2026 European Individual Championships Ljubljana 11 October - 18 October

says Making a beautiful shot is most important; winning is...
says Making a beautiful shot is most important; winning is...
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I love how the ETTU still refuses to put the Russian flag 🇷🇺 in the official graphics, but the commentator keeps repeating the word "Russian" every few seconds. :ROFLMAO:
Yah, the commentator should actually refer the country as the nation that shall not be named instead.
 
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And I was supposed to get all this from "Freitas match removed his limitations."? :ROFLMAO:

Yes, changing tempo and tactical pivots are essential components of competitive table tennis.

This is where coaches come in. They sit in their corner, observe and analyze. And all this amounts to exactly nothing if they can't communicate it to the player properly. This is what separates elite coaches from all the others.


I did, sorry.


As opposed to... ?


Every argument is a learning experience.
Iif all you got originally was that beating Freitas raised his level and removed limits on his performance, that was all. The rest is extra context since you asked for it. If you had watched the Freitas match, the context would have been clearer to you. And if somehow you did and the context wasn't, well, it is life, no one understands everything, even with great teachers.
 

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Yah, the commentator should actually refer the country as the nation that shall not be named instead.
Lets do a drinking game. You do a shot of Vodka every time he calls Abraamian "Russian" and I'll do one when he calls Hursey "Welsh". Who gets drunk first?

If you had watched the Freitas match, the context would have been clearer to you.
Now that you mention it, I don't think I did. I just followed the score on my phone that time.

EDIT: Haha, Russian resurgence! :ROFLMAO:

This dude is a master troll.
 
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Szocs vs. Mittelham still to come, but I've been impressed with the WS semi-finalists so far: Pavade, Kaufmann, Abraamian. There's no clear favorite that I can tell. Anyone can win it.
The changing of the guard is the headline I think. While arguably Nina and Szocs are the old guard, the other three are all new and eliminated the old guard. Would have been true for any of the quarterfinalists in two of the matches so nice to see the younger players stepping up.
 
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My son randomly decided to start cheering for de Nordrest after I said Duda would win. Duda needs to play better, or I might not hear the end of this...

Edit: thankfully he went out before game 5. Dodgeed one, hopefully he won't remember....
 
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My son randomly decided to start cheering for de Nordrest after I said Duda would win. Duda needs to play better, or I might not hear the end of this...

Edit: thankfully he went out before game 5. Dodgeed one, hopefully he won't remember....
Take him to MacDonald and he will forget ... Haha
 
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WS QF
Mittelham (6) 4-1 Szocs (2) (4, 7, 7, -6, 11)
G5 48, 78 TO for Szocs, 710, 1110, 1111, 1311

3 H2H 11 and 2 wins for Mittelham in 2026 prior to this.
What has changed?
GS, the root of all evil for Szocs?

Date Event Name Stage Sub-Event Round Player A Player B Games Result Winner
Aug 2026 Europe Smash - Sweden 2026 Main Draw WS R64 MITTELHAM Nina SZOCS Bernadette 12:10 11:5 11:8 3 - 0 MITTELHAM Nina
Jun 2026 United States Smash 2026 Main Draw WS R64 MITTELHAM Nina SZOCS Bernadette 11:7 11:3 11:3 3 - 0 MITTELHAM Nina
Jun 2023 European Games Krakow-Malopolska 2023 Main Draw WS QuarterFinal MITTELHAM Nina SZOCS Bernadette 8:11 11:5 6:11 12:10 7:11 4:11 0:0 2 - 4 SZOCS Bernadette
Jun 2023 European Games Krakow-Malopolska 2023 Main Draw WT Final MITTELHAM Nina SZOCS Bernadette 9:11 9:11 4:11 0 - 3 SZOCS Bernadette
Sep 2018 ITTF European Championships Alicante 2018 Main Draw WS R16 MITTELHAM Nina SZOCS Bernadette 11:13 4:11 8:11 9:11 0 - 4 SZOCS Bernadette
Sep 2017 ITTF European Team Championships Luxembourg 2017 Main Draw WT MITTELHAM Nina SZOCS Bernadette 5:11 5:11 11:6 6:11 1 - 3 SZOCS Bernadette
Sep 2016 World Tour Belgium Open De Haan 2016 Main Draw U21WS SemiFinal MITTELHAM Nina SZOCS Bernadette 11:13 11:9 11:9 7:11 6:11 2 - 3 SZOCS Bernadette
Jul 2013 European Youth Championships Ostrava 2013 Main Draw JGT MITTELHAM Nina SZOCS Bernadette 0 - 3 SZOCS Bernadette
Jul 2013 European Youth Championships Ostrava 2013 Main Draw JGS SemiFinal MITTELHAM Nina SZOCS Bernadette 3 - 0 MITTELHAM Nina
Jul 2012 European Youth Championships Schwechat 2012 Main Draw JGS QuarterFinal MITTELHAM Nina SZOCS Bernadette 0 - 3 SZOCS Bernadette
May 2012 ITTF Junior Circuit Premium Polish Junior and Cadet Open Cetniewo 2012 Main Draw JGT MITTELHAM Nina SZOCS Bernadette 9:11 7:11 14:16 0 - 3 SZOCS Bernadette
Jan 2012 Europe Youth Top 10 Buzau 2012 Qualification JGS MITTELHAM Nina SZOCS Bernadette 0 - 3 SZOCS Bernadette
Nov 2011 World Junior Table Tennis Championships Manama 2011 JGT MITTELHAM Nina SZOCS Bernadette 4:11 9:11 11:13 0 - 3 SZOCS Bernadette
Oct 2011 German Junior Open Dinklage 2011 Main Draw JGT MITTELHAM Nina SZOCS Bernadette 12:10 4:11 6:11 8:11 1 - 3 SZOCS Bernadette
 
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Seems you missed the rest of my post. You cannot create a robot. Things go wrong but he gets it right often. His response was not 'TERRIBLE'. It was very understandable and justifiable as an elite athlete.
I spent my day today at the annual Japan sports psychology conference with exactly the people you mention so I'm well aware of their utility. I'm not being adversarial here. Just offering some perspective.
It's the typical "when athlete loses badly", he has weak mindset and when athlete wins, he has strong mindset. The fact that the athlete can struggle despite an extremely strong mindset is just not possible. Unfortunately, only the results determine this. We all watched the match Haug played against Kallberg and what Haug showed was clearly a player who can beat anyone once his shots are landing, Truls chop block probably played into his hands a bit more since it gives him a sitter. and the pushes land into the lefty backhand side (unlike the forehand side for the righty).
 
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Haug did play quite hard, which works against players like truls that do not spin a lot. Not surprised that Anton beat him.
I am not sure where the "Truls does not spin a lot comes from", but I think you mean he chops and pushes a bit, which gives a sitter to attack if you are that kind of player. Anton is a great player, but Haug had his chances, and interestingly, Anton was also coached by lefty (Maze). Anton and Haug used to be teammates at Duesseldorf for a while so they are also familiar with each other, I suspect that gave Anton a minor edge.
 
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WS QF
Mittelham (6) 4-1 Szocs (2) (4, 7, 7, -6, 11)
G5 48, 78 TO for Szocs, 710, 1110, 1111, 1311

3 H2H 11 and 2 wins for Mittelham in 2026 prior to this.
What has changed?
GS, the root of all evil for Szocs?

Date Event Name Stage Sub-Event Round Player A Player B Games Result Winner
Aug 2026Europe Smash - Sweden 2026Main DrawWSR64MITTELHAM NinaSZOCS Bernadette12:10 11:5 11:83 - 0MITTELHAM Nina
Jun 2026United States Smash 2026Main DrawWSR64MITTELHAM NinaSZOCS Bernadette11:7 11:3 11:33 - 0MITTELHAM Nina
Jun 2023European Games Krakow-Malopolska 2023Main DrawWSQuarterFinalMITTELHAM NinaSZOCS Bernadette8:11 11:5 6:11 12:10 7:11 4:11 0:02 - 4SZOCS Bernadette
Jun 2023European Games Krakow-Malopolska 2023Main DrawWTFinalMITTELHAM NinaSZOCS Bernadette9:11 9:11 4:110 - 3SZOCS Bernadette
Sep 2018ITTF European Championships Alicante 2018Main DrawWSR16MITTELHAM NinaSZOCS Bernadette11:13 4:11 8:11 9:110 - 4SZOCS Bernadette
Sep 2017ITTF European Team Championships Luxembourg 2017Main DrawWTMITTELHAM NinaSZOCS Bernadette5:11 5:11 11:6 6:111 - 3SZOCS Bernadette
Sep 2016World Tour Belgium Open De Haan 2016Main DrawU21WSSemiFinalMITTELHAM NinaSZOCS Bernadette11:13 11:9 11:9 7:11 6:112 - 3SZOCS Bernadette
Jul 2013European Youth Championships Ostrava 2013Main DrawJGTMITTELHAM NinaSZOCS Bernadette0 - 3SZOCS Bernadette
Jul 2013European Youth Championships Ostrava 2013Main DrawJGSSemiFinalMITTELHAM NinaSZOCS Bernadette3 - 0MITTELHAM Nina
Jul 2012European Youth Championships Schwechat 2012Main DrawJGSQuarterFinalMITTELHAM NinaSZOCS Bernadette0 - 3SZOCS Bernadette
May 2012ITTF Junior Circuit Premium Polish Junior and Cadet Open Cetniewo 2012Main DrawJGTMITTELHAM NinaSZOCS Bernadette9:11 7:11 14:160 - 3SZOCS Bernadette
Jan 2012Europe Youth Top 10 Buzau 2012QualificationJGSMITTELHAM NinaSZOCS Bernadette0 - 3SZOCS Bernadette
Nov 2011World Junior Table Tennis Championships Manama 2011JGTMITTELHAM NinaSZOCS Bernadette4:11 9:11 11:130 - 3SZOCS Bernadette
Oct 2011German Junior Open Dinklage 2011Main DrawJGTMITTELHAM NinaSZOCS Bernadette12:10 4:11 6:11 8:111 - 3SZOCS Bernadette
not surprised it’s more a case of Szocs declining this year imo than Mittelham suddenly rising. Bernie hasn’t had a great year.
 
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Huge win for Anna Hursey over European stalwart, Sofia Polcanova. She was able to exploit wide angles forcing Sofia out of her comfort zone. It went late into the decider, and Anna was able to keep her nerves in check.

At one stage it look like Sofia was going to win the overall match as Anna was leading in games then Sofia caught up to make it 3-3 and thought Anna might blow her chance at winning a match against her with the way Sofia clawed it back to get to the decider. Good to be proven wrong.
 
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