhold grip attacking style of Li Jiao in the final was certainly not her favoured option.

In impressive style, Li Jiao won 11-6, 11-7, 11-3, 11-8.

 1/19/2008 2008 Slovenian Open

Second seeds, Chinese Taipei’s Chang Yen-Shu and Chiang Peng-Lung won the Men’s Doubles title at the Slovenian Open in Velenje on Saturday 19th January 2008 beating the Russian pairing of Dimitrij Mazunov and Aleexei Smirnov in the final.

The two Asian right handed penhold grip players beat the two European right handed shakehands grip players in five games to claim gold.

Chang Yen-Shu and Chiang Peng-Lung recovered from an opening game deficit to win 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7.

 1/19/2008 2008 Slovenian Open

Russia’s Irina Kotikhina in partnership with Li Jie of the Netherlands won the Women’s Doubles title at the Slovenian Open in Velenje on Saturday 19th January 2008 beating Li Jiao, also of the Netherlands and Spain’s Zhu Fang in the final.

It was the first time that either Irina Kotikhina or Li Jie had appeared in a Women’s Doubles final on the ITTF Pro Tour and the two final pairings were both surprise finalists.

Neither pairing was seeded and both had to compete in the preliminary rounds of the competition.

The margin of victory for Irina Kotikhina and Li Jie was 6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8, 12-10.

 1/19/2008 2008 Slovenian Open

Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus and Hong Kong’s Li Ching, the top two seeds in the Men’s Singles event at the Slovenian Open in Velenje, duly booked their places in the final with impressive penultimate round victories.

Playing in his usual assured style, Vladimir Samsonov proved too consistent for Germany’s Dimytrij Ovtcharov whilst the speed of Li Ching proved crucial, as he brought the fairy tale run of Portugal’s João Monteiro to a close.

Li Ching succeeded by the margin of 11-7, 11-9, 11-9, 11-4 after Vladimir Samsonov had beaten the rising German star in straight games, winning 11-6, 12-10, 11-9, 11-3.

 1/19/2008 2008 Slovenian Open

Veronika Pavlovich of Belarus and Li Jiao of the Netherlands were the two players to succeed at the semi-final stage of the Women’s Singles event at the Slovenian Open in Velenje on Saturday 19th January 2008 and for both it was a first time in their careers that they had reserved a place in a Women’s Singles final on the ITTF Pro Tour.

Seeded thirty, Veronika Pavlovich beat the number five seed, Poland’s Li Qian whilst second seed, Lia Jiao defeated Russia’s Irina Kotikhina, the twenty-third seed.

Victory for Veronika Pavlovich was secured by the margin of 13-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 11-5 whilst Li Jiao had to recover from a three games to one deficit to succeed.

 1/18/2008 2008 Slovenian Open

Romania’s Daniela Dodean retained her Under 21 Women’s Singles title at the Slovenian Open on Friday 18th January 2008, whilst Emmanuel Lebesson of France maintained the form he had shown in the autumn of 2007 to clinch gold in the counterpart male event.

One year ago at the Gorenje Slovenian Open, Daniela Dodean had beaten the Czech Republic’s Iveta Vacenovska in the final; one year later she beat compatriot Elizabeta Samara in the title deciding contest. Daniela Dodean won by the very narrowest of margins against her close friend and team mate. She succeeded 11-5, 11-13, 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-13, 14-12.