The team competitions in table tennis for men and women were held at the Hall of Sports. The round of 16 was played in the morning, the quarterfinals in the afternoon, while the semi-finals were reserved for the evening. A team must win three matches (which are played in a best of five format) to secure the overall win.
The women’s team from the University of Zagreb were not able to qualify for the finals. The Russians from the Russian State University were better with 3:1. Ivana Tubikanec, Josipa Zajec and Ida Jazbec are nevertheless happy with the competition.
“We gave our best despite tiredness and the heat. We have played well but the Russians were excellent. Their team has a girl who is the world’s 150th table tennis player, that is not a small thing.”
Among the men’s teams there was uncertainty up until the last set. Tasshve Walbrzych University were better than the University of Ostrava with 3:0. This is the fifth competition in Zagreb for the Czechs.
“We often played in this very hall at international tournaments. It’s a shame we did not qualify for the finals, but we are going home with a bronze medal.”
Fatigue took toll on the players, who made more and more mistakes as the evening progressed. The Polish from Kozminski University and the Russians from Russian State University played an exhausting and difficult match, which eventually ended 3:1 in favor of the Russians, who had won the table tennis tournament at the Games in Rotterdam in 2014.
“Three difficult matches are behind us. The competition was much stronger this year than at the last Games, that’s why we are even happier that we won tonight. We will rest, get some sleep and give our best tomorrow to defend the gold.”
On Thursday, in the women’s tournament, Russian State University and Kazan Federal University will be playing each other. In the men’s the tournament, the Russians from Russian State University will be playing against the Polish from Tasshve Walbrzych University. All matches begin at 17:00 hours at the Hall of Sports.
Results
