Il sito ITTF (www.ittf.com) ha dedicato un bell’articolo, a firma di Ian Marshall,  alle promozioni in Championship di Italia ed Ingilterra. Collegandosi con l’articolo, nella pagina c’è anche il video dell’intervista a Deniso ed agli azzurri da parte del dirigente svedese  ITTF Mikael Andersson di cui ricordiamo con piacere la sua presenza al Top 10 giovanile di Terni l’anno scorso.

Ecco il testo integrale dell’articolo.

Return to Top Flight, England and Italy Clinch Division Two Titles

Italy and England celebrated on the evening of Saturday 3rd May in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium at the ZEN-NOH 2014 World Team Championships in Tokyo.

Both recorded wins that ensured a return to the Championship Division; for Italy it was a return after a four year absence, they were relegated in Moscow in 2010, when finishing in the final place in the top league.

Meanwhile, for England, the situation was somewhat different, under the present system they had never played in the Men’s Championship Division; although in 1997 in Manchester they had finished 14th place, which in present day terms would equate to a creditable Championship Division finish.

Ptrsent in Moscow
Members of the 2010 Italian outfit Mihai Bobocica and Niagol Stoyanov were both on duty in Tokyo; they gave the eventual victors the perfect start.

Mihai Bobocica beat Tomas Konecny (9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 12-10), Niagol Stoyanov defeated Dmitrij Prokopcov (11-3, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9), before Leonardo Mutti overcame Pavel Sirucek to conclude proceedings (11-5, 11-9, 4-11, 5-11, 11-8).

Unexpected Win
An impressive win for Italy with Leonardo Mutti, who had suffered agonising defeats earlier in the tournament, cementing the victory he excelled.

“I didn't expect to win against Sirucek because he is a very good player and he plays well against left-handers”, said Leonardo Mutti.

Guiding Hand
Success for Leonardo Mutti but the man to guide Italy to the Championship Division was the outstanding Mihai Bobocica.

Not Lose
“Before this event I set a goal not to lose a match and I managed to achieve that; I am very happy that we were able to qualify for the top division; there are many strong teams in the Second Division”, said Mihai Bobocica. “I believe that the best five teams in Second division are better than the lowest five teams in the Championship Division.”

Now that’s a topic for discussion over a few beers in the bar at midnight.

Present in Manchester
Different emotions for Mihai Bobocica and Niagol Stoyanov than two years earlier in Moscow; equally one member of the England line-up had experienced the trials and tribulations of Manchester in 1997 and was on duty in Tokyo.

In 1997 Matthew Syed, Carl Prean, Alex Perry, Bradley Billington and a certain Alan Cooke had formed the England squad in the Men’s Team event; 17 years later Alan Cooke was against present. He was the England Men’s Coach on duty at the ZEN-NOH 2014 World Team Championships.

Full Distance
Furthermore his skill as a mentor and guiding hand was required to the full; England beat the Slovak Republic in a five match duel.

Star of the show for England was Liam Pitchford. He beat Thomas Keinath (12-10, 12-10, 11-8) and Lubomir Pistej (11-8, 11-9, 11-8) with the one further win for England coming from Paul Drinkhall. In the concluding match of the contest, he overcame Thomas Keinath (11-5, 11-7, 12-10).

The wins for the Slovak Republic came from Lubomir Pistej in the second match of the engagement against Paul Drinkhall (11-2, 11-2, 6-11,9-11, 12-10) and in the very next contest from Peter Sereda in opposition to Danny Reed (11-8, 11-8, 16-18, 4-11, 11-7).

Great Team Effort
“It's just been a great team performance and we are happy to go to the top division but we've still got another match tomorrow and hopefully we can come out as winners; playing Tomas Keinath was a new thing for me”, said Paul Drinkhall. “I got a great start, totally different to my first match so it was good to come through.”

Success for Italy, in two years’ time in Kuala Lumpur, the Championship Division awaits.

(Nella foto Bobocica corre verso Mutti che ha appena concluso vittoriosamente il suo difficile incontro con Sirucek, n. 115 al mondo)