Ukraine secured the title in the Men’s Challenge Division at the TMS European Championships in Lisbon and qualified for the Baku 2015 European Games to be staged next year in Azerbaijan. In the final of the Event they overcame Serbia. Serbia lost their pl
Ukraine secured the title in the Men’s Challenge Division at the TMS European Championships in Lisbon and qualified for the Baku 2015 European Games to be staged next year in Azerbaijan. In the final of the Event they overcame Serbia. Serbia lost their place for first ever European Games but returned to the Championships Division next year in Yekaterinburg.
Kou LEI had to save two match points in the deciding fifth game before securing victory against Aleksandar KARAKASEVIC. KARAKASEVIC had advantage 7:3 and 10:8.
“Nobody else plays like him he has such good control he keeps changing the direction of the play changing the spin; playing him if you lose concentration you have no chance I was lucky I won the last point with a ball that clipped the net ” explained Kou LEI.
Slovakia and Italy relegated from the Championships Division
The final results and placements for each team at the TMS European Championships were used as qualifications for 2015 European Games that will be held in Baku (Azerbaijan). Top 14 teams from Championship division are directly qualified together with the winner of Challenge division and host – Azerbaijan Table Tennis Association.
In Men’s category in Baku will play Germany Portugal Croatia Sweden Russia Belarus France Spain Poland Hungary Austria Greece Czech Republic Romania and Ukraine.