The table tennis event of the 2019 European Games taking place 22-29 June 2019 in Minsk, Belarus serves as the first qualification event for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The 2019 European Games offers athletes the chance to qualify continental spots for Tokyo with the 3 medalists of the men's and women's singles events, team champion of the men's and women's team events and mixed doubles champion will advance. While at the last European Games, only the winner of the men's and women's singles events, Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany and Li Jiao of the Netherlands, received automatic singles qualification for the Olympic Games. The fields are getting deeper and more competitive, so look forward to this and all future continental events which also act as Olympic qualifiers!
Medal Summary
Germany dominates 2019 European Games winning 4 golds in men's singles, mixed doubles, men's and women's team respectively and 1 silver in women's singles. Through the victory they have secured all Olympic quota places an NOC could possibly earn in table tennis event. Singles medalists Jonathan Groth of Denmark, Pucar Tomislav of Croatia, Fu Yu of Portugal who won her first European title at the Games and 55-year-old legend Ni Xia Lian of Luxembourg have qualified for the singles event of 2020 Olympics.
Mixed Doubles (The champion qualify to Tokyo)
Date: 23-25 June (Final: 25 Jun 19:00) (GMT +3)
The first table tennis medal of the 2019 European Games is the mixed doubles event which will begin on 23 June and the finals will be held on 25 June and is a new event added to the Games. Slovakian duo Pistej Lubomir / Balazova Barbora is the no.1 seed and next up occupying the no.2 seeded position is the 2018 European mixed doubles runner-up Fegerl Stefan / Polcanova Sofia of Austira. Franziska Patrick / Solja Petrissa of Germany who are the 2019 mixed doubles world bronze medalists will also hope to threaten for the gold. Flore Tristan / Gasnier Laura of France, Szudi Adam / Pergel Szandra of Hungary and Ionescu Ovidiu / Szocs Bernadette of Romania who made to the round of 16 at the 2019 World Championships should also be solidly in the mix.
Women's Singles (The top 3 qualify to Tokyo)
Date: 22-26 June (Final: 26 Jun 18:00) (GMT +3)
Big names to watch in the women's field include Solja Petrissa of Germany, Szocs Bernadette of Romania and Polcanova Sofia of Austria who finished on the podium at the 2019 Europe Top 16 Cup. In addition to the medalists of the Top 16 Cup, Ekholm Matilda of Sweden, Samara Elizabeta of Romania and Pota Georgina are all capable of finishing on the podium. We are also excited to see defenders like Li Qian who won a historic European champion for Poland in 2018, Li Jie of the Netherlands, Mikhailova Polina of Russia and Han Ying of Germany. Luxembourg's Ni Xia Lian, the pips-out penholder, who is still fairly competitive at the age of 55 is also one to watch.
Click here for the full list of competitors in the women's singles event.
Men's Singles (The top 3 qualify to Tokyo)
Date: 22-26 June (Final: 26 Jun 19:00) (GMT +3)
Men's singles is shaping up a very strong field and the race for the podium is pretty wide open. I genuinely think the top 16 seeds could have a shot of medalling. That describes how close the competition is. However if I have to name a few, I would go for the fellow Germans, Timo Boll, 2018 European champion, and Dimitrij Ovtcharov, defending champion and 2019 Europe Top 16 winner, who are major contenders for the title here. While 2019 Europe Top 16 runner-up Vladimir Samsonov will also be looking to deliver a strong performance on home soil. Of course, one must not overlook the potential of Swedish player Mattias Falck who placed second behind Ma Long at the 2019 World Championships. Other world-class athletes will also hope to achieve a podium-finishing with Liam Pitchford of Great Britain and Simon Gauzy of France all in the mix.
Women's Team (The champion qualify to Tokyo)
Date: 27-29 June (Final: 29 Jun 13:00) (GMT +3)
The Games will adopt the new Olympic team format with the doubles match to be played first. The defending team champion Germany seeded no.1 but Romania, who won the 2017 European team champion over the Germans, could be a major threat with a solid doubles on the team. I do think Austria and Hungary are front runners for the medal but have to go above and beyond to contend for the title which carries an Olympic team quota and 2 singles quota places allotted to the NOC.
Men's Team (The champion qualify to Tokyo)
Date: 27-29 June (Final: 29 Jun 20:00) (GMT +3)
Similarly, Germany top seeded the men's field and is a clear favourite for the team title. Since they have a strong doubles Timo Boll / Patrick Franziska who defeated the reigning men's doubles world champion at the China Open to clinch gold a few weeks ago. France, Sweden and Austria are super capable of sneaking in as surprise contenders. While I am not sure if the defending champion Portugal could pull off a surprising victory like they did at the last Games
Past Medalists
How to Watch
The Olympic Channel will live stream the 2019 European Games from 21-30 June for free. Contact your cable or satellite provider to see if they provide you with the coverage.
The 2019 European Games is not merely a continental event but an Olympic qualifier which gives us an overview of each team's roster. Click here for the schedule and full rosters and check the 2019 European Games official websites for the results.
This is just the first Olympic qualifier and more are yet to come. We have constructed an Olympic Qualification Calendar to help you understand and follow the entire Olympic qualification process! Do have a glance so that you won't miss any tournament that matters!
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