Media Notes – Day 2 Wtt Contender Budapest 2021
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WTT Contender Budapest 2021 Main Draw: 17 - 20 August USD 75,000 WTT CHANNELS: WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE FOR PRESS: [email protected] Download our Official App to catch all exclusive content, live scores and event updates! The app also provides the latest stats, world rankings, and LIVE broadcast (only selected territories). WTT app is available on IOS and Android devices and can be downloaded on Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store. MEDIA NOTES – DAY 2 WTT CONTENDER BUDAPEST 2021 OVERVIEW City: Budapest, Hungary Venue: Budapest Olympic Sports Hall Qualifying Dates: 15 – 16 August 2021 Main Draw: 17 – 20 August 2021 Table Brand: Joola 2000-S – Blue Ball Brand: DHS DJ40+ Floor Brand: Gerflor Taraflex – Black Prize Money USD 75,000 Welcome to World Table Tennis! As part of WTT's commitment to host events in the 2nd half of 2021, WTT Contender Budapest will create history as the first-ever WTT series event to be played in Europe and the first event since the staging of the highly successful WTT Middle East Hub in Doha in March. A total prize purse of US$75,000 will be on offer where the Men's and Women's Singles and Doubles and Mixed Doubles competitions will be contested. The main draw will feature 32-player singles draws, 16-pair doubles and 16-pair mixed doubles. The Top 20 Play-Down Restriction will be increased from a maximum of two Top 20 players to a maximum of four Top 20 players. Wildcards are awarded as an automatic entry into the event either by the main or qualifying draw. Following their campaign at the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020, the event will feature a host of Olympic stars such as Liam Pitchford, Quadri Aruna, Linda Bergstrom, Manika Batra and Yang Xiaoxin. #WTTBudapest 1 WTT Contender Budapest 2021 Main Draw: 17 - 20 August USD 75,000 DAY ONE HIGHLIGHTS • Men’s Singles top seed Liam Pitchford of England snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by beating host nation’s Adam Szudi. Pitchford was just one game away from an early exit but recovered gallantly to overcome Szudi, beating him 3-2 (9-11, 11-2, 10-12, 11-3, 11-7). • Second seed Quadri Aruna of Nigeria also survived a significant scare. Still, it relied on his vast experience to defeat 23-year-old Andreas Levenko of Austria, coming back from 1-2 down to successfully turn the match around 3-2 in his favour (9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-8). • Germany’s Ruwen Filus, one of the star performers at WTT Star Contender Doha 2021, became one of the event’s early casualties after falling to Czech Republic’s Tomas Polansky 2-3 (4-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7) despite having a two-game advantage. • The biggest casualty in the Women’s Singles round of 32 was Russia’s Yana Noskova after losing 2-3 (11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 5-11, 11-9) to India’s Archana Girish Kamath. • Two further seeded players departed in the Round of 32. Number seven seed Dora Madarasz was shown the exit after falling short against fellow Hungarian competitor Mercedes Nagyvaradi (9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-4), while Italy’s Debora Vivarelli, seeded directly below Madarasz, also lost out by a 3-1 scoreline in her meeting with Serbian qualifier Sabina Surjan (11-6, 7-11, 13-11, 11-6). • Second seeds Adam Szudi and Szandra Pergel were the highest-profile pair to fall in the Mixed Doubles after losing out to Nandor Ecseki and Dora Madarasz 3-0 in an all- Hungarian contest (11-5, 11-3, 15-13). • Russia’s Kirill Skachkov and Olga Vorobeva secured an impressive scalp against Niagol Stoyanov and Giorgia Piccolin, beating the Italian combination in a five-game epic (5-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9). LOOKING AHEAD: DAY TWO • Women’s Singles top seed Yang Xiaoxin of Monaco looks to extend her winning run and faces Hungary’s Szandra Pergel, who prevailed in a five-game thriller to defeat India’s Reeth Tennison in their Round of 32 encounter. • Slovakia’s Lubomir Pistej and Barbora Balazova take on India’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra in a thrilling Mixed Doubles quarter-final for a place in the semi-final. #WTTBudapest 2 WTT Contender Budapest 2021 Main Draw: 17 - 20 August USD 75,000 • Having almost suffered the prospect of an early exit, Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna is back at the table as he clashes with Frenchman Alexandre Robinot in one of the day’s headline fixtures from the Men’s Singles. • Top seed Liam Pitchford of England is also back in action as he meets Belarus’ Khanin Aleksandr, who enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 win over Iran’s Amir Hodaei in his Round of 32. • Top seeds Adam Szudi and Nandor Ecseki go head-to-head with France’s Alexandre Robinot and Joe Seyfried in the Men’s Doubles. Both pairs come through unscathed in their Round of 16 with 3-0 and 3-1 victories, respectively. EVENT - FAST FACTS • WTT Contender Budapest 2021 marks the first-ever event series WTT will host in Europe. • The WTT Contender Series features the Play-Down Restriction (PDR) rule, limiting the maximum number of top 20 players allowed to compete in the events. • At WTT Contender Budapest, the Play-Down Restriction is increased due to COVID-19 from a maximum of two Top 20 players to a maximum of four Top 20 players. • The draw structure has been revamped to make the competitions fairer, more exciting and more competitive. • WTT may elect to nominate a player to participate in the event - this player is known as a WTT Nomination and entered into the entry list as a wildcard. • Men's Singles: Quadri ARUNA (NGR) • Women’s Singles: Linda BERGSTROM (SWE) • Wild Cards are determined 7 days before the event, and they are awarded to a player/pair at the organiser's discretion. It is an automatic entry into the event in either the main or qualifying draw. • Men's Singles: • Patrik JUHASZ (Main Draw) • Czaba ANDRAS (Main Draw) • OLAH Benedek (Qualifying) • NOVOTA Samuel (Qualifying) • CHANDRA Jeet (Qualifying) #WTTBudapest 3 WTT Contender Budapest 2021 Main Draw: 17 - 20 August USD 75,000 • GUMAN Martin (Qualifying) • Women's Singles: • Bernadett BALINT (Main Draw) • Mercedes NAGYVARADI (Main Draw) • Leila IMRE (Main Draw) • KALLBERG Christina (Qualifying) • CHITALE Diya Parag (Qualifying) • Men's Doubles: • Olive BOTH/Akos KISHEGYI • Istvan MOLNAR/Gergo KRAMARICS • Women's Doubles: • Linda BERGSTROM/Christina KALLBERG • Helga DARI/Anna FEJOS • Mixed Doubles: • JUHASZ Patrik/Bernadett BALINT • Cazaba ANDRAS/Leila IMRE KEY DATES / TIMES 15 August 2021, 10:00 @ Budapest Olympic Sports Hall – Qualifying Draw Day 1 16 August 2021, 10:00 @ Budapest Olympic Sports Hall – Qualifying Draw Day 2 17 August 2021, 10:00 @ Budapest Olympic Sports Hall – Main Draw Day 1 18 August 2021, 14:00 @ Budapest Olympic Sports Hall – Main Draw Day 2 / Quarterfinals 19 August 2021, 10:00 @ Budapest Olympic Sports Hall – Main Draw Day 3 / Semifinals 20 August 2021, 13:00 @ Budapest Olympic Sports Hall – Finals EVENT DISCIPLINES As a WTT Contender event, 5 different disciplines will be contested: - Men's Singles - Women's Singles - Men's Doubles - Women's Doubles - Mixed Doubles PLAYING SYSTEM The Main Draw matches will be conducted in a knockout format. Main Draw: The Main Draw for the 2021 WTT Contender Budapest 2021 will involve the following: #WTTBudapest 4 WTT Contender Budapest 2021 Main Draw: 17 - 20 August USD 75,000 - 32-Draw Men's Singles - 32-Draw Women's Singles - 16-Draw Men's Doubles - 16-Draw Women's Doubles - 16-Draw Mixed Doubles MATCH FORMAT / SCORING The event will be played in accordance with the Laws of Table Tennis and the Regulations for International Competitions. Singles Main Draw to Quarterfinals: - Best of 5 games/11 points - Winner need to win by 2 for all games Semi-finals and Final - Best of 7 games/11 points - Winner need to win by 2 for all games Doubles All Matches: - Best of 5 games/11 points - Winner need to win by 2 for all games TOP SEEDS Men's Singles: Liam PITCHFORD (ENG) Women's Singles: Yang Xiaoxin (MON) Men's Doubles: ECSEKI Nandor / SZUDI Adam (HUN) Women's Doubles: PERGEL Szandra / MADARASZ Dora (HUN) Mixed Doubles: BALAZOVA Barbora / PISTEJ Lubomir (SVK) PLAYERS – FAST FACTS #WTTBudapest 5 WTT Contender Budapest 2021 Main Draw: 17 - 20 August USD 75,000 Youngest men's singles player: LEI Balazs (HUN) (14) Oldest men's singles player: AL-SAMHOURY Tarek (AUT) (43) Youngest women's singles player: CHITALE Diya Parag (IND) (18) Oldest women's singles player: VEGA Paulina (CHI) (37) Men's Doubles Pair Oldest Pairing: ECSEKI Nandor / SZUDI Adam (8 years together) Women's Doubles Pair Oldest Pairing: PERGEL Szandra / MADARASZ Dora (9 years together) Mixed Doubles Pair Oldest Ranking: BALAZOVA Barbora / PISTEJ Lubomir (8 years together) • A host of Olympic stars will be present, and these include: o Liam PITCHFORD (ENG) o YANG Xiaoxin (MON) o Sathiyan GNANASEKERAN (IND) o Manika BATRA (IND) o Yana NOSKOVA (RUS) o Paulina VEGA (CHI) o Yousra HELMY (EGY) EVENT SCHEDULE #WTTBudapest 6 WTT Contender Budapest 2021 Main Draw: 17 - 20 August USD 75,000 18 AUGUST MAIN DRAW DAY 2 #WTTBudapest 7 WTT Contender Budapest 2021 Main Draw: 17 - 20 August USD 75,000 19 AUGUST MAIN DRAW DAY 3 SESSION 1 Starting At: 10:00 Women’s Doubles – SEMIFINALS followed by Men’s Doubles – SEMIFINALS SESSION 2 Not before 14:00 Women’s Singles – QUARTERFINALS followed by Women’s Singles – QUARTERFINALS followed by Men’s Singles – QUARTERFINALS followed by Men’s Singles – QUARTERFINALS SESSION 3 Not before 18:00 Women’s Singles – SEMIFINALS followed by Women’s Singles – SEMIFINALS followed by Men’s Singles – SEMIFINALS followed by Men’s Singles – SEMIFINALS End of Day 20 AUGUST MAIN DRAW DAY 4 SESSION 1 Starting At: 13:00 Men’s Doubles